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	~~{{Short description\|English film director}}~~
	~~{{EngvarB\|date=December 2013}}~~
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=October 2021}}~~
	{{Infobox person		{{Infobox person
	~~\| name = Basil Dearden~~
	\| image = BasilDearden.jpg		\| image = BasilDearden.jpg
	\| caption =		\| caption =
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	*[http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/456049/index.html Screenonline biography]		*[http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/456049/index.html Screenonline biography]
	*[http://www.fandango.com/basildearden/filmography/p87298 Fandango filmography]		*[http://www.fandango.com/basildearden/filmography/p87298 Fandango filmography]

	~~{{Basil Dearden}}~~

	~~{{Authority control}}~~

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Dearden, Basil}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Dearden, Basil}}

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82.7.101.146: /* Filmography */

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Filmography

New page

{{Short description|English film director}}
{{EngvarB|date=December 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Basil Dearden
| image = BasilDearden.jpg
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1911|1|1|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Westcliff-on-Sea]], [[Essex]], England
| height =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1971|3|23|1911|1|1|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Hillingdon]], [[London]], England
| years_active = 1938–1970
| birth_name = Basil Clive Dear
| occupation = Film director
| spouse = Margaret Ward (divorced) [[Melissa Stribling]]
| children = [[James Dearden]], Torquil Dearden
}}
'''Basil Dearden''' (born '''Basil Clive Dear''';<ref>{{cite web|title=Basil Dearden|url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/4707|publisher=[[British Film Institute|BFI]]|access-date=29 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022004137/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/4707|archive-date=22 October 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> 1 January 1911 – 23 March 1971) was an English film director.<ref name=V>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/1967/film/reviews/only-when-i-larf-1200421591/ |title=Only When I Larf |publisher=Variety |date=1967-12-31 |access-date=2014-02-22}}</ref>

==Early life and career==
Dearden was born at 5, Woodfield Road, [[Leigh-on-Sea]], [[Essex]] to Charles James Dear, a steel manufacturer, and his wife, Florence {{nee}} Tripp.<ref>Class: RG14; Piece: 10121; Schedule Number: 79, ''Census Returns of England and Wales'', 1911. The National Archives of the UK.</ref>

===Basil Dean===
Dearden graduated from theatre direction to film, working as an assistant to [[Basil Dean]]. He later changed his own name to Dearden to avoid confusion with his mentor.

He wrote ''[[This Man Is News]]'' (1938), a hugely popular quota quickie<ref>{{cite news |title=Fancy a quickie? |author=Matthew Sweet |author-link=Matthew Sweet (writer) |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=2 January 2007 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/jan/02/features.features11}}</ref> and wrote and directed a film for TV ''Under Suspicion'' (1939).

He was assistant director on ''[[Penny Paradise]]'' (1938), produced by Dean and directed by [[Carol Reed]], and two George Formby comedies directed by Anthony Kimmins: ''[[George Takes the Air]]'' (1938), produced by Dean, and ''[[Come on George!]]'' (1939).

Dearden was promoted to associate producer on two more George Formby films, which he also co-wrote: ''[[To Hell with Hitler]]'' (1940) aka ''Let George Do It'' and ''[[Spare a Copper]]'' (1940).

Dearden went over to Ealing Studios where he produced ''[[The Ghost of St. Michael's]]'' (1941) with Will Hay, then he produced ''[[Turned Out Nice Again]]'' (1941) with George Formby.

==Director==
===Ealing Studios===
He first began working as a director at [[Ealing Studios]], co-directing comedy films with [[Will Hay]], starting with ''[[Black Sheep of Whitehall]]'' (1942). This was followed by ''[[The Goose Steps Out]]'' (1942) and ''[[My Learned Friend]]'' (1943), which was Hay's last movie.

Dearden's first solo director credit was ''[[The Bells Go Down]]'' (1943), a wartime movie with Tommy Trinder. It was produced by [[Michael Relph]] who would form a notable collaboration with Dearden.

Dearden also directed ''[[The Halfway House]]'' (1944), a drama set in wales, and wrote and directed ''[[They Came to a City]]'' (1944), based on a play by J.B Priestley.

Dearden worked on the influential chiller compendium ''[[Dead of Night]]'' (1945) and directed the linking narrative and the "Hearse Driver" segment.

