Connection
Alexander Mackendrick is a Director, Scriptwriter and Thanks British born on 8 september 1912 at Boston (USA)
Alexander Mackendrick (September 8, 1912 – December 22, 1993) was an American born Scottish director and teacher. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and later moved to Scotland. He began making television commercials before moving into post-production editing and directing films, most notably for Ealing Studios where his films include Whisky Galore! (1949), The Man in the White Suit (1951), and The Ladykillers (1955).
His films made a gradual decline after Ealing Studios closed and he returned to America to become a teacher of filmmaking. He was the cousin of the Scottish writer Roger MacDougall.
Young Alexander Mackendrick had a very sad and lonely childhood. He attended Hillhead High School from 1919 to 1926 and then went on to spend three years at the Glasgow School of Art. In the early 1930s, MacKendrick moved to London to work as an art director for the advertising firm J. Walter Thompson. Between 1936 and 1938, Mackendrick scripted five cinema commercials. He later reflected that his work in the advertising industry was invaluable, in spite of his extreme dislike of the industry itself. In 1937 MacKendrick wrote his first film script, Midnight Menace, with his cousin and close friend, Roger MacDougall. It was later bought by Associated British.
At the start of the Second World War, Mackendrick was employed by the Minister of Information making British propaganda films. In 1942 he went to Algiers and then to Italy, working with the Psychological Warfare Division. He then shot newsreels, documentaries, made leaflets, and did radio news. In 1943, he became the director of the film unit and approved the production of the classic Rossellini film, Rome, Open City.
Source : Wikidata
Alexander Mackendrick
- Infos
- Photos
- Best films
- Family
- Characters
- Awards
Nationality United-kingdom
Birth 8 september 1912 at Boston (USA)
Death 22 december 1993 (at 81 years) at Los Angeles (USA)
Birth 8 september 1912 at Boston (USA)
Death 22 december 1993 (at 81 years) at Los Angeles (USA)
Alexander Mackendrick (September 8, 1912 – December 22, 1993) was an American born Scottish director and teacher. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and later moved to Scotland. He began making television commercials before moving into post-production editing and directing films, most notably for Ealing Studios where his films include Whisky Galore! (1949), The Man in the White Suit (1951), and The Ladykillers (1955).
His films made a gradual decline after Ealing Studios closed and he returned to America to become a teacher of filmmaking. He was the cousin of the Scottish writer Roger MacDougall.
Biography
He was born on 8 September 1912 the only child of Francis and Martha Mackendrick who had emigrated to the United States from Glasgow in 1911. His father was a ship builder and a civil engineer. When Mackendrick was six, his father died of influenza as a result of an pandemic that swept the world just after World War I. His mother, in desperate need of work, decided to be a dress designer. In order to pursue that decision, it was necessary for Martha MacKendrick to hand her only son over to his grandfather, who took young MacKendrick back to Scotland when he was seven years old. Mackendrick never saw or heard from his mother again.Young Alexander Mackendrick had a very sad and lonely childhood. He attended Hillhead High School from 1919 to 1926 and then went on to spend three years at the Glasgow School of Art. In the early 1930s, MacKendrick moved to London to work as an art director for the advertising firm J. Walter Thompson. Between 1936 and 1938, Mackendrick scripted five cinema commercials. He later reflected that his work in the advertising industry was invaluable, in spite of his extreme dislike of the industry itself. In 1937 MacKendrick wrote his first film script, Midnight Menace, with his cousin and close friend, Roger MacDougall. It was later bought by Associated British.
At the start of the Second World War, Mackendrick was employed by the Minister of Information making British propaganda films. In 1942 he went to Algiers and then to Italy, working with the Psychological Warfare Division. He then shot newsreels, documentaries, made leaflets, and did radio news. In 1943, he became the director of the film unit and approved the production of the classic Rossellini film, Rome, Open City.
Best films
Usually with
Filmography of Alexander Mackendrick (17 films)
Director
Add to a movie list
Don't Make Waves (1967)
, 1h37Directed by Alexander Mackendrick
Origin USA
Genres Erotic, Comedy
Themes Films about sexuality, Sports films, Erotic films, Surfing films
Actors Tony Curtis, Claudia Cardinale, Sharon Tate, Robert Webber, Joanna Barnes, Marc London
Rating57%
The film depicts a series of romantic triangles between different groupings of the principal cast and supporting players among several backdrops involving Southern California culture (swimming pools, bodybuilding, beach life, fantastic real estate, mudslides, metaphysical gurus, etc.).
, 1h26Directed by Richard Quiney, Alexander Mackendrick
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Themes Seafaring films, Transport films, Films based on plays
Actors Rosalind Russell, Robert Morse, Barbara Harris, Hugh Griffith, Jonathan Winters, Lionel Jeffries
Rating48%
Described by the author as a "farce in three scenes", the story involves an overbearing mother who travels to a luxury resort in the Caribbean, bringing along her son and her deceased husband, preserved and in his casket.
