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Post by teleadm on Sept 8, 2018 14:26:48 GMT
While going through what famous people that was born today, a load of them that I've never heard of, I noticed a name that was familiar, and that was Alexander Mackendrick. Alexander Mackendrick, his name might sound unfamiliar but some of his movies are very familiar.  He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and later moved to Scotland. He began making television commercials before moving into post-production editing and directing films, most notably for Ealing Studios. After his first American film his career as a director declined (He had a fall-out with Burt Lancaster) and he became a teacher of film making at CalArts in California. He later resigned and became a professor instead (sounds strange but maybe that is the normal way in America) His philosophy about actors: "I think the directors who are insensitive to the performers are really bad directors" Down Memory Lane with the very few movies he directed:  Whisky Galore aka Tight Little Island 1949  The Man in the White Suit 1951  Mandy aka Crash of Silence 1952  The Maggie aka High and Dry 1954  The Ladykillers 1955  The Sweet Smell of Success 1957  Sammy Going South aka A Boy Ten Feet Tall 1963  A High Wind in Jamaica 1965  Don't Make Waves 1967 And that was all he ever directed to completion.  Thanks for watching! |
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Post by mattgarth on Sept 8, 2018 15:00:14 GMT
And thanks for posting, Tele.
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Post by wmcclain on Sept 8, 2018 15:09:30 GMT
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Post by wmcclain on Sept 8, 2018 15:10:28 GMT
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Post by BATouttaheck on Sept 8, 2018 15:17:50 GMT
Mighty good movies they were too !   and thanks again teleadm well done ! |
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Post by kijii on Sept 8, 2018 16:56:20 GMT
teleadm--
Thanks for this thread. I have enjoyed several of his movies without connecting them to the name Alexander MacKendrick:
Crash of Silence (1952) Mandy (original title)
looks like it may be interesting.
I hope I can find it and play it.
High and Dry (1954) The 'Maggie'
and
A Boy Ten Feet Tall (1963) Sammy Going South
also look promising.
I love
Whisky Galore (1949)
The Man in the White Suit (1951)
The Ladykillers (1955)
and
Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
Many of these have been nominated for BAFTA Awards.
They should really feature his movies on FilmStruck since they are starting to feature movies by Director.
I actually looked to see if they had already, but they haven't.
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Post by petrolino on Sept 8, 2018 20:49:03 GMT
He made two great films with Tony Curtis a decade apart, 'The Sweet Smell Of Success' (1957) and 'Don't Make Waves' (1967) which features an electric title song by The Byrds.
'The Sweet Smell Of Success' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." This was in 1993. Sadly, Alexander Mackendrick passed away in December 1993 having struggled with emphysema. |
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Post by london777 on Sept 9, 2018 2:15:57 GMT
And that was all he ever directed to completion. Nine titles, One of them an all-time masterpiece. I have not seen "Don't Make Waves" so I cannot speak for that, but all of the other seven are good to very good. Has any director (excluding those like Laughton who only made one, or very few, movies) ever maintained such a high standard? I once blind-dated a girl who claimed to be the daughter of an eminent film director. No idea if it was true, but she was in showbiz herself (a fire-eater in a circus). She was reluctant to say who it was, but when pressed (metaphorically) she said "John Mackenzie". "Wow", I replied, "He is a wonderful director. Sweet Smell of Success is one of my favorite films!" Needless to say, that relationship did not proceed much further. I had not been educated by this board back then. |
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Post by petrolino on Sept 9, 2018 2:18:26 GMT
And that was all he ever directed to completion. Nine titles. One of them an all-time masterpiece. I have not seen "Don't Make Waves" so I cannot speak for that, but all of the other seven are good to very good. Has any director (excluding those like Laughton who only made one, or very few, movies) ever maintained such a high standard? I once blind-dated a girl who claimed to be the daughter of an eminent film director. No idea if it was true, but she was in showbiz herself (a fire-eater in a circus). She was reluctant to say who it was, but when pressed (metaphorically) she said "John Mackenzie". "Wow', I replied, "He is a wonderful director. Sweet Smell of Success is one of my favorite films!" Needless to say, that relationship did not proceed much further. I had not been educated by this board back then.
'Unman Wittering And Zigo' (1971) is a brilliant John Mackenzie film. Please somebody release it to dvd.
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Post by OldAussie on Sept 9, 2018 2:43:45 GMT
'Unman Wittering And Zigo' (1971) is a brilliant John Mackenzie film. Please somebody release it to dvd.
Wow, haven't heard of this one for many years. Yes, give it a dvd. |
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Post by teleadm on Oct 5, 2018 19:16:09 GMT
And that was all he ever directed to completion. Nine titles, One of them an all-time masterpiece. I have not seen "Don't Make Waves" so I cannot speak for that, but all of the other seven are good to very good. Has any director (excluding those like Laughton who only made one, or very few, movies) ever maintained such a high standard? I once blind-dated a girl who claimed to be the daughter of an eminent film director. No idea if it was true, but she was in showbiz herself (a fire-eater in a circus). She was reluctant to say who it was, but when pressed (metaphorically) she said "John Mackenzie". "Wow", I replied, "He is a wonderful director. Sweet Smell of Success is one of my favorite films!" Needless to say, that relationship did not proceed much further. I had not been educated by this board back then. It suddenly hit me "Has any director (excluding those like Laughton who only made one, or very few, movies) ever maintained such a high standard?" Maybe Segio Leone? |
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Post by london777 on Oct 6, 2018 1:44:38 GMT
Thanks for drawing my attention to Sergio Leone. I always assumed that before he burst on the scene with his influential spaghetti westerns he had enjoyed a long career in Italy making sword & sandal epics and other trash. And so he did, but not as a director, but as a writer and assistant director. So he has only eight full directorial credits. The first "The Colossus of Rhodes" a forgettable historical fantasy, and the last three segments of a collaborative documentary. So his reputation really rests on only six features. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) is my favorite western, but I am the guy who does not like westerns, so that might not be an unalloyed compliment. Once Upon a Time in America (1984) was spoiled by the ending for me. His other westerns I found entertaining, and I realize they were enormously influential, but I cannot regard them as serious works of art. If I knew as much about film history as other contributors here, I might know how they influenced (for the good) other non-western movies, but I don't. Just being influential does not cut it for me. I am not a film historian, just a simple punter parting with a few dollars to be entertained and hopefully have my brain cells stimulated. |
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