- Maurice Elvey
-
Maurice Elvey Born 11 November 1887
Stockton-on-Tees, EnglandDied 28 August 1967 (aged 79)
Brighton, EnglandOccupation Film director Years active 1913 - 1958 Maurice Elvey (11 November 1887 – 28 August 1967) was the most prolific film director in British history.[1] He directed nearly 200 films between 1913 and 1957. During the silent film era he directed as many as twenty films per year.[2]
Born William Seward Folkard in Stockton-on-Tees, Elvey began his career as an actor at the age of 17. He quickly rose to directing and producing plays and established his own theatrical company before switching to films with The Great Gold Robbery in 1913. He directed a wide array of popular features in a variety of genres, including comedy, drama, literary adaptations – including Robert Louis Stevenson's The Suicide Club (1914) and a version of William Shakespeare's As You Like It entitled Love in a Wood (1916) – and biographical profiles of such luminaries as Florence Nightingale and Lord Nelson. The Life Story of David Lloyd George, suppressed for political reasons just prior to its release in 1918, had its world premiere in Cardiff in May 1996 and was hailed by critics and film historians as one of the best silent films produced in the UK.
In 1921, Elvey directed 16 shorts and one full-length feature film (The Hound of the Baskervilles) with Ellie Norwood as Sherlock Holmes. The actor was Arthur Conan Doyle's favorite among those who portrayed his literary sleuth.[3]
Elvey worked with such performers as Leslie Howard, Gracie Fields, Claude Rains, Alastair Sim, Leslie Banks, and Fay Wray, and mentored future directors Carol Reed and David Lean. In 1944, he was charmed by Petula Clark when he saw her perform at the Royal Albert Hall, and he launched her film career by casting her as a precocious waif in his wartime drama Medal for the General. The two collaborated on three additional films.
Elvey was married three times, to actress Philippa Preston, sculptor Florence Hill Clarke, and actress Isobel Elsom, whom he met on the set of The Wandering Jew in 1923. The couple went on to make eight films together.
The loss of an eye and failing health prompted Elvey's retirement at the age of 70. Ten years later he died in Brighton.
Selected filmography
- Maria Marten (1913)
- Honeymoon for Three (1915)
- The Gay Lord Quex (1917)
- Hindle Wakes (1918)
- Adam Bede (1918)
- Nelson (1918)
- The Life Story of David Lloyd George (1918/1996)
- Comradeship (1919)
- Mr Wu (1919)
- The Elusive Pimpernel (1919)
- The Amateur Gentleman (1920)
- Dick Turpin's Ride to York (1922)
- Guy Fawkes (1923)
- The Passionate Friends (1923)
- Henry, King of Navarre (1924)
- Folly of Vanity (1924)
- My Husband's Wives (1924)
- Mademoiselle from Armentieres (1926)
- Hindle Wakes (1927)
- Quinneys (1927)
- Balaclava (1928)
- You Know What Sailors Are (1928)
- High Treason (1929)
- School for Scandal (1930)
- In a Monastery Garden (1932)
- The Lodger (1932)
- Frail Women (1932)
- This Week of Grace (1933)
- The Lost Chord (1933)
- I Lived with You (1933)
- Heat Wave (1935)
- The Clairvoyant (1935)
- The Tunnel (1935)
- Spy of Napoleon (1936)
- Man in the Mirror (1936)
- Change for a Sovereign (1937)
- A Romance in Flanders (1937)
- Melody and Romance (1937)
- Who Killed John Savage? (1937)
- The Return of the Frog (1938)
- Who Goes Next? (1938)
- Lightning Conductor (1938)
- Sword of Honour (1939)
- A People Eternal (1939)
- Sons of the Sea (1939)
- Room for Two (1940)
- For Freedom (1940)
- The Spider (1940)
- Goofer Trouble (1940)
- Under Your Hat (1940)
- Salute John Citizen (1942)
- The Gentle Sex (1943)
- The Lamp Still Burns (1943)
- Medal for the General (1944)
- Strawberry Roan (1945)
- Beware of Pity (1946)
- The Third Visitor (1951)
- The Late Edwina Black (1951)
- My Wife's Lodger (1952)
- The Great Game (1953)
- Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary? (1953)
- House of Blackmail (1953)
- What Every Woman Wants (1954)
- The Happiness of Three Women (1954)
- The Harassed Hero (1954)
- The Gay Dog (1954)
- You Lucky People (1955)
- Room in the House (1955)
- Fun at St. Fanny's (1956)
- Dry Rot (1956)
- Stars in Your Eyes (1956)
- Second Fiddle (1957)
References
- ^ "Maurice Elvey". Britmovie.co.uk. http://www.britmovie.co.uk/directors/Maurice-Elvey. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
- ^ "Maurice Elvey credits". Screenonline.org.uk. http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/449112/credits.html. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