A High Wind in Jamaica (1965)
, 1h43Directed by Alexander Mackendrick
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Swashbuckler, Action, Adventure
Themes Seafaring films, Transport films, Pirate films, Children's films
Actors Anthony Quinn, James Coburn, Lila Kedrova, Dennis Price, Nigel Davenport, Gert Fröbe
Rating64%
A hurricane hits the isle of Jamaica in 1870. The Thorntons (Nigel Davenport and Isabel Dean), parents of five children, feel it is time to send the children to England for a more civilized upbringing and education.
Sammy Going South (1963)
, 1h58Directed by Alexander Mackendrick
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Adventure
Themes Films set in Africa, Political films
Actors Edward G. Robinson, Constance Cummings, Harry H. Corbett, Zia Mohyeddin, Orlando Martins, John Turner
Rating70%
Ten-year-old English boy Sammy Hartland (Fergus McClelland) lives in Port Said, Egypt, with his parents. When they are killed in a bombing during the Suez Crisis, the boy flees the city in the ensuing panic. He sets out to reach his only living relative, an aunt who lives 5000 miles to the south in Durban, South Africa - at the other end of the continent and in a different hemisphere. Along his journey Sammy encounters a colourful array of characters. His first "guide" is an Arab peddler who dies in a freak accident.
The Guns of Navarone (1961)
, 2h30Directed by Alexander Mackendrick, J. Lee Thompson, Peter Yates
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, War, Thriller, Action, Adventure
Themes Seafaring films, Transport films, La bataille de l'Atlantique, Political films
Actors Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn, James Robertson Justice, Anthony Quayle, Stanley Baker
Rating74%
In 1943, the Axis powers plan an assault on the island of Keros — where 2,000 British soldiers are marooned — to bully neutral Turkey into joining them with a display of their military strength. Rescue by the Royal Navy is prevented by two massive radar-directed superguns on the nearby island of Navarone. When aerial bombing efforts fail, Allied Intelligence gathers a team of commandos to infiltrate Navarone and destroy the guns. Led by Major Roy Franklin (Anthony Quayle), the team is composed of Captain Keith Mallory (Gregory Peck), a renowned spy and mountaineer; Colonel Andrea Stavrou (Anthony Quinn) from the defeated Greek army; Franklin's best friend Corporal Miller (David Niven), an explosives expert and former chemistry teacher; Greco-American Spyros Pappadimos (James Darren), a native of Navarone; and "Butcher" Brown (Stanley Baker), an engineer and expert knife fighter.
Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
, 1h36Directed by Alexander Mackendrick
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Noir, Crime, Romance
Themes Films about writers, Films about journalists
Actors Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Martin Milner, Susan Harrison, Sam Levene, Barbara Nichols
Rating79%
Manhattan press agent Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) has been unable to gain mentions for his in J.J. Hunsecker's (Burt Lancaster) influential, nationally syndicated newspaper column of late because of Falco's failure to make good on a promise to break up the romance between Hunsecker's younger sister Susan (Susan Harrison) and musician Steve Dallas (Martin Milner), an up-and-coming jazz guitarist.
The Ladykillers (1955)
, 1h31Directed by Alexander Mackendrick
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Comedy, Comedy thriller, Crime
Themes Heist films, Gangster films, Escroquerie
Actors Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers, Jack Warner, Katie Johnson
Rating75%
Mrs. Louisa Alexandra Wilberforce (Katie Johnson) is a sweet and eccentric old widow who lives alone with her raucous parrots in a gradually subsiding "lopsided" house, built over the entrance to a railway tunnel in Kings Cross, London. With nothing to occupy her time and an active imagination, she is a frequent visitor to the local police station where she reports fanciful suspicions regarding neighbourhood activities. Having led wild-goose chases in the past, she is humoured by the officers there who give her reports no credence whatever.
The 'Maggie' (1954)
, 1h32Directed by Alexander Mackendrick
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Comedy, Action, Adventure
Actors Paul Douglas, Andrew Keir, James Copeland, Dorothy Alison, Geoffrey Keen, Roddy McMillan
Rating68%
The Maggie is a typical Clyde puffer, a small, aged cargo boat with a varied, irascible and argumentative crew. MacTaggart (Alex Mackenzie), her rascal of a captain, is in dire need of 300 pounds to renew his licence. In a shipping office by chance, he meets Mr Pusey (Hubert Gregg). Pusey, a proper Englishman complete with bowler hat and umbrella, is trying to arrange for the transportation of some personal furniture for his boss, American Calvin B. Marshall (Paul Douglas), as a present for his wife to furnish their new home. The big company has no ships immediately available, but MacTaggart gets the job when Pusey mistakenly believes that he works for the reputable shipping company and that the more modern vessel docked next to the Maggie is MacTaggart's.
Mandy (1952)
, 1h33Directed by Alexander Mackendrick, Jim O'Connolly
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama
Themes Films about disabilities
Actors Phyllis Calvert, Jack Hawkins, Mandy Miller, Terence Morgan, Godfrey Tearle, Nancy Price
Rating73%
Harry and Christine Garland have a deaf daughter, Mandy. As they realise their daughter's situation, the parents enrol Mandy in special education classes to try to get her to speak. They quarrel in the process and their marriage comes under strain. There are also hints of a possible affair between Christine and Dick Searle, the headmaster of the school for the deaf where Mandy is enrolled. Eventually, the training succeeds to the point where Mandy says her own name for the first time. Mandy's speech was achieved by using a balloon. She was able to feel the vibrations of sound onto the balloon and knew she had made a sound.