He also directed ''[[The Captive Heart]]'' (1946) starring [[Michael Redgrave]], which was a big hit. The film was entered into the 1946 [[Cannes Film Festival]]. He directed ''[[Frieda (film)|Frieda]]'' (1947) with [[Mai Zetterling]] and produced by Relph, which was also popular.

Dearden directed ''[[Saraband for Dead Lovers]]'' (1948) an expensive costume picture that was not a large success.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article35773904 |title=Britain To Double Film Production |newspaper=[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)]] |volume=89 |issue=27526 |location=South Australia |date=26 December 1946 |access-date=2 June 2018 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> He wrote and directed a segment of ''[[Train of Events]]'' (1949).

''[[The Blue Lamp]]'' (1950), probably the most frequently shown of Dearden's Ealing films, is a police drama which first introduced audiences to PC George Dixon, later resurrected for the long-running ''[[Dixon of Dock Green]]'' television series. It was hugely popular.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18193224 |title=Critics Praise Drama: Comedians Win Profits. |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |location=NSW |date=29 December 1950 |access-date=7 January 2015 |page=3 }} at [[National Library of Australia#Trove|Trove]]</ref>

Less so were ''[[Cage of Gold]]'' (1950), a drama with [[Jean Simmons]]; ''[[Pool of London (film)|Pool of London]]'' (1951), a crime film with a black lead, very rare for the time; and ''[[I Believe in You (film)|I Believe in You]]'' (1952), a drama which he also wrote and produced.

Dearden made ''[[The Gentle Gunman]]'' (1952), an IRA thriller with Dirk Bogarde; ''[[The Square Ring]]'' (1953), a boxing film with Jack Warner; ''[[The Rainbow Jacket]]'' (1954), a horse racing drama; and ''[[Out of the Clouds]]'' (1955), set at an airport.

He did a war film which he also wrote, ''[[The Ship That Died of Shame]]'' (1955) then a comedy with Benny Hill, ''[[Who Done It? (1956 film)|Who Done It?]]'' (1956).

Dearden did some uncredited directing on ''[[The Green Man (film)|The Green Man]]'' (1956) then made an Ealing style comedy for British Lion ''[[The Smallest Show on Earth]]'' (1957).

For Rank he made ''[[Violent Playground]]'' (1958) with Stanley Baker. He did some uncredited directing on one of Ealing's last films, ''[[Nowhere to Go (1958 film)|Nowhere to Go]]'' (1958). He also produced ''[[Davy (film)|Davy]]'' (1958), with Harry Secombe, for Ealing.

===Social Justice Movies===
Dearden and [[Michael Relph]] made a series of films on subjects generally not tackled by British cinema in this era starting with ''[[Sapphire (1959 film)|Sapphire]]'' (1959), a thriller about race relations that
proved popular.<ref>{{Cite thesis|url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/42604873.pdf| page=375|year=1985|publisher=University of York|title=CLASS, SEXUALITY AND THE*BRITISH CINEMA 1956-63|first=William John|last=Hill}}</ref>

Dearden and Relph helped set up [[Allied Film Makers]] for whom they made ''[[The League of Gentlemen (film)|The League of Gentlemen]]'' (1960), a cynical comedy that was very popular.<ref>[http://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/jbctv.2012.0079 Sally Dux, 'Allied Film Makers: Crime, Comedy and Social Concern', ''Journal of British Cinema and Television'' 2012 9:2, 198-213]</ref>

Dearden directed episodes of ''[[The Four Just Men (TV series)|The Four Just Men]]'' on TV and produced two films directed by Michael Relph: ''[[Mad Little Island]]'' (1958) and ''[[Desert Mice]]'' (1959).

For Allied, Dearden directed ''[[Man in the Moon (film)|Man in the Moon]]'' (1960), a science fiction comedy with [[Kenneth More]] that lost money. ''[[The Secret Partner]]'' (1961) was a thriller for MGM starring [[Stewart Granger]].

Dearden directed ''[[Victim (1961 film)|Victim]]'' (1961) with [[Dirk Bogarde]] for Allied; a thriller about homosexuality, it was a huge success.

However, his next few movies were not popular: ''[[All Night Long (1962 film)|All Night Long]]'' (1961), an adaptation of ''Othello''; ''[[Life for Ruth]]'' (1962), for Allied, which dealt with religious objections to operations.; ''[[A Place to Go]]'' (1964), for Bryanston Films, a thriller not released for two years; and ''[[The Mind Benders (1963 film)|The Mind Benders]]'' (1963) a science fiction with Dirk Bogarde.