- ^ "Maurice Elvey". Britishpictures.com. http://www.britishpictures.com/stars/Elvey.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
External links
The films of Maurice Elvey 1910s Popsy Wopsy (1913) • Maria Marten (1913) • The White Feather (1914) • Her Luck in London (1914) • The Loss of the Birkenhead (1914) • The Idol of Paris (1914) • The Suicide Club (1914) • Honeymoon for Three (1915) • There's Good in Everyone (1915) • Gilbert Dying to Die (1915) • Home (1915) • Her Nameless Child (1915) • Love in a Wood (1915) • From Shopgirl to Duchess (1915) • Gilbert Gets Tiger-Itis (1915) • Midshipman Easy (1915) • Fine Feathers (1915) • Florence Nightingale (1915) • A Will of Her Own (1915) • Charity Ann (1915) • When Knights Were Bold (1916) • Driven (1916) • Mother Love (1916) • Meg the Lady (1916) • Esther (1916) • Trouble for Nothing (1916) • Vice Versa (1916) • The Princess of Happy Chance (1916) • The King's Daughter (1916) • The Woman Who Was Nothing (1917) • The Grit of a Jew (1917) • Smith (1917) • Justice (1917) • The Gay Lord Quex (1917) • Flames (1917) • Mary Girl (1917) • The Life Story of David Lloyd George (1918) • Hindle Wakes (1918) • Nelson (1918) • The Greatest Wish in the World (1918) • Goodbye (1918) • Adam Bede (1918) • Comradeship (1919) • God's Good Man (1919) • Mr. Wu (1919) • The Elusive Pimpernel (1919) • Quinneys (1919) • The Rocks of Valpre (1919) • Keeper of the Door (1919) • The Swindler (1919) • Dombey and Son (1919)1920s The Tavern Knight (1920) • The Victory Leaders (1920) • A Question of Trust (1920) • At the Villa Rose (1920) • The Hundredth Chance (1920) • The Amateur Gentleman (1920) • Bleak House (1920) • Innocent (1921) • The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1921) • A Gentleman of France (1921) • A Romance of Wastdale (1921) • The Fruitful Vine (1921) • Dick Turpin's Ride to York (1922) • A Debt of Honour (1922) • Running Water (1922) • Man and His Kingdom (1922) • The Hound of the Baskervilles (1922) • Don Quixote (1923) • Guy Fawkes (1923) • The Royal Oak (1923) • The Wandering Jew (1923) • The Sign of Four (1923) • The Passionate Friends (1923)• Sally Bishop (1924) • Henry, King of Navarre (1924) • Slaves of Destiny (1924) • The Love Story of Aliette Brunton (1924) • My Husband's Wives (1924) • Folly of Vanity (1924) • Curlytop (1924) • She Wolves (1925) • Every Man's Wife (1925) • The Woman Tempted (1926) • The Flag Lieutenant (1926) • Human Law (1927) • Roses of Picardy (1927) • Hindle Wakes (1927) • The Flight Commander (1927) • Quinneys (1927) • Mademoiselle Parley Voo (1928) • Balaclava (1928) • Mademoiselle from Armentieres (1928)• Palais de danse (1928) • You Know What Sailors Are (1928) • The Glad Eye (1929) • High Treason (1929)1930s School for Scandal (1930) • Potiphar's Wife (1931) • Sally in Our Alley (1931) • A Honeymoon Adventure (1931) • Frail Women (1932) • The Marriage Bond (1932) • The Water Gipsies (1932) • Diamond Cut Diamond (1932) • The Lodger (1932) • The Lost Chord (1933) • I Lived with You (1933) • This Week of Grace (1933) • The Wandering Jew (1933) • Lily of Killarney (1934) • Love, Life and Laughter (1934) • Princess Charming (1934) • Soldiers of the King (1934) • My Song for You (1934) • Road House (1934) • In a Monastery Garden (1935) • Heat Wave (1935) • The Clairvoyant (1935) • The Tunnel (1935) • Spy of Napoleon (1936) • Man in the Mirror (1936) • A Romance in Flanders (1937) • Change for a Sovereign (1937) • Who Killed John Savage? (1937) • Melody and Romance (1937) • Lightning Conductor (1938) • Who Goes Next? (1938) • The Return of the Frog (1938) • A People Eternal (1939) • Sword of Honour (1939) • Sons of the Sea (1939)1940s Under Your Hat (1940) • The Spider (1940) • For Freedom (1940) • Room for Two (1940) • Salute John Citizen (1942) • The Lamp Still Burns (1943) • Strawberry Roan (1944) • Medal for the General (1944) • Beware of Pity (1946)1950s The Third Visitor (1951) • The Late Edwina Black (1951) • My Wife's Lodger (1952) • The Great Game (1953) • Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary? (1953) • The Harassed Hero (1954) • The Happiness of Three Women (1954) • What Every Woman Wants (1954) • The Gay Dog (1954) • You Lucky People (1955) • Room in the House (1955) • Fun at St. Fanny's (1956) House of Blackmail (1956) • Dry Rot (1956) • Second Fiddle (1957) • Stars in Your Eyes (1957)Categories:- 1887 births
- 1967 deaths
- British film directors
- British film producers
- British screenwriters
- People from Stockton-on-Tees
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