Anthony Havelock-Allan(1904-2003)
- Producer
- Writer
- Production Manager
Anthony Havelock-Allan produced some of the best known and critically
acclaimed films of British cinema, including
In Which We Serve (1942),
Brief Encounter (1945),
Blithe Spirit (1945) and
Great Expectations (1946). The
films were commercial triumphs for Two Cities and Cineguild production
companies, making Havelock-Allan one of the most influential producers
in the British film industry. He is also remembered for two films he
made starring his then-wife
Valerie Hobson: the melodrama
Blanche Fury (1948) and
The Hideout (1948), which
introduced Howard Keel to the screen.
Born at Blackwell Manor, Darlington, England, Havelock-Allan was
educated at Charterhouse. Having turned down a career in the army he
worked as a stockbroker and nightclub manager before becoming a casting
director. In the early 1930s he spent two years producing "quota
quickies", low-budget, quickly-made films--often in six days or
less--made for Paramount-British in order to satisfy a British
government requirement that a certain percentage of films shown in
Britain had to be made in Britain. While these "quickies" were made for
little money and varied greatly in quality, they did provide a valuable
training ground for directors such as
Michael Powell and such cameramen
Ronald Neame (later to become a top
director). Many of them also featured then unknown actors, such as
Rex Harrison and
Margaret Rutherford. In 1942 he
produced one of the most famous of all flag-waving war films:
Noël Coward's
In Which We Serve (1942),
co-directed by Coward with
David Lean. The naval epic was a
thinly disguised saga of the maritime exploits of Lord
Louis Mountbatten and included
definitive performances from
Bernard Miles,
Celia Johnson and
John Mills. A year later he formed
the creative partnership of Cineguild Productions with Noel Coward,
David Lean and Ronald Neame, which made
This Happy Breed (1944),
Blithe Spirit (1945) and
Brief Encounter (1945), an
adaptation of Coward's play "Still Life". Cineguild broke up in 1949
and Havelock-Allan formed Constellation Films, an independent
production company financed by the Rank Organisation. With that company
he made Paul Gallico's
Never Take No for an Answer (1951).
In 1960 Havelock-Allan and Lord Brabourne formed British Home
Entertainment, which sought to introduce pay-TV into Britain. The
company was sold in 1969 after the closure of a trial service.
Havelock-Allan's later films included
Franco Zeffirelli's
Romeo and Juliet (1968) and
David Lean's
Ryan's Daughter (1970).
acclaimed films of British cinema, including
In Which We Serve (1942),
Brief Encounter (1945),
Blithe Spirit (1945) and
Great Expectations (1946). The
films were commercial triumphs for Two Cities and Cineguild production
companies, making Havelock-Allan one of the most influential producers
in the British film industry. He is also remembered for two films he
made starring his then-wife
Valerie Hobson: the melodrama
Blanche Fury (1948) and
The Hideout (1948), which
introduced Howard Keel to the screen.
Born at Blackwell Manor, Darlington, England, Havelock-Allan was
educated at Charterhouse. Having turned down a career in the army he
worked as a stockbroker and nightclub manager before becoming a casting
director. In the early 1930s he spent two years producing "quota
quickies", low-budget, quickly-made films--often in six days or
less--made for Paramount-British in order to satisfy a British
government requirement that a certain percentage of films shown in
Britain had to be made in Britain. While these "quickies" were made for
little money and varied greatly in quality, they did provide a valuable
training ground for directors such as
Michael Powell and such cameramen
Ronald Neame (later to become a top
director). Many of them also featured then unknown actors, such as
Rex Harrison and
Margaret Rutherford. In 1942 he
produced one of the most famous of all flag-waving war films:
Noël Coward's
In Which We Serve (1942),
co-directed by Coward with
David Lean. The naval epic was a
thinly disguised saga of the maritime exploits of Lord
Louis Mountbatten and included
definitive performances from
Bernard Miles,
Celia Johnson and
John Mills. A year later he formed
the creative partnership of Cineguild Productions with Noel Coward,
David Lean and Ronald Neame, which made
This Happy Breed (1944),
Blithe Spirit (1945) and
Brief Encounter (1945), an
adaptation of Coward's play "Still Life". Cineguild broke up in 1949
and Havelock-Allan formed Constellation Films, an independent
production company financed by the Rank Organisation. With that company
he made Paul Gallico's
Never Take No for an Answer (1951).
In 1960 Havelock-Allan and Lord Brabourne formed British Home
Entertainment, which sought to introduce pay-TV into Britain. The
company was sold in 1969 after the closure of a trial service.
Havelock-Allan's later films included
Franco Zeffirelli's
Romeo and Juliet (1968) and
David Lean's
Ryan's Daughter (1970).