===Later films===
Dearden and Relph then made two films for release by United Artists: ''[[Woman of Straw]]'' (1964) starring [[Sean Connery]]; and ''[[Masquerade (1965 film)|Masquerade]]'' (1965) with [[Cliff Robertson]]. He was then hired to replace Lewis Gilbert as director of ''[[Khartoum (film)|Khartoum]]'' (1966), with [[Charlton Heston]] and [[Laurence Olivier]].<ref>Basil Dearden
The Guardian (1959-2003); London (UK) [London (UK)]25 Mar 1971: 5.</ref>

Two films were then made for release by Paramount: ''[[Only When I Larf (film)|Only When I Larf]]'' (1968) and the [[Edwardian era]] black comedy ''[[The Assassination Bureau]]'' (1969), again with Michael Relph; it was the 25th film they had made together.<ref>The survival bureau. Malcolm, Derek. The Guardian 19 March 1969: 8.</ref>

His last film was ''[[The Man Who Haunted Himself]]'' (1970), which he wrote and directed, starring [[Roger Moore]], made for [[EMI Films]]. With Moore, Dearden made three episodes of the television series ''[[The Persuaders!]]'': ''Overture'', ''Powerswitch'' and ''To the Death, Baby''.

He had two sons, Torquil Dearden and the screenwriter and director [[James Dearden]].<ref>British Film Director, Crash Victim: Basil Dearden. ''The Washington Post and Times-Herald'' (1959-1973); Washington, D.C. [Washington, D.C]25 Mar 1971: B7.</ref>

==Death==
Dearden died on 23 March 1971 at [[Hillingdon Hospital]], London after being involved in a road accident on the [[M4 motorway]] near [[Heathrow Airport]], in which he suffered multiple injuries.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Burton |first1=Alan |last2=O'Sullivan |first2=Tim |date=2009 |title=The Cinema of Basil Dearden and Michael Relph |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CXDdTR62pd4C&q=%22basil+dearden%22+%22Hillingdon%22&pg=PR17 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press Ltd |page=xvii |isbn=978-0-7486-3289-3 |access-date=14 February 2015}}</ref> His death was coincidentally foreshadowed in his final film, which opens with a sequence in which Roger Moore's character almost dies in a car accident after driving recklessly at high speed along the M4.

==Reputation==
The film critic [[David Thomson (film critic)|David Thomson]] does not hold Dearden in high regard. He writes: "Dearden's films are decent, empty and plodding and his association with Michael Relph is a fair representative of the British preference for bureaucratic cinema. It stands for the underlining of obvious meaning".<ref>[[David Thomson (film critic)|David Thomson]] ''[[The New Biographical Dictionary of Film]]'', London: Little, Brown, 2002, p.213</ref>

More positively, for Brian McFarlane, the [[Australia]]n writer on film: "Dearden's films offer, among other rewards, a fascinating barometer of public taste at its most nearly consensual over three decades".<ref>Brian McFarlane (ed.) ''The Encyclopedia of British Film'', 2003, London: Methuen/BFI, p.168</ref>

