Gilbert, Lewis 1920–

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GILBERT, Lewis 1920–

PERSONAL: Born March 6, 1920, in London, England; married Hylda Henrietta Tafler; children: two sons.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o October Films, Spring House, 10 Spring Pl., London NW5 3BH, England.

CAREER: Director of films, including Sailors Do Care (documentary), G. B. Instructional, 1944; The Ten-Year Plan (documentary), G. B. Instructional, 1945; Arctic Harvest (documentary), G. B. Instructional, 1946; Under One Roof, 1946; The Little Ballerina, Universal, 1951; The Scarlet Thread, Butchers, 1951; There Is Another Sun (also known as The Wall of Death), 1951; Once a Sinner, Hoffberg, 1952; Albert, R.N. (also known as Break to Freedom, Marlag "O" Prison Camp, and Spare Man), Eros, 1953; The Hundred-Hour Hunt (also known as Emergency! and Emergency Call), Butchers, 1953; (and producer) Johnny on the Run, Associated British Films, 1953; The Slasher (also known as Cosh Boy and The Tough Guy), Lippert, 1953; Time Gentlemen Please! (also known as Nothing to Lose), Mayer-Kingsley, 1953; The Good Die Young, Independent Film Distributors, 1954; The Sea Shall Not Have Them, United Artists, 1955; The Admirable Crichton (also known as Paradise Lagoon), Columbia, 1957; Reach for the Sky, J. Arthur Rank, 1957; Carve Her Name with Pride, J. Arthur Rank, 1958; Cast a Dark Shadow (also known as Angel), Eros, 1958; A Cry from the Street, Eros, 1959; Ferry to Hong Kong, J. Arthur Rank, 1959; (and producer) Light up the Sky! (also known as Skywatch!), British Lion, 1960; Sink the Bismarck!, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1960; Loss of Innocence (also known as The Greengage Summer), Columbia, 1961; Damn the Defiant! (also known as H.M.S. Defiant), Columbia, 1962; The Seventh Dawn, United Artists, 1964; (and producer) Alfie, Paramount, 1966; You Only Live Twice, United Artists, 1967; (and producer) The Adventurers, Paramount, 1970; (and producer) Friends, Paramount, 1971; (and producer) Paul and Michelle, Paramount, 1974; Operation Daybreak (also known as The Price of Freedom and Seven Met at Daybreak), Warner Brothers, 1976; (and producer) Seven Nights in Japan, Paramount, 1976; The Spy Who Loved Me, United Artists, 1977; Moonraker, United Artists, 1979; (and producer) Educating Rita, Columbia, 1983; (and producer, with William P. Cartlidge) Not Quite Jerusalem (also known as Not Quite Paradise), J. Arthur Rank, 1985; (and producer) Shirley Valentine, Paramount, 1990; (and producer) Stepping Out, Paramount, 1991; (and producer) Haunted, October Films, 1995; Before You Go, 2002; and (and producer) Andre Schneider: Geben bis es Schmerzt, Zamora Films, 2002. Also director of The World of Gilbert and George; assistant director of Target for Today; producer of Spare the Rod (television), 1959–60.

Actor in films, including (as Jem) Dick Turpin, Gaumont, 1933; Divorce of Lady X, 1937; (uncredited) Over the Moon, United Artists, 1940; Alfie, Paramount, 1966; (uncredited) Man at St. Mark's Square, Moonraker, United Artists, 1979; Goodbye, Mr. Chips; The Mystery Road; and Room for Two. Appeared as himself in television documentaries, including Michael Caine: Breaking the Mold, 1991; Roger Moore: A Matter of Class, Arts and Entertainment, 1995; 007: The James Bond Story, 1999; Best Ever Bond, 2002; James Bond: A BAFTA Tribute, 2002; and The Ultimate Film, 2004. Appeared as himself in video documentary shorts, including Legends, 2000; Ken Adam: Designing Bond, 2000; Inside "You Only Live Twice," 2000; Inside "The Spy Who Loved Me," 2000; and Inside "Moonraker," 2000. Military service: Served with Royal Air Force and U.S. Air Corps Film Unit during World War II.

AWARDS, HONORS: Named commander, Order of the British Empire; British Film Institute fellowship, 2001; Dilys Powell Award for outstanding contribution to cinema, London Film Critics' Circle, 2003.

WRITINGS:

SCREENPLAYS

Sailors Do Care (documentary), G. B. Instructional, 1944.

The Ten-Year Plan (documentary), G. B. Instructional, 1945.

Arctic Harvest (documentary), G. B. Instructional, 1946.

(With Dennis Waldock) Marry Me!, General Film Distributors, 1949.

The Little Ballerina, Universal, 1951.

The Hundred-Hour Hunt (also known as Emergency! and Emergency Call), Butchers, 1953.

