Guy Hamilton
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
Born and raised in France, British director Guy Harrison learned his craft as an assistant director apprenticing with the likes of Julien Duvivier ("Anna Karenina" 1948), Carol Reed ("The Fallen Idol" 1948, "Outcast of the Islands" 1951), Orson Welles ("The Third Man" 1949) and John Huston ("The African Queen" 1951). A competent craftsman, he showed early promise with "Manuela/The The Stowaway Girl" (1957) and "A Touch of Larceny" (1961), both of which he co-scripted. But time revealed him to be at his best with spy movies such as the underrated "Funeral in Berlin" (1966) and his four James Bond pictures. Hamilton helmed the superb "Goldfinger" (1964) and reteamed with Sean Connery's Bond for "Diamonds Are Forever" (1971). In 1973 and 1974, he guided Roger Moore through his paces in Moore's first attempts at playing 007 in "Live and Let Die" and "The Man with the Golden Gun." Hamilton's work in the series demonstrated clearly the director's economy and cynical wit. Following his Bond run, he tackled Agatha Christie, directing two adaptations, "The Mirror Crack'd" (1980), set in contemporary times and featuring Angela Lansbury as Miss Marple, and the period Hercule Poirot mystery "Evil Under the Sun" (1982), which featured dazzling Egyptian locations. Hamilton returned to the action genre with the pleasant, if derivative, "Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins..." (1985), with Fred Ward. For the first time in close to three decades, he co-wrote the script for his final directing project (to date), the comedy "Sauf votre respect/Try This One for Size" (1989).
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Life Events
1939
Apprenticed at Victorine Studios in Nice
1940
First credit, as fourth asssitant director on Julien Duvivier's "Untel pere et fils/The Heart of a Nation"
1940
Served in Royal Navy during WWII
1948
Reteamed with Duvivier as assistant director for Venetian location scenes of "Anna Karenina"
1948
Was assistant director to Carol Reed on "The Fallen Idol"
1950
Served as Orson Welles' AD on "The Third Man"
1951
Assisted John Huston on "The African Queen" and Reed on "Outcast of the Islands"
1952
Feature directing debut, "The Ringer"
1955
First screenplay credit, "The Colditz Story"; also directed
1957
Directed and co-scripted "Manuela", presenting a more penetrating view of sexual attraction than the British cinema usually allowed
1959
Took over "The Devil's Disciple" on short notice from Alexander Mackendrick
1961
Scored with ingenious comedy, "A Touch of Larceny"
1964
Helmed first James Bond film, "Goldfinger"
1971
Directed Sean Connery's return to Bond in "Diamonds Are Forver"
1973
Helmed first of Roger Moore's bond films "Live and Let Die"
1974
Fourth and last Bond picture, "The Man with the Golden Gun"
1980
First of two Agatha Christie adaptations, "The Mirror Crack'd", featuring Angela Lansbury as Miss Marple
1982
Helmed an all-star cast in "Evil Under the Sun", adapted from a Christie Hercule Poirot novel
1985
Directed "Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins...", a bubble-gum action-adventure yarn based on the popular "Destroyer" books by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
1989
Last feature to date, "Try This One For Size"