Anthony Havelock-Allan(1904-2003)
- Producer
- Writer
- Production Manager
Anthony Havelock-Allan produced some of the best known and critically
acclaimed films of British cinema, including
In Which We Serve (1942),
Brief Encounter (1945),
Blithe Spirit (1945) and
Great Expectations (1946). The
films were commercial triumphs for Two Cities and Cineguild production
companies, making Havelock-Allan one of the most influential producers
in the British film industry. He is also remembered for two films he
made starring his then-wife
Valerie Hobson: the melodrama
Blanche Fury (1948) and
The Hideout (1948), which
introduced Howard Keel to the screen.
Born at Blackwell Manor, Darlington, England, Havelock-Allan was educated at Charterhouse. Having turned down a career in the army he worked as a stockbroker and nightclub manager before becoming a casting director. In the early 1930s he spent two years producing "quota quickies", low-budget, quickly-made films--often in six days or less--made for Paramount-British in order to satisfy a British government requirement that a certain percentage of films shown in Britain had to be made in Britain. While these "quickies" were made for little money and varied greatly in quality, they did provide a valuable training ground for directors such as Michael Powell and such cameramen Ronald Neame (later to become a top director). Many of them also featured then unknown actors, such as Rex Harrison and Margaret Rutherford. In 1942 he produced one of the most famous of all flag-waving war films: Noël Coward's In Which We Serve (1942), co-directed by Coward with David Lean. The naval epic was a thinly disguised saga of the maritime exploits of Lord Louis Mountbatten and included definitive performances from Bernard Miles, Celia Johnson and John Mills. A year later he formed the creative partnership of Cineguild Productions with Noel Coward, David Lean and Ronald Neame, which made This Happy Breed (1944), Blithe Spirit (1945) and Brief Encounter (1945), an adaptation of Coward's play "Still Life". Cineguild broke up in 1949 and Havelock-Allan formed Constellation Films, an independent production company financed by the Rank Organisation. With that company he made Paul Gallico's Never Take No for an Answer (1951).
In 1960 Havelock-Allan and Lord Brabourne formed British Home Entertainment, which sought to introduce pay-TV into Britain. The company was sold in 1969 after the closure of a trial service. Havelock-Allan's later films included Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet (1968) and David Lean's Ryan's Daughter (1970).
Born at Blackwell Manor, Darlington, England, Havelock-Allan was educated at Charterhouse. Having turned down a career in the army he worked as a stockbroker and nightclub manager before becoming a casting director. In the early 1930s he spent two years producing "quota quickies", low-budget, quickly-made films--often in six days or less--made for Paramount-British in order to satisfy a British government requirement that a certain percentage of films shown in Britain had to be made in Britain. While these "quickies" were made for little money and varied greatly in quality, they did provide a valuable training ground for directors such as Michael Powell and such cameramen Ronald Neame (later to become a top director). Many of them also featured then unknown actors, such as Rex Harrison and Margaret Rutherford. In 1942 he produced one of the most famous of all flag-waving war films: Noël Coward's In Which We Serve (1942), co-directed by Coward with David Lean. The naval epic was a thinly disguised saga of the maritime exploits of Lord Louis Mountbatten and included definitive performances from Bernard Miles, Celia Johnson and John Mills. A year later he formed the creative partnership of Cineguild Productions with Noel Coward, David Lean and Ronald Neame, which made This Happy Breed (1944), Blithe Spirit (1945) and Brief Encounter (1945), an adaptation of Coward's play "Still Life". Cineguild broke up in 1949 and Havelock-Allan formed Constellation Films, an independent production company financed by the Rank Organisation. With that company he made Paul Gallico's Never Take No for an Answer (1951).
In 1960 Havelock-Allan and Lord Brabourne formed British Home Entertainment, which sought to introduce pay-TV into Britain. The company was sold in 1969 after the closure of a trial service. Havelock-Allan's later films included Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet (1968) and David Lean's Ryan's Daughter (1970).
