Carol Reed

Director

About

Also Known As

Sir Carol Reed

Birth Place

London, England, GB

Born

December 30, 1906

Died

April 25, 1976

Biography

Reed began his film career in 1927 as an assistant to Edgar Wallace at British Lion films, supervising the adaptation of Wallace's works into film. After a spell as dialogue director and assistant director for Basil Dean, he had an early directing credit of his own with "Midshipman Easy/Men of the Sea" (1936).Reed soon earned a reputation for his finely observed portrayals of working-cla...

Filmography

The Public Eye (1972)

The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)

Director

The Running Man (1963)

Director

Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)

Director

Photos & Videos

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Flap (1970) -- (Movie Clip) Holy Last Resting Place

Flap (1970) -- (Movie Clip) Us Indians Only Got One Speed

Family & Companions

Diana Wynyard

Wife

Actor. Married 1943, divorced 1947.

Penelope Dudley Ward

Wife

Married 1948.

Notes

Knighted 1952 for services to British film industry

Biography

Reed soon earned a reputation for his finely observed portrayals of working-class life, such as "Bank Holiday" (1938), "The Stars Look Down" (1939)--the film which established Reed as a major director--and "Kipps" (1941), adapted from the novel by H.G. Wells. He also earned attention for "Night Train to Munich" (1940), a wartime comedy-thriller which borrowed heavily--but creditably--from Hitchcock's "The Lady Vanishes." (Both films were written by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat.) These early features confirmed Reed as a capable craftsman with a sharp eye for detail, an unpretentious style and a knack for extracting fine performances from his actors.

During WWII, Reed worked as a director for the Army Kinematograph Service and directed the acclaimed propaganda feature, "The Way Ahead" (1944), starring David Niven. He also co-directed, with Garson Kanin, "The True Glory" (1945), an Oscar-winning documentary compiled from footage shot by Allied army cameramen.

Reed hit his peak in the post-war years with a string of features which remain landmarks in English film history. These began with "Odd Man Out" (1947), a superb hunt drama which follows a wounded Irish revolutionary (James Mason) through the final encounters of his life. The success of "Odd Man Out" led to a contract with Alexander Korda, for whom Reed made five films, beginning with "The Fallen Idol" (1948). A superbly crafted thriller which turns on a child's misconception of adult emotional entanglements, it was followed in 1949 by the director's acknowledged masterpiece, "The Third Man." Justly regarded as the finest of the many films to have been adapted from the works of Graham Greene, this atmospheric thriller made superb use of its postwar Viennese locations and featured fine performances from Joseph Cotten, Trevor Howard and Orson Welles.

After his excellent but unjustly neglected "An Outcast of the Islands" (1951), Reed found his critical reputation taking a somewhat downward turn in the 1950s and early 60s, when he turned out a number of more expensive, but less meticulously crafted productions such as the Hollywood-made "Trapeze" (1958) and "The Agony and the Ecstasy" (1965). His fortunes revived with "Oliver!" (1968), an exuberant musical version of Dickens's "Oliver Twist" which won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.

Reed's first marriage (1943-47) was to the distinguished stage and screen actress Diana Wynyard; he married another actress, Penelope Dudley Ward, in 1948. He was knighted in 1952 for his services to the British film industry.

Filmography

Life Events

1927

Began film career, assisting Edgar Wallace at British Lion Films

1935

Began directing his own films, beginning with the romance "It Happened in Paris" and the Napoleonic War-set drama "Midshipman Easy/Men of the Sea"

1936

Directed Edmund Gwenn and Cedric Hardwicke in "Laburnum Grove"

1937

Helmed the comedy "Who's Your Lady Friend?"; directed and co-scripted the forgettable melodrama "Talk of the Devil"

1938

Won notice with "Bank Holiday", an ambitious episodic portrait of working class Britain

1939

Helmed "The Stars Looked Down", a gripping tale of Welsh coalminers starring Michael Redgrave and Margaret Lockwood

1939

Directed Lockwood in "A Girl Must Live", a drama about a young woman who goes from a proper prep school to a chorus

1941

Was the director of the suspense-filled drama "Night Train to Munich", starring Lockwood and Rex Harrison

1941

Directed wife Diana Wynyard and Michael Redgrave in "Kipps", based on H.G. Wells' novel about a shopkeeper who rises above his social standing through an inheritance

1942

Helmed the biopic "The Young Mr. Pitt", starring Robert Donat as the British Prime Minister elected at age 24

1947

Won accclaim for his feature "Odd Man Out", an affecting drama about a rebel Irish leader (James Mason)

1949

Produced and directed his seminal work, "The Third Man", a mystery starring Orson Welles, Trevor Howard and Joseph Cotten, based on the novel by Graham Greene

1951

Helmed a harrowing adaptation of Joseph Conrad's "An Outcast of the Islands", set in the exotic jungles of Malaysia and starring Trevor Howard and Robert Morley

1952

Knighted by King George VI

1953

Directed "The Man Between", a post-World War II Berlin-set drama starring James Mason

1955

Helmed "A Kid For Two Farthings", a fable about a young boy in London's Jewish ghetto who keeps a sickly goat with one horn as his magical unicorn

1956

Directed Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis and Gina Lollobrigida in "Trapeze"

1958

Helmed "The Key", a World War II-set romantic drama starring William Holden and Sophia Loren

1960

Directed second adaptation of a Graham Greene novel, the spy comedy "Our Man in Havana", starring Alec Guinness

1963

Helmed the crime drama "The Running Man", starring Laurence Harvey as the titular fugitive who fakes his death in order to collect insurance money

1965

Directed "The Agony and the Ecstasy", starring Charlton Heston as Michelangelo conflicting with Rex Harrison's Pope Julius II over the Sistine Chapel

1968

Helmed "Oliver!", a musical based on the Dickens classic "Oliver Twist"; won an Oscar for his work

1970

Was director of "Flap", a comedic look at the plight of modern Native Americans

1972

Directed last feature, "Follow Me"

1999

"The Third Man" named best British film of all time by the British Film Institute

Photo Collections

The Third Man - Pressbook

Here is the campaign book (pressbook) for The Third Man (1949). Pressbooks were sent to exhibitors and theater owners to aid them in publicizing the film's run in their theater.

The Fallen Idol - Movie Poster

Here is the 1-sheet movie poster from the American release of the British film The Fallen Idol (1948), starring Ralph Richardson. One-sheets measured 27x41 inches, and were the poster style most commonly used in theaters.

The Third Man - Lobby Card Set

Here is a set of Lobby Cards from The Third Man (1949). Lobby Cards were 11" x 14" posters that came in sets of 8. As the name implies, they were most often displayed in movie theater lobbies, to advertise current or coming attractions.

Odd Man Out - Movie Poster

Here is the American one-sheet movie poster for the British film Odd Man Out (1947), directed by Carol Reed. One-sheets measured 27x41 inches, and were the poster style most commonly used in theaters.

The Man Between - Movie Poster

Here is the American one-sheet movie poster for Carol Reed's The Man Between (1953), starring James Mason and Claire Bloom. One-sheets measured 27x41 inches, and were the poster style most commonly used in theaters.