Kurt at 19:18, 23 January 2023

2023-01-23T19:18:07Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:18, 23 January 2023
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{{Short description\|British film producer}}		{{Short description\|British film producer}}
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=April 2022}}~~
	{{Infobox person		{{Infobox person
	\|name = Betty Box		\|name = Betty Box

Kurt: /* External links */

2022-12-26T22:38:26Z

External links

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:38, 26 December 2022
Line 122:		Line 122:
	==External links==		==External links==
	*{{IMDb name\|0101490}}		*{{IMDb name\|0101490}}
	* {{Screenonline name\|id=479395\|name=Betty Box biography and credits}}		*{{Screenonline name\|id=479395\|name=Betty Box biography and credits}}

	~~{{Authority control~~}}

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Box, Betty}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Box, Betty}}
	[[Category:1915 births]]		[[Category:1915 births]]
	[[Category:1999 deaths]]		[[Category:1999 deaths]]
	~~[[Category:Deaths from cancer in England]]~~
	[[Category:English film producers]]		[[Category:English film producers]]
	[[Category:Golden Globe Award-winning musicians]]		[[Category:Golden Globe Award-winning musicians]]

Kurt: 1 revision imported

2022-10-09T23:38:57Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 18:38, 9 October 2022
(No difference)

en>Little grape: /* Personal life */ rm Marc Sinden puffery

2022-10-04T08:35:49Z

Personal life: rm Marc Sinden puffery

New page

{{Short description|British film producer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Betty Box
|image = Betty_Box_1959.jpg
|caption = Betty Box in 1959
|birth_name = Betty Evelyn Box
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1915|9|25|df=y}}
|birth_place = [[Beckenham]], [[Kent]], England
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1999|1|15|1915|9|25|df=y}}
|death_place = [[Chiltern District|Chiltern]], [[Buckinghamshire]], England
| spouse = [[Peter Rogers]]<br />(m. 1948–1999; her death)
|other_names =
|known_for =
|occupation = [[Film producer]]
|nationality = British
}}
'''Betty Evelyn Box''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|commas=on|OBE}} (25 September 1915 – 15 January 1999) was a prolific British [[film producer]], usually credited as Betty E. Box.

==Early life and career==

Born in [[Beckenham]], Kent, England, she initially planned to be a commercial artist or journalist.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50611106 |title=FEW OTHER WOMEN DO HER JOB. |newspaper=[[The Courier-Mail]] |location=Brisbane |date=20 September 1954 |access-date=17 December 2015 |page=8 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> She entered the motion picture industry in 1942, joining her brother [[Sydney Box|Sydney]] and his wife [[Muriel Box|Muriel]] at [[Verity Films]], where she helped produce more than 200 wartime [[propaganda]] shorts.<ref name="box">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204960423 |title=She Still Governs the Stars. |newspaper=[[The Age]] |location=Melbourne |date=10 February 1951 |access-date=17 December 2015 |page=9 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Box:
<blockquote>Sitting around was no good for me, my brother said, and he asked me to work for him. He was running an organisation that made training and recruitment films. I went along as a general dogsbody, and as more men were called up, there were more opportunities for me. We worked from 7 a.m. until 10 or 11 at night. I learnt more in those two years than I would in ten years in peacetime.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58527447 |title=A BOX OFFICE SUCCESS. |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] | date=11 April 1973 |access-date=17 December 2015 |page=55 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref></blockquote>
Following World War II, she made an easy transition to feature films, beginning with ''[[The Years Between (film)|The Years Between]]'' (1946).

When her brother assumed control of [[Gainsborough Pictures]] that year, he named her Head of Production at the Poole Street, [[Hoxton]] studio, where she produced ten films during the next two years.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51389240 |title=Producers run in Box family. |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] | date=29 March 1947 |access-date=17 December 2015 |page=32 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> While tight budgets and shooting schedules compromised the quality of some of them, others – such as ''[[When the Bough Breaks (1947 film)|When the Bough Breaks]]'' (1947) – proved to be among the most politically interesting films of the period. "Every story I have at the moment has a murder in it", she said in 1947. "It's no wonder I'm being called 'Bloodthirsty Box'."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article26395616 |title=Top-Line British Film Producer Is A Woman. |newspaper=[[The Mercury (Hobart)|The Mercury]] |location=Hobart, Tasmania |date=21 January 1947 |access-date=17 December 2015 |page=10 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> She was also known for the trio of popular ''[[The Huggetts (film series)|Huggetts]]'' films, starting with ''[[Here Come the Huggetts]]'' (1948) and followed by ''[[Vote for Huggett]]'' and ''[[The Huggetts Abroad]]'' (1949).<ref name="box"/>

==The Rank Organisation==
When the Gainsborough studios were closed by [[Rank Organisation|Rank]] in 1949, Box moved to [[Pinewood Studios]], where she collaborated with director [[Ralph Thomas]] on some 30-odd films. They began by making thrillers such as ''[[Venetian Bird]]'' (1952) but then concentrated on comedy.