Regular Ealing cinematographer [[Douglas Slocombe]] enjoyed working with Dearden personally, describing him as the 'most competent' of the directors he worked with at Ealing.<ref name="BurtonO'Sullivan2009 Competent">{{cite book|author1=Alan Burton|author2=Tim O'Sullivan|title=The Cinema of Basil Dearden and Michael Relph|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CXDdTR62pd4C&pg=PA9|year=2009|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|isbn=978-0-7486-3289-3|page=9}}</ref>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Title
!width=65| Director
!width=65| Writer
!width=65| Producer
! Notes
|-
| 1938
| ''[[This Man Is News]]''
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 1940
| ''[[Let George Do It!]]''
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes|Associate}}
|
|-
| ''[[Spare a Copper]]''
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes|Associate}}
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 1941
| ''[[The Ghost of St. Michael's]]''
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes|Associate}}
|
|-
| ''[[Turned Out Nice Again]]''
| {{no}}
| {{yes|Uncredited}}
| {{yes|Associate}}
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 1942
| ''[[The Black Sheep of Whitehall]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| Co-Directed with [[Will Hay]]
|-
| ''[[The Goose Steps Out]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| Co-Directed with Will Hay
|-
|rowspan=2| 1943
| ''[[The Bells Go Down]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
| ''[[My Learned Friend]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| Co-Directed with Will Hay
|-
|rowspan=2| 1944
| ''[[The Halfway House]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
| ''[[They Came to a City]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
| 1945
| ''[[Dead of Night]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| Co-Directed with [[Alberto Cavalcanti]], [[Charles Crichton]] and [[Robert Hamer]] Directed Segments: ''Hearse Driver'' and ''Linking Narrative''
|-
| 1946
| ''[[The Captive Heart]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| Nominated - [[Palme d'Or]]
|-
| 1947
| ''[[Frieda (film)|Frieda]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
| 1948
| ''[[Saraband for Dead Lovers]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
| 1949
| ''[[Train of Events]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| Co-Directed with [[Sidney Cole]] and Charles Crichton Directed Segments: ''The Prisoner-of-War'' and ''The Actor''
|-
|rowspan=2| 1950
| ''[[The Blue Lamp]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| Nominated - [[Golden Lion]]
|-
| ''[[Cage of Gold]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
| 1951
| ''[[Pool of London (film)|Pool of London]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 1952
| ''[[I Believe in You (film)|I Believe in You]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|
|-
| ''[[The Gentle Gunman]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
| 1953
| ''[[The Square Ring]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes|Uncredited}}
|
|-
| 1954
| ''[[The Rainbow Jacket]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| Nominated - [[Golden Shell]]
|-
|rowspan=2| 1955
| ''[[The Ship That Died of Shame]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes|Uncredited}}
|
|-
| ''[[Out of the Clouds]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 1956
| ''[[Who Done It? (1956 film)|Who Done It?]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes|Uncredited}}
|
|-
| ''[[The Green Man (film)|The Green Man]]''
| {{yes|Uncredited}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| [[Robert Day (director)|Robert Day]] credited as Sole Director
|-
|rowspan=3| 1957
| ''[[The Smallest Show on Earth]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
| ''[[Rockets Galore! (film)|Rockets Galore!]]''
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
|
|-
| ''[[Davy (film)|Davy]]''
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
|
|-
| 1958
| ''[[Violent Playground]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 1959
| ''[[Sapphire (film)|Sapphire]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| [[BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film]] Nominated - [[BAFTA Award for Best Film]] Nominated - [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director]]
|-
| ''[[Desert Mice]]''
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
|
|-
| 1959-60
| ''[[The Four Just Men (TV series)|The Four Just Men]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| TV Series: 13 Episodes
|-
|rowspan=2| 1960
| ''[[The League of Gentlemen (film)|The League of Gentlemen]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
| ''[[Man in the Moon (film)|Man in the Moon]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{yes|Uncredited}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 1961
| ''[[Victim (1961 film)|Victim]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| Nominated - [[Golden Lion]]
|-
| ''[[The Secret Partner]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 1962
| ''[[All Night Long (1962 film)|All Night Long]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes|Uncredited}}
|
|-
| ''[[Life for Ruth]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 1963
| ''[[A Place to Go]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
| ''[[The Mind Benders (1963 film)|The Mind Benders]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
| 1964
| ''[[Woman of Straw]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
| 1965
| ''[[Masquerade (1965 film)|Masquerade]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
| 1966
| ''[[Khartoum (film)|Khartoum]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
| 1968
| ''[[Only When I Larf (film)|Only When I Larf]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
| 1969
| ''[[The Assassination Bureau]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
| 1970
| ''[[The Man Who Haunted Himself]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
| 1971
| ''[[The Persuaders!]]''
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| TV Series: 3 Episodes
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|213136}}
*[http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1727-eclipse-series-25-basil-dearden-s-london-underground Criterion Collection Essay]
*[http://www.filmreference.com/Directors-Co-Du/Dearden-Basil.html Film Reference biography]
*[http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/456049/index.html Screenonline biography]
*[http://www.fandango.com/basildearden/filmography/p87298 Fandango filmography]

{{Basil Dearden}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dearden, Basil}}
[[Category:1911 births]]
[[Category:1971 deaths]]
[[Category:English film directors]]
[[Category:English film producers]]
[[Category:English male screenwriters]]
[[Category:English television directors]]
[[Category:People from Westcliff-on-Sea]]
[[Category:Road incident deaths in London]]
[[Category:20th-century English screenwriters]]
[[Category:20th-century English male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century English businesspeople]]

Basil Dearden - Revision history

Kurt: Redirected page to w:Basil Dearden

Kurt at 15:50, 12 March 2023

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82.7.101.146: /* Filmography */