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Anthony Asquith is a Actor, Director, Scriptwriter, Producer and Assistant Director British born on 9 november 1902 at London (United-kingdom)

Anthony Asquith

Anthony Asquith
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Nationality United-kingdom
Birth 9 november 1902 at London (United-kingdom)
Death 20 february 1968 (at 65 years) at London (United-kingdom)

Anthony Asquith (9 November 1902 – 20 February 1968) was a leading English film director. He collaborated successfully with playwright Terence Rattigan on The Winslow Boy (1948) and The Browning Version (1951), among other adaptations. His other notable films include Pygmalion (1938), French Without Tears (1940), The Way to the Stars (1945), and a 1952 adaptation of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest.

Biography

Born in London, he was the son of H. H. Asquith, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the First World War, and Margot Asquith who was responsible for 'Puffin' as his family nickname. He was educated at Winchester College and Balliol College, Oxford.

The film industry was viewed as disreputable when Asquith was young, and according to the actor Jonathan Cecil, a family friend, Asquith entered his profession in order to escape his background. At the end of the 1920s he began his career with the direction of four silent films the last of which, A Cottage on Dartmoor established his reputation with its meticulous and often emotionally moving frame composition. Pygmalion (1938) was based on the George Bernard Shaw play featuring Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller. He was a longtime friend and colleague of Terence Rattigan (they collaborated on ten films) and producer Anatole de Grunwald. His later films included Rattigan's The Winslow Boy (1948) and The Browning Version (1951), and Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest (1952).

Asquith, an alcoholic, was a charming, gentle man and a closeted homosexual who never married. Asquith died from lymphoma at the age of 65.

Best films

The V.I.P.s (1963)
(Director)
Pygmalion (1939)
(Director)

Usually with

Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Anthony Asquith (50 films)

Display filmography as list

Actor

The Volunteer, 45minutes
Directed by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, War, Documentary
Themes Politique, Transport films, Aviation films, Documentary films about war, Documentary films about historical events, Political films, Documentary films about World War II
Actors Ralph Richardson, Michael Powell, Anna Neagle, Laurence Olivier, Herbert Wilcox, Anthony Asquith
Rating59% 2.995642.995642.995642.995642.99564
L'engagement de l'habilleur d'un acteur de théâtre britannique, qui devient un héros et reçoit la Distinguished Service Medal au Palais de Buckingham.
A Cottage on Dartmoor, 1h28
Directed by Anthony Asquith
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Thriller, Crime
Actors Norah Baring, Hans Adalbert Schlettow, Anthony Asquith
Roles Bespectacled Man in Cinema (uncredited)
Rating75% 3.786253.786253.786253.786253.78625
Joe (Henning) works as a barber in a shop in a Devon town, alongside a manicurist called Sally (Baring). He becomes infatuated with her and asks her out on a date; however the evening turns out awkwardly and it is clear that Sally does not reciprocate Joe's feelings. Despite Sally's lack of interest and through a misunderstanding involving a floral buttonhole, Joe's infatuation with her develops into obsession. Meanwhile a regular client at the salon, young gentleman farmer Harry (Schlettow), begins to woo Sally, who is much more receptive to his attentions. The couple begin seeing each other, and one evening arrange to go to the local cinema. Unknown to them they are stalked by the jealous and overwrought Joe, who sits behind them and is forced to witness their obvious happiness together, eventually rushing out of the cinema in despair.

