Alexander Walker (critic)

Alexander Walker (23 March 1930 – 15 July 2003) was a film critic, born in Portadown, Northern Ireland. He was educated at Queen's University, Belfast, the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium and the University of Michigan,^[1] and worked for the Birmingham Post in the 1950s, before becoming film critic of the London Evening Standard in 1960, a role he retained until his death in 2003. He was a highly influential figure within the film industry, and also wrote a number of books including one on Stanley Kubrick, a history of the impact made on Hollywood by the rise of the talkies (The Shattered Silents) and a biography of Elizabeth Taylor. His most extensive work is a history of British cinema, spread over three books: Hollywood England, National Heroes and Icons in the Fire.

He assembled a collection of more than 200 drawings and prints by modern artists, which were bequeathed to the British Museum upon his death in 2003. In 1968, he was a member of the jury at the 18th Berlin International Film Festival.^[2]

He is portrayed by Tim Jahn in a film, The Tony Blair Witch Project (2000)., and in the satirical sketch show Not The Nine O'Clock News by Mel Smith.^[3]

Books

• Double Takes - notes and afterthoughts on the movies 1956-1976, Elm Tree Books 1977
• His history of British Film:
  • Hollywood UK – The British Film Industry in the 1960s, New York, Stein and Day 1974
  • National Heroes – British Cinema in the 70s and 80s, London: Harrap 1985
  • Icons in the Fire – the rise and fall of almost everybody in the British film industry 1984-2000, London, Orion Books 2004
• Stanley Kubrick - Director, Norton 1999
• Audrey - her real story, St. Martin's Press 1995
• Bette Davis – a celebration, New York: Applause Theatre Books, 1998
• Dietrich, New York: Harper and Row 1984
• The Celluloid Sacrifice – aspects of sex in the movies, London: Joseph 1966
• Elizabeth - The Life of Elizabeth Taylor, Weidenfeld 1991
• Garbo - A portrait, Macmillan 1980
• Fatal Charm – The Life of Rex Harrison, St. Martin's Press 1993
• Joan Crawford - the ultimate star, Harper and Row 1983
• It's only a movie, Ingrid – encounters on and off the screen, London, Headline 1988
• Peter Sellers - the authorized biography, Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1981
• Vivien - The life of Vivien Leigh, Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1987
• Rudolph Valentino, Stein and Day 1976
• Shattered Silents - how the talkies came to stay, London: Elm Tree Books 1978, New York: Morrow Quill Paperbacks, 1980
• Stanley Kubrick directs, New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich 1972
• Stardom - the Hollywood phenomenon, Stein and Day 1970
• No Bells on Sunday: the Journals of Rachel Roberts (editor), London: Pavilion Books, 1984; New York, Harper & Row 1984

References

1. Obituary:Alexander Walker The Guardian,16 July 2003.Retrieved 15 March 2012.
2. "Berlinale 1968: Juries". berlinale.de. Archived from the original on 29 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
3. Video on YouTube