James Hill (British director)
James Hill | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | 7 October 1994 London, England | (aged 75)
Other names | Jimmy Hill |
Occupation(s) | Film director, television director, screenwriter, producer |
Years active | 1937–1993 |
Known for | Documentaries, children's, feature length and short films, director of Born Free |
Awards | Distinguished Flying Cross Academy Award Berlin International Film Festival |
James Hill (1 August 1919 – 7 October 1994) was a British film and television director, screenwriter and producer whose career spanned 52 years between 1937 and 1989, best remembered for his documentaries and
Hill also directed, produced and/or wrote such diverse films as Black Beauty, A Study in Terror, Every Day's a Holiday, The Lion at World's End (a.k.a. Christian the lion), Captain Nemo and the Underwater City, The Man from O.R.G.Y., and the children's television series' Worzel Gummidge and Worzel Gummidge Down Under.
Life and work
Early career
Hill was born in
After the war he became a documentary director, primarily of shorts, before graduating to feature length children's movies with The Stolen Plans in 1952.[4]
In 1955 Hill entered a new phase with the documentary The New Explorers, sponsored by the
Mainstream
In the 1960s Hill expanded his scope and firmly established himself as a mainstream director. In the words of Richard Chatten of The Independent:
"The British cinema of the Sixties was littered with the bones of directors who showed promise in the field of documentaries and shorts but came to grief in features; but James Hill was one of the most conspicuous exceptions."
Beginning with The Kitchen (1961), based on Arnold Wesker's play, it was quickly followed by two John Mortimer play adaptations, Lunch Hour (1961), showing the dire consequences of a lunch hour romance, and the legal satire The Dock Brief (1962); both essentially two-hander plays. Every Day's a Holiday (1964), for which he also wrote the screenplay, was a teenage pop musical typical of the era.[2]
At the same time Hill continued to make documentaries and children oriented shorts, including the immensely popular and
The year 1965 began with A Study in Terror, pitting an imaginary Sherlock Holmes against real life Jack the Ripper. Considered to be one of the best films of its genre, it boasted an impressive cast which included John Neville, Donald Houston, Robert Morley, Anthony Quayle, Barry Jones and Judi Dench.[7]
Born Free and African wildlife
1965 was also the year of
Closely associated with Travers, McKenna and Adamson, Hill followed up with three docu/dramas related to wildlife in Africa which he either directed, co-produced and/or wrote: The Lions Are Free (1967) on the fate of the Born Free lion-actors, An Elephant Called Slowly (1969), and The Lion at World's End (aka,
Later work and television
In following decades Hill is best remembered for
Active in television throughout his career, his credits include episodes of The Human Jungle, Gideon's Way, The Saint, The Avengers, Journey to the Unknown, The Persuaders!, The New Avengers, and C.A.T.S. Eyes.[2]
Marriage and death
James Hill was married to Lucienne Hill (30 January 1923 – 29 December 2012).[11] He died in London on 7 October 1994, at the age of 75.[10]
Selected filmography
Year | Title | As | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1949 | A Journey for Jeremy | director | |
1952 | The Stolen Plans | director, writer | |
1953 | The Clue of the Missing Ape | director, writer | a.k.a. Gibraltar Adventure |
1955 | The New Explorers | director | for BP |
1960 | Giuseppina | director, producer, writer | a James Hill Production for BP see Awards below |
1961 | The Kitchen | director | |
1961 | Lunch Hour | director | composed main theme |
1962 | The Dock Brief | director | a.k.a. Trial and Error (US) starring Peter Sellers and Richard Attenborough |
1963 | The Home-Made Car | director, writer, producer | a James Hill Production; see Awards below |
1964 | Every Day's a Holiday | director, screenplay | aka Seaside Swingers (US), The Adventures of Tim (UK: video title) |
1964 | The Golden Head | co-director | with Richard Thorpe |
1965 | A Study in Terror | director | a.k.a. Fog |
1965 | Born Free | director | see Awards below; trailer, Fandango.com: [1] |
1967 | The Lions Are Free | director, writer, producer | trailer, videoemo.com [2] |
1967 | The Corrupt Ones
|
director | a.k.a. The Peking Medallion |
1967 | An Elephant Called Slowly | director, writer, producer | |
1969 | Captain Nemo and the Underwater City | director | |
1970 | The Man from O.R.G.Y. | director | aka, The Real Gone Girls |
1971 | The Lion at World's End | writer, producer | aka, Christian the lion |
1971 | Black Beauty | director, additional dialogue | |
1973 | Jane Goodall and the World of Animal Behavior: The Wild Dogs of Africa | producer | |
1973 | The Belstone Fox | director, writer | a.k.a. Free Spirit |
1975 | The Man from Nowhere | director | |
1976 | London Conspiracy | director | |
1979–1981 | Worzel Gummidge | director, producer | children's TV series |
1980 | The Wild and the Free | director | |
1983 | Owain Glendower, Prince of Wales (TV) | director, writer | |
1984 | The Young Visiters | director, screenplay, producer | |
1987–1989 | Worzel Gummidge Down Under | director, writer | children's series, directed 16 episodes, wrote 3 |
Hill appeared as himself in:
- The Lion at World's End (1971) a.k.a. Christian the Lion (US)
- Without Walls Documentary (1992), episode "The Avengers"
- Avenging the Avengers Documentary (archival footage) (2000)[3]
Awards
Year | Status | Award | Category / Title | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1960 | Won | Academy Award
|
Best Documentary, Short Subjects for: Giuseppina (1960) | ||
1963 | Won | Berlin International Film Festival:
Silver Bear
|
Special Prize: Short Film for: The Home-Made Car (1963) | ||
1963 | Honorable Mention | Berlin International Film Festival:
Youth Film Award |
Best Short Film Suitable for Young People for: The Home-Made Car (1963) | ||
1964 | Nominated | Academy Award: Oscar | Best Short Subject, Live Action Subjects for: The Home-Made Car (1963) | ||
1967 | Nominated | Directors Guild of America:
DGA Award |
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for: Born Free (1966) | ||
1980 | Nominated | BAFTA TV Award
|
'Harlequin' (Drama/Light Entertainment) for: Worzel Gummidge (1979) | ||
1981 | Nominated | BAFTA TV Award
|
'Harlequin' (Drama/Light Entertainment) for: Worzel Gummidge (1979) | ||
1982 | Nominated | BAFTA TV Award
|
'Harlequin' (Drama/Light Entertainment) for: Worzel Gummidge (1979) | ||
References
- ^ "James Hill". movietome.com.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d Chatten, Richard (11 October 1994). "Obituary: James Hill". The Independent. London. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
- ^ a b c "James Hill". Internet Movie Database.
- ^ "The Stolen Plans (1952)". Archived from the original on 28 February 2019.
- ^ a b "British Film Institute". screenonline.org.uk.
- ^ "BBC2 Trade Test Colour Films". webfax.org.uk. Archived from the original on 6 January 2009.
- ^ "Movie Review - - The Screen::Burt Lancaster in 'The Professionals' Noisy Western Opens at 2 Local Theaters - NYTimes.com". The New York Times. 11 November 2021.
- ^ "Doris Martin: BECTU Interview Part 2 (1988)". British Film Institute.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "James H. Hill – Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos – AllMovie". AllMovie.
- ^ a b FOLKART, BURT A. (15 October 1994). "James Hill; 'Born Free,' 'Avengers' Director Was 75". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Coveney, Michael (17 January 2013). "Lucienne Hill obituary". The Guardian.