Charles Ainslie Crichton For his final film, the acclaimed comedy A Fish Called Wanda (1988), Crichton was nominated for both the Academy Award for Best Director and the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (along with the film's star John Cleese).

Life and career

Early years and education

Crichton, one of six children, was born on 6 August 1910 in Wallasey, Cheshire, England. He was educated at Oundle School in Northamptonshire, followed by New College at the University of Oxford where he read history.

He also directed Peter Sellers in The Battle of the Sexes (1959). but he quit after clashing with Burt Lancaster. Crichton was then replaced by John Frankenheimer. Crichton was also planning another film project with Sammy Davis Jr., but it never came to fruition due to the death of a producer involved with it.

Crichton moved to directing television shows, then corporate videos. The latter were through John Cleese's company Video Arts. This led Cleese to propose Crichton returning to the crime comedy film genre. Beginning in 1983, Cleese and Crichton worked together on the story for A Fish Called Wanda. Cleese wrote the screenplay. When the film went into production in 1987, Cleese had to act as stand-by director for insurance reasons since Crichton was 77 years old. Cleese said of working with Crichton as a stand-by director: "That was a subterfuge. I knew the studio would be worried about Charlie's age. I don't know anything about how to direct, but that doesn't stop one-half of the directors. I simply prayed that Charlie would be on the set every morning. He shoots in such a way to convey the essence of every scene. He's economical. He's a dear man who's terrified of showing off. If he says anything shrewd or insightful, he'll apologize for a minute so he won't be considered pompous."

Personal life and death

In 1936, Crichton married Vera Harman-Mills, and together they had two sons, David and Nicholas. Nicholas became an eminent judge and reformer in UK family law. Crichton married his second wife, Nadine Haze, in 1962, and their marriage lasted until his death. He died on 14 September 1999 in South Kensington, London, at the age of 89.

Filmography

Feature films

{| class="wikitable"

! Year

! Title

!width=65| Director

!width=65| Writer

! Notes

|-

| 1944

| For Those in Peril

|

|

|

|-

|rowspan=2| 1945

| Dead of Night

|

|

| Co-Directed with Alberto Cavalcanti, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer<br>Directed Segment: The Golfer's Story

|-

| Painted Boats

|

|

|

|-

| 1947

| Hue and Cry

|

|

|

|-

|rowspan=2| 1948

| Against the Wind

|

|

|

|-

| Another Shore

|

|

|

|-

| 1949

| Train of Events

|

|

| Co-Directed with Sidney Cole and Basil Dearden<br>Directed Segment: The Composer

|-

| 1950

| Dance Hall

|

|

|

|-

| 1951

| The Lavender Hill Mob

|

|

| Nominated – Golden Lion<br>Nominated – Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film

|-

| 1952

| Hunted

|

|

|

|-

| 1953

| The Titfield Thunderbolt

|

|

|

|-

|rowspan=2| 1954

| The Love Lottery

|

|

|

|-

| The Divided Heart

|

|

|

|-

| 1957

| Man in the Sky

|

|

|

|-

| 1958

| Law and Disorder

|

|

|

|-

|rowspan=2| 1959

| Floods of Fear

|

|

|

|-

| The Battle of the Sexes

|

|

|

|-

| 1960

| The Boy Who Stole a Million

|

|

|

|-

| 1964

| The Third Secret

|

|

|

|-

| 1965

| He Who Rides a Tiger

|

|

|

|-

| 1988

| A Fish Called Wanda

|

|

| