Leslie Arliss
Leslie Arliss (6 October 1901, London – 30 December 1987, Jersey, Channel Islands) was an English screenwriter and director. He is best known for his work on the Gainsborough melodramas directing films such as The Man in Grey and The Wicked Lady. during the 1940s. He was not the son of George and Florence Arliss as has sometimes been reported erroneously. HIs parents were, in fact, Charles Sawforde Arliss and Annie Eleanor Lilian Barnett Hill (known as Nina in later years).
Career
Arliss started his professional career as a journalist. Later he branched out into being a critic. During the 1920s he entered the film industry as a screenwriter, and author of short stories. In 1941 he became a director, initially for Associated British, but soon changing to the Gainsborough Pictures. Later he worked for the Alexander Korda-British Lion Film Corporation. His last works for cinema were a number of short films in the mid/late 1950s, two of which (Dearth of a Salesman, Insomnia Is Good for You) featured a young Peter Sellers before he became a major film star in the 1960s. The films were thought lost, but have been recently rediscovered and are due to be shown at the Southend Film Festival in May 2014. He later directed several series of television programmes.
Films for which he was a screenwriter
- The Farmer's Wife - 1928 (uncredited)
- Tonight's the Night - 1932
- Strip! Strip! Hooray!!! - 1932 (short : also lyricist for songs)
- Josser on the River - 1933
- The Innocents of Chicago - 1932
- Holiday Lovers - 1932
- Road House - 1934
- Orders is Orders - 1934
- My Old Dutch -1934
- Jack Ahoy - 1934
- Heat Wave - 1935
- Windbag the Sailor - 1936
- Rhodes of Africa - 1936
- All In - 1936
- Everybody Dance - 1936
- Where There's a Will - 1936 (story)
- Good Morning, Boys - 1937
- Said O'Reilly to McNab - 1937
- Too Dangerous to Live - 1939
- Come on George! - 1939
- The Second Mr Bush- 1940
- Pastor Hall - 1940
- For Freedom - 1940
- Bulldog Sees it Through - 1940
- South American George - 1941
- The Foreman Went to France - 1942
- The Saint Meets the Tiger - 1943
- Top of the Form - 1953
- The Wicked Lady - 1983
Films for which he was both director and screenwriter
- The Farmer's Wife - 1941
- The Night has Eyes - 1942
- The Man in Grey - 1943
- Love Story - 1944
- The Wicked Lady - 1945
- A Man About the House - 1947
- Idol of Paris - 1948 (Director only)
- Saints and Sinners - 1949 (Also Producer)
- The Woman's Angle (1952)
- Miss Tulip stays the Night - 1955
- See How They Run - 1955
Films for which he was a director
- Man with a Dog (short) (1957)
- Dearth of a Salesman (short) (1957)
- Insomnia Is Good for You (short) (1957)
- Danger List (short) (1959)
Television work
- The New Adventures of Charlie Chan - 1957 Directed 15 episodes
- Sailor of Fortune - 1955-6 Directed 3 episodes
- The Buccaneers -1956-57 Directed 9 episodes
- The Invisible Man -1958 Wrote or co-wrote 4 episodes
References
- "Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies" - 14th edition - published by Harper Collins - ISBN 0-06-093507-3
- BFI Screenonline: Leslie Arliss Biography by Laurence Napier (see external link)
- Directors in British and Irish Cinema : A Reference Companion by Robert Murphy -2006 -BFI publishing- ISBN 9781844571260
External links
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