The Man in the White Suit (1951)
, 1h25Directed by Alexander Mackendrick, Jim O'Connolly
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Comedy
Themes Théâtre, Films about the labor movement, Political films, Films based on plays
Actors Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Cecil Parker, Michael Gough, Howard Marion-Crawford, Ernest Thesiger
Rating72%
Sidney Stratton, a brilliant young research chemist and former Cambridge scholarship recipient, has been dismissed from jobs at several textile mills in the north of England because of his demands for expensive facilities and his obsession with inventing an everlasting fibre. Whilst working as a labourer at the Birnley Mill, he accidentally becomes an unpaid researcher and invents an incredibly strong fibre which repels dirt and never wears out. From this fabric, a suit is made—which is brilliant white because it cannot absorb dye and slightly luminous because it includes radioactive elements.
The Blue Lamp (1950)
, 1h24Directed by Basil Dearden, Alexander Mackendrick
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Thriller, Comedy, Action, Noir, Crime, Romance
Actors Jack Warner, Jimmy Hanley, Dirk Bogarde, Robert Flemyng, Jack Warner, Bernard Lee
Rating67%
The action mostly takes place in the Paddington area of London, and is set in July 1949, a few years after the end of the Second World War. PC George Dixon (Warner) a long-serving traditional "copper" who is due to retire shortly, takes a new recruit, Andy Mitchell (Hanley), under his aegis, introducing him to the easy-going night beat. Dixon is a classic Ealing "ordinary" hero, but also anachronistic, unprepared and unable to answer the violence of Tom Riley (Bogarde). Called to the scene of a robbery at a local cinema, Dixon finds himself face-to-face with Riley, a desperate youth armed with a revolver. Dixon initially tries to talk Riley into surrendering the weapon, but Riley panics and fires. Dixon is taken to hospital, but dies some hours later. The ending is another Ealing quirk, with ordinary, decent society banding together with professional criminals and dog-track identities to track down and catch the murderer, who tries to hide in the crowd at White City greyhound track in West London. To Andy Mitchell falls the honour of arresting Riley.
Whisky Galore! (1949)
, 1h22Directed by Alexander Mackendrick
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Comedy, Crime
Actors Basil Radford, Catherine Lacey, Bruce Seton, Joan Greenwood, Gordon Jackson, Wylie Watson
Rating70%
The inhabitants of the isolated Scottish island of Todday in the Outer Hebrides are largely unaffected by wartime rationing, until the supply of whisky runs out in 1943. Then gloom descends on the disconsolate natives.
Scriptwriter
Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
, 1h36Directed by Alexander Mackendrick
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Noir, Crime, Romance
Themes Films about writers, Films about journalists
Actors Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Martin Milner, Susan Harrison, Sam Levene, Barbara Nichols
Rating79%
Manhattan press agent Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) has been unable to gain mentions for his in J.J. Hunsecker's (Burt Lancaster) influential, nationally syndicated newspaper column of late because of Falco's failure to make good on a promise to break up the romance between Hunsecker's younger sister Susan (Susan Harrison) and musician Steve Dallas (Martin Milner), an up-and-coming jazz guitarist.
The 'Maggie' (1954)
, 1h32Directed by Alexander Mackendrick
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Comedy, Action, Adventure
Actors Paul Douglas, Andrew Keir, James Copeland, Dorothy Alison, Geoffrey Keen, Roddy McMillan
Roles Story
Rating68%
The Maggie is a typical Clyde puffer, a small, aged cargo boat with a varied, irascible and argumentative crew. MacTaggart (Alex Mackenzie), her rascal of a captain, is in dire need of 300 pounds to renew his licence. In a shipping office by chance, he meets Mr Pusey (Hubert Gregg). Pusey, a proper Englishman complete with bowler hat and umbrella, is trying to arrange for the transportation of some personal furniture for his boss, American Calvin B. Marshall (Paul Douglas), as a present for his wife to furnish their new home. The big company has no ships immediately available, but MacTaggart gets the job when Pusey mistakenly believes that he works for the reputable shipping company and that the more modern vessel docked next to the Maggie is MacTaggart's.
The Man in the White Suit (1951)
, 1h25Directed by Alexander Mackendrick, Jim O'Connolly
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Comedy
Themes Théâtre, Films about the labor movement, Political films, Films based on plays
Actors Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Cecil Parker, Michael Gough, Howard Marion-Crawford, Ernest Thesiger
Rating72%
Sidney Stratton, a brilliant young research chemist and former Cambridge scholarship recipient, has been dismissed from jobs at several textile mills in the north of England because of his demands for expensive facilities and his obsession with inventing an everlasting fibre. Whilst working as a labourer at the Birnley Mill, he accidentally becomes an unpaid researcher and invents an incredibly strong fibre which repels dirt and never wears out. From this fabric, a suit is made—which is brilliant white because it cannot absorb dye and slightly luminous because it includes radioactive elements.