The biggest success of their career commercially was the seven-film ''[[Doctor Series|Doctor]]'' series, beginning with ''[[Doctor in the House]]'' (1954) and ending with ''[[Doctor in Trouble]]'' (1970).<ref>{{cite news|title=THE LONDON FILM SCENE: Prize-Winning Movie a Problem to Its Producer -- Money-Maker -- Addenda|author=STEPHEN WATTS LONDON|work=New York Times|date=16 May 1954|page=X5}}</ref> The comedies contained a wacky irreverence which clearly struck a chord with contemporary audiences and helped to make stars of the young [[Dirk Bogarde]] and [[Donald Sinden]].<ref name=MorleyS-DBRO>Morley, Sheridan (1999). ''Dirk Bogarde: Rank Outsider''. Bloomsbury (London) (second edition). {{ISBN|978-0-7475-4698-6}}.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58104457 |title=NOW SHE IS BETTY BOX OFFICE. |newspaper=[[The Mail (Adelaide)|The Mail]] |location=Adelaide |date=24 July 1954 |access-date=17 December 2015 |page=6 Supplement: SUNDAY MAGAZINE |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/479395/ |title=BFI Screenonline: Box, Betty (1915-1999) Biography |publisher=Screenonline.org.uk |date=1915-09-25 |access-date=2014-07-04}}</ref>

Towards the end of her career, Box said the genre she preferred was comedy:
<blockquote>You can assess laughter. I get pleasure out of making a movie, but to listen to people laughing at what we have made – this is great. I'm a natural pessimist. Comedies are difficult. You can make a good adventure story if you have the money, good actors, and a good story (more often than not a best-selling book), and you'll know the film will please. Comedy is more of an instinctive thing.<ref name="aww">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article44553170 |title=American is big British movie man. |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] | date=3 December 1952 |access-date=31 October 2015 |page=57 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref></blockquote>

==Personal life==
Betty Box was married to [[Peter Rogers]], producer of the ''[[Carry On films|Carry On]]'' film series, from 24 December 1948 until her death.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55927666 |title=MOVIE MARRIAGES—1. |newspaper=[[The Mail (Adelaide)|The Mail]] |location=Adelaide |date=8 January 1949 |access-date=17 December 2015 |page=2 Supplement: SUNDAY MAGAZINE |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> It was her second marriage; her first, to a pilot during the war, ended in divorce.

Box and Rogers did not have any children; "We made the choice not to have children", said Box in 1973. "I don't think I would have made a very good mother. You know making a movie is like having a baby – it takes eight weeks to film and nine months to
produce."<ref name="aww"/>

Box was awarded the [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]] in 1958.

She died in [[Chiltern District|Chiltern]], [[Buckinghamshire]] aged 83 from cancer in 1999.<ref>[http://www.findmypast.com/BirthsMarriagesDeaths.jsp] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220163304/http://www.findmypast.com/BirthsMarriagesDeaths.jsp |date=February 20, 2009 }}</ref>

A posthumous autobiography ''Lifting the Lid: The Autobiography of Film Producer Betty Box'' was published in 2000.<ref>{{cite book |last=Box |first=Betty Evelyn |date=October 2000 |title=Lifting the Lid: The Autobiography of Film Producer, Betty Box, OBE |publisher=Book Guild Ltd |isbn=978-1-85776-489-5 }}</ref>