The Slasher (also known as Cosh Boy and The Tough Guy), Lippert, 1953.

The Good Die Young, Independent Film Distributors, 1954.

The Sea Shall Not Have Them, United Artists, 1955.

The Admirable Crichton (also known as Paradise Lagoon, Columbia, 1957.

Reach for the Sky, J. Arthur Rank, 1957.

Carve Her Name with Pride, J. Arthur Rank, 1958.

Ferry to Hong Kong, J. Arthur Rank, 1959.

The Adventurers, Paramount, 1970.

Haunted (based on a novel by James Herbert), October Films, 1995.

ADAPTATIONS: Films based on stories by Gilbert include Friends, Paramount, 1971, and Paul and Michelle, Paramount, 1974.

SIDELIGHTS: The career of English director, producer, screenwriter, and actor Lewis Gilbert has spanned more than seven decades. As a director, his notable films include Alfie, Shirley Valentine, and three films featuring popular cold-war secret agent James Bond.

Gilbert was born into a show-business family: His parents performed in vaudeville and he became a child actor in silent films at the age of five. He recalled to Variety contributor Adam Dawtrey that, "at four years old I was looking through a curtain at people laughing. My films have never been intellectual, although I am, because they reflect my childhood touring around and watching audiences enjoy themselves." His last significant acting role, at age seventeen, was in The Divorce of Lady X, where he played opposite Laurence Olivier. Gilbert's decision to leave acting was motivated by his desire to direct, and he was hired by producer Alexander Korda to fill the job of third assistant at Denham Studios. Gilbert joined the Royal Air Force after the outbreak of World War II and was transferred to the U.S. Air Corps Film Unit, where he learned alongside William Wyler as they shot training and combat films.

Gilbert's 1966 film, Alfie, which was produced for just one-half million dollars, is credited with propelling the career of actor Michael Caine. Gilbert saw the original play after his wife gave it rave reviews. On the recommendation of his son, Gilbert also saw The Ipcress File, which featured Caine, and he sensed the actor would be perfect as Alfie, the cockney chauffeur who empowers the working class as he seduces a number of beautiful women across London. Already in his thirties, Caine began his rise to stardom with this film, playing opposite Shelley Winters, Julia Foster, Shirley Anne Field, Eleanor Bron, Vivien Merchant, and Jane Asher. It was suggested to Gilbert that the film be dubbed with the voice of an American actor because the concern was that Americans would not understand Caine's accent. Gilbert resisted, the film was shown as it was originally shot, and it was a hit. The story, which includes a back-alley abortion, also helped reform the censorship code in the United States. As Gilbert noted in the Manchester Guardian, "the film had a big effect on my career. I was offered everything. I was flavour of the month in Hollywood."

Gilbert's first James Bond film, starring Sean Connery, was You Only Live Twice, and he directed Roger Moore in The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker. They were the only films he made for which he did not exercise artistic control, but they were attractive projects because they came with big budgets.

In Educating Rita, Caine plays an alcoholic English professor whose life is energized by Rita (Julie Walters), a working-class girl who joins his class as part of a remedial program. Shirley Valentine is an adaptation of a play by Willy Russell. Pauline Collins, in the title role, plays an Englishwoman who finds refuge in Greece after leaving her husband and children.

Shelagh Stephenson wrote the script for Before You Go, based on her play The Memory of Water. At the age of eighty-one, Gilbert directed this comedy-drama, which focuses on three sisters who have come together to attend to their dying mother. The cast includes Walters, who plays one of the daughters.

Haunted is a British ghost story adapted from a novel by James Herbert. The film stars Aidan Quinn, Kate Beckinsale, Anthony Andrews, John Gielgud, and Anna Massey. Quinn is David Ash, an American "ghost buster" who travels to London to debunk the idea of spirits that are said to be haunting a country estate. The story is typical of the traditional horror story, with a series of supernatural events culminating in a surprise ending and includes elements of romance between Quinn and the female lead, played by Beckinsale.

Gilbert has also appeared in a number of films, including documentary films that profile the James Bond films and leads. In 2003 he received the Dilys Powell Award for his lifetime contributions to the film industry.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Guardian (Manchester, England), May 4, 2001, Lewis Gilbert, "Friday Review: All about Alfie," p. 11.

Independent on Sunday (London, England), May 6, 2001, Robin Buss, "Film: Still Fancy a Bit of Rough Do You? Alfie Epitomised the Swinging Sixties—but How Do Its Sexual Politics Look Thirty-five Years Later?," p. 3.

Variety, February 18, 2002, Adam Dawtrey, "Lifetime Achievement: Filmmaker Gilbert Flaunts Long Legs in a Fickle Biz" (interview), p. 23.