Director

The Yellow Rolls-Royce, 2h4
Directed by Anthony Asquith
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Romance
Themes Films about sexuality, Transport films, Films about automobiles, Political films, Road movies
Actors Rex Harrison, Jeanne Moreau, Shirley MacLaine, Alain Delon, George C. Scott, Ingrid Bergman
Rating63% 3.198163.198163.198163.198163.19816
On a flatbed lorry driven in the streets of London, a motor car is under a grey cover with the initials RR. The Rolls Royce is first purchased by Charles, Marquess of Frinton (Rex Harrison) as a 10th wedding anniversary present for his French wife, Eloise (Jeanne Moreau). Frinton is Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign Office. The marquess is a longtime horse owner who has his heart set on winning the Ascot Gold Cup. This year his horse, named 10 June (his wedding anniversary date; also the writer Terence Rattigan's birthday) is the favourite and does indeed win. Lord Frinton is presented the Gold Cup by King George V. However, his elation is blighted when he finds his wife with her lover, his underling John Fane (Edmund Purdom), in the back of the Rolls with the shades drawn. For appearance's sake, Lord Frinton will not divorce his wife, but he returns the car.
The V.I.P.s, 1h59
Directed by Anthony Asquith
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Romance
Themes Transport films, Aviation films
Actors Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Louis Jourdan, Maggie Smith, Orson Welles, Rod Taylor
Rating62% 3.149513.149513.149513.149513.14951
The film is set within Terminal 3 of London Heathrow Airport during a fog. As flights are delayed, the VIPs (very important people) of the title play out the drama of their lives in a number of slightly interconnected stories. The delays have caused serious hardship for most of the characters and have plunged some of them into a deep personal or financial crisis.
Guns of Darkness, 1h43
Directed by Anthony Asquith
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Adventure
Actors David Niven, Leslie Caron, James Robertson Justice, David Opatoshu, Eleanor Summerfield, Ian Hunter
Rating60% 3.0482453.0482453.0482453.0482453.048245
Caught in a South American country during a coup, a British couple (Niven and Caron) try and help the former President escape to the border.
Two Living, One Dead, 1h45
Directed by Anthony Asquith
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama
Actors Patrick McGoohan, Virginia McKenna, Bill Travers, Alf Kjellin, Noel Willman, Dorothy Alison
Rating72% 3.615583.615583.615583.615583.61558
Erik Berger (McGoohan) is a reticent, socially withdrawn man who has been working for 20 years in the same Post Office in a Swedish town, not socialising with colleagues and interested only in his wife Helen (McKenna) and son. In contrast his workmate Andersson (Travers) is loud and gregarious, seeing himself as the office joker although his treatment of more junior staff sometimes verges on the malicious.
The Millionairess, 1h30
Directed by Anthony Asquith
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Comedy, Romantic comedy, Romance
Themes Théâtre, Films based on plays, Children's films
Actors Sophia Loren, Peter Sellers, Alastair Sim, Vittorio De Sica, Dennis Price, Gary Raymond
Rating54% 2.7029852.7029852.7029852.7029852.702985
By the terms of her late father's will, spoiled London heiress Epifania Parerga, the richest woman in the world, cannot marry unless her prospective husband is able to turn £500 into £15,000 within a three-month period. When Epifania becomes smitten with Alastair, a muscular tennis player, she rigs the contest by giving him £500 in stock and then buying it back for £15,000. Alastair is unable to live with the domineering Epifania, however, and leaves her for the more domestic Polly Smith.
The Doctor's Dilemma, 1h39
Directed by Anthony Asquith
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama
Themes Théâtre, Films based on plays
Actors Leslie Caron, Dirk Bogarde, Alastair Sim, Robert Morley, Alec McCowen, Terence Alexander
Rating59% 2.953122.953122.953122.953122.95312
À la fin de l'époque victorienne à Londres, l'artiste-peintre Louis Dubedat est atteint de la tuberculose. Sa femme Jennifer, follement amoureuse d'un mari qu'elle idéalise, ne peut se résoudre à le voir disparaître. Elle va demander à l'éminent spécialiste Sir Colenso Ridgeon de tenter le tout pour le tout afin de le sauver. Le docteur a tellement de patients qu'il ne peut traiter en priorité que certains cas extrêmes et Jennifer le convainc (en même temps qu'il est séduit par son charme) en lui présentant des œuvres de son mari en qui le docteur reconnaît un grand artiste. Mais en prenant Louis en charge, le docteur et son équipe découvrent que l'artiste est doublé d'un escroc qui est, de surcroît, bigame, marié à une autre femme qu'il a abandonnée. Le docteur est confronté à un dilemme, entravé, en plus, par les sentiments qu'il éprouve pour Jennifer : soit laisser l'artiste s'éteindre en préservant les illusions de Jennifer, soit tenter de le sauver en dévoilant à celle-ci la bigamie et les autres travers de son mari.
Libel
Libel (1959)
, 1h40
Directed by Anthony Asquith
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama
Actors Dirk Bogarde, Olivia de Havilland, Robert Morley, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Robert Shaw, Anthony Dawson
Rating70% 3.545833.545833.545833.545833.54583
While traveling in London, Jeffrey Buckenham (Massie), a Canadian Second World War veteran, sees Sir Mark Sebastian Loddon (Bogarde) on television leading a tour of his grand family home. Buckenham was held in a German POW camp with Loddon, and while watching him, becomes convinced that he is in fact another former POW, Frank Wellney, an actor (also played by Bogarde). Buckenham publicly announces his suspicion that Wellney murdered Loddon during an escape from the POW camp, and has taken the young baronet's place. Loddon sues Buckenham for libel, but his mind is still battered by some terrible incident that occurred during his escape fifteen years before, and in time even his loyal wife (de Havilland) begins to doubt him.
Orders to Kill, 1h52
Directed by Anthony Asquith
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, War, Thriller, Action, Historical
Themes Political films
Actors Eddie Albert, Lillian Gish, James Robertson Justice, Irene Worth, Philip Bond, Leslie French
Rating70% 3.537933.537933.537933.537933.53793
A young American bomber pilot Gene Summers (Paul Massie) is selected by Maj. Kimball (John Crawford) to go on a mission to Nazi-occupied Paris and there kill a man believed to be a double agent working in the French Resistance. He is picked because of his fluency in French and military experience. Summers receives rigorous training by his handler Maj. MacMahon (Eddie Albert) and a British Naval Commander (James Robertson Justice). Summers is enthusiastic, and remembers all of the information he needs by setting his instructions to melodies of childhood songs.
Carrington V.C., 1h46
Directed by Anthony Asquith
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, War
Themes Théâtre, Films based on plays
Actors David Niven, Margaret Leighton, Allan Cuthbertson, Victor Maddern, Geoffrey Keen, Maurice Denham
Rating68% 3.433093.433093.433093.433093.43309
Major Charles 'Copper' Carrington (David Niven), who has a distinguished World War II record and was awarded the Victoria Cross, is arrested for embezzling £125 from his unit's safe. Other charges include leaving the base and entertaining a woman officer in his room, this being forbidden by the base commander Colonel Henniker (Allan Cuthbertson).
The Young Lovers, 1h36
Directed by Anthony Asquith
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Romance
Themes Politique, Political films
Actors Odile Versois, Theodore Bikel, Joseph Tomelty, David Kossoff, Paul Carpenter, Peter Illing
Rating62% 3.1384753.1384753.1384753.1384753.138475
Ted Hutchens (Knight) is a code expert working in intelligence at the American Embassy in London. On a night out to the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden he meets a young woman named Anna (Versois), and the pair fall immediately in love. The problem is that Anna is the daughter of the Soviet ambassador in London. It is made clear to both that their relationship cannot continue in such a political climate, and their movements are constantly monitored by surveillance units from both sides. However they continue to meet in secret, attempting to outwit both the American and Soviet surveillance services. Eventually, when Anna discovers she is pregnant, the couple decide that their love is stronger than the demands of political exigency, and make their escape together across a stormy English Channel. The film is open-ended, with no indication as to whether or not they succeed.
The Final Test, 1h30
Directed by Anthony Asquith
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama
Themes Sports films, Cricket films
Actors Jack Warner, Jack Warner, Robert Morley, George Relph, Adrianne Allen, Brenda Bruce
Rating65% 3.286323.286323.286323.286323.28632
The film is a comedy drama, set around leading cricketer Sam Palmer's last appearance for England. He desperately wants his son to be there at The Oval to witness this, but the son is more concerned with meeting a leading poet Alexander Whitehead. Whitehead, it turns out, is more interested in cricket. Whitehead takes Reggie along to the match, in time to see Sam get out for a duck.
The Net
The Net (1953)
, 1h26
Directed by Anthony Asquith
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Science fiction
Themes Transport films, Aviation films
Actors James Donald, Phyllis Calvert, Robert Beatty, Herbert Lom, Noel Willman, Maurice Denham
Rating56% 2.8155852.8155852.8155852.8155852.815585
At a secret aviation research station in the English countryside, an international group of scientists are working on the prototype of a revolutionary new aircraft, known as the M7, capable of flying at up to 2,000 miles per hour. The atmosphere is competitive rather than co-operative, with fierce rivalry between the various scientists. The project leader Michael Heathley (Donald) is so wrapped up with the M7 that his wife Lydia (Calvert) feels neglected and that she is being sidelined in favour of her husband's work. At a social gathering she strikes up a conversation with Heathley's colleague Alex Leon (Lom), and the pair are soon circling one another. Meanwhile, Heathley is desperate to test the M7, but is continually stonewalled by facility director Carrington (Maurice Denham).