==Selected filmography==
===Gainsborough===
{{Div col}}
*''[[29 Acacia Avenue]]'' (1945) (associate producer)
*''[[The Seventh Veil]]'' (1946) (associate producer)
*''[[A Girl in a Million]]'' (1946) (associate producer)
*''[[The Years Between (film)|The Years Between]]'' (1946) (associate producer – uncredited)
*''[[Dear Murderer]]'' (1947)
*''[[The Upturned Glass]]'' (1947) (associate producer)
*''[[When the Bough Breaks (1947 film)|When the Bough Breaks]]'' (1947)
*''[[Here Come the Huggetts]]'' (1948)
*''[[Daybreak (1948 film)|Daybreak]]'' (1948) (associate producer)
*''[[The Blind Goddess (1948 film)|The Blind Goddess]]'' (1948) (executive producer)
*''[[Miranda (1948 film)|Miranda]]'' (1948)
*''[[Vote for Huggett]]'' (1949)
*''[[Marry Me! (1949 film)|Marry Me!]]'' (1949) aka ''I Want to Get Married''
*''[[Christopher Columbus (1949 film)|Christopher Columbus]]'' (1949)
* ''[[It's Not Cricket (1949 film)|It's Not Cricket]]'' (1949)
*''[[The Huggetts Abroad]]'' (1949)
{{div col end}}

===Rank===
{{Div col}}
*''[[Don't Ever Leave Me]]'' (1949)
*''[[So Long at the Fair]]'' (1950)
*''[[The Clouded Yellow]]'' (1950)
*''[[Appointment with Venus (film)|Appointment with Venus]]'' (1951)
*''[[Venetian Bird]]'' (1952) aka ''The Assassin''
*''[[A Day to Remember (1953 film)|A Day To Remember]]'' (1953)
*''[[Mad About Men]]'' (1954)
*''[[Doctor in the House]]'' (1954)
*''[[Doctor at Sea (film)|Doctor at Sea]]'' (1955)
*''[[The Iron Petticoat]]'' (1956)
*''[[Checkpoint (1956 film)|Checkpoint]]'' (1956)
*''[[Doctor at Large (film)|Doctor at Large]]'' (1957)
*''[[Campbell's Kingdom]]'' (1957)
*''[[True as a Turtle]]'' (1957) (uncredited)
*''[[The Wind Cannot Read]]'' (1958)
*''[[A Tale of Two Cities (1958 film)|A Tale of Two Cities]]'' (1958)
*''[[The 39 Steps (1959 film)|The 39 Steps]]'' (1959)
*''[[Upstairs and Downstairs]]'' (1959)
*''[[Conspiracy of Hearts]]'' (1960)
*''[[Doctor in Love]]'' (1960)
*''[[No My Darling Daughter]]'' (1961)
*''[[No Love for Johnnie]]'' (1961)
*''[[A Pair of Briefs]]'' (1961)
*''[[The Wild and the Willing]]'' (1962)
*''[[Doctor in Distress (film)|Doctor in Distress]]'' (1963)
*''[[Hot Enough for June]]'' (1964)
*''[[The High Bright Sun]]'' (1965)
*''[[Doctor in Clover]]'' (1966)
*''[[Deadlier Than the Male]]'' (1967)
*''[[Nobody Runs Forever]]'' (1968)
*''[[Some Girls Do]]'' (1969)
{{div col end}}

===Welbeck Films===
*''[[Doctor in Trouble]]'' (1970)
*''[[Percy (1971 film)|Percy]]'' (1971)
*''[[Anyone for Sex?]]'' (1973) (aka ''The Love Ban'')
*''[[Percy's Progress]]'' (1974)

===Other===
*''[[The Olive Tree (1975 film)|The Olive Tree]]'' (1975) (TV movie)

===Unmade films===
*''Requiem for a Wren'' (1959) – story about World War two from a woman's point of view based on script by [[R. C. Sherriff]]<ref>{{cite news|title=BY WAY OF REPORT: Fox Buyers Eye O'Hara Novel -- Other Items|author=A. H. WEILER|work=New York Times|date=13 July 1958|page=X5}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
''Lifting the Lid'' by Betty Box, published posthumously in 2000, {{ISBN|978-1-85776-489-5}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|0101490}}
* {{Screenonline name|id=479395|name=Betty Box biography and credits}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Box, Betty}}
[[Category:1915 births]]
[[Category:1999 deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in England]]
[[Category:English film producers]]
[[Category:Golden Globe Award-winning musicians]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:People from Beckenham]]
[[Category:20th-century English businesspeople]]

Betty Box - Revision history

Kurt at 19:18, 23 January 2023

Kurt: /* External links */

Kurt: 1 revision imported

en>Little grape: /* Personal life */ rm Marc Sinden puffery