Maurice Elvey

Maurice Elvey
Maurice Elvey
Born 11 November 1887(1887-11-11)
Stockton-on-Tees, England
Died 28 August 1967(1967-08-28) (aged 79)
Brighton, England
Occupation Film director
Years active 1913 - 1958

Maurice Elvey (11 November 1887 – 28 August 1967) was the most prolific film director in British history.[1] He directed nearly 200 films between 1913 and 1957. During the silent film era he directed as many as twenty films per year.[2]

Born William Seward Folkard in Stockton-on-Tees, Elvey began his career as an actor at the age of 17. He quickly rose to directing and producing plays and established his own theatrical company before switching to films with The Great Gold Robbery in 1913. He directed a wide array of popular features in a variety of genres, including comedy, drama, literary adaptations – including Robert Louis Stevenson's The Suicide Club (1914) and a version of William Shakespeare's As You Like It entitled Love in a Wood (1916) – and biographical profiles of such luminaries as Florence Nightingale and Lord Nelson. The Life Story of David Lloyd George, suppressed for political reasons just prior to its release in 1918, had its world premiere in Cardiff in May 1996 and was hailed by critics and film historians as one of the best silent films produced in the UK.

In 1921, Elvey directed 16 shorts and one full-length feature film (The Hound of the Baskervilles) with Ellie Norwood as Sherlock Holmes. The actor was Arthur Conan Doyle's favorite among those who portrayed his literary sleuth.[3]

Elvey worked with such performers as Leslie Howard, Gracie Fields, Claude Rains, Alastair Sim, Leslie Banks, and Fay Wray, and mentored future directors Carol Reed and David Lean. In 1944, he was charmed by Petula Clark when he saw her perform at the Royal Albert Hall, and he launched her film career by casting her as a precocious waif in his wartime drama Medal for the General. The two collaborated on three additional films.

Elvey was married three times, to actress Philippa Preston, sculptor Florence Hill Clarke, and actress Isobel Elsom, whom he met on the set of The Wandering Jew in 1923. The couple went on to make eight films together.

The loss of an eye and failing health prompted Elvey's retirement at the age of 70. Ten years later he died in Brighton.

Selected filmography

  • Maria Marten (1913)
  • Honeymoon for Three (1915)
  • The Gay Lord Quex (1917)
  • Hindle Wakes (1918)
  • Adam Bede (1918)
  • Nelson (1918)
  • The Life Story of David Lloyd George (1918/1996)
  • Comradeship (1919)
  • Mr Wu (1919)
  • The Elusive Pimpernel (1919)
  • The Amateur Gentleman (1920)
  • Dick Turpin's Ride to York (1922)
  • Guy Fawkes (1923)
  • The Passionate Friends (1923)
  • Henry, King of Navarre (1924)
  • Folly of Vanity (1924)
  • My Husband's Wives (1924)
  • Mademoiselle from Armentieres (1926)
  • Hindle Wakes (1927)
  • Quinneys (1927)
  • Balaclava (1928)
  • You Know What Sailors Are (1928)
  • High Treason (1929)
  • School for Scandal (1930)
  • In a Monastery Garden (1932)
  • The Lodger (1932)
  • Frail Women (1932)
  • This Week of Grace (1933)
  • The Lost Chord (1933)
  • I Lived with You (1933)
  • Heat Wave (1935)
  • The Clairvoyant (1935)
  • The Tunnel (1935)
  • Spy of Napoleon (1936)
  • Man in the Mirror (1936)
  • Change for a Sovereign (1937)
  • A Romance in Flanders (1937)
  • Melody and Romance (1937)
  • Who Killed John Savage? (1937)
  • The Return of the Frog (1938)
  • Who Goes Next? (1938)
  • Lightning Conductor (1938)
  • Sword of Honour (1939)
  • A People Eternal (1939)
  • Sons of the Sea (1939)
  • Room for Two (1940)
  • For Freedom (1940)
  • The Spider (1940)
  • Goofer Trouble (1940)
  • Under Your Hat (1940)
  • Salute John Citizen (1942)
  • The Gentle Sex (1943)
  • The Lamp Still Burns (1943)
  • Medal for the General (1944)
  • Strawberry Roan (1945)
  • Beware of Pity (1946)
  • The Third Visitor (1951)
  • The Late Edwina Black (1951)
  • My Wife's Lodger (1952)
  • The Great Game (1953)
  • Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary? (1953)
  • House of Blackmail (1953)
  • What Every Woman Wants (1954)
  • The Happiness of Three Women (1954)
  • The Harassed Hero (1954)
  • The Gay Dog (1954)
  • You Lucky People (1955)
  • Room in the House (1955)
  • Fun at St. Fanny's (1956)
  • Dry Rot (1956)
  • Stars in Your Eyes (1956)
  • Second Fiddle (1957)

References

  1. ^ "Maurice Elvey". Britmovie.co.uk. http://www.britmovie.co.uk/directors/Maurice-Elvey. Retrieved 2010-07-06. 
  2. ^ "Maurice Elvey credits". Screenonline.org.uk. http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/449112/credits.html. Retrieved 2010-07-06. 
  3. ^ "Maurice Elvey". Britishpictures.com. http://www.britishpictures.com/stars/Elvey.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-06. 

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  • Maurice Elvey — Données clés Nom de naissance William Seward Folkard Naissance 11 novembre 1887 Stockton on Tees (Royaume Uni) Nationalité …   Wikipédia en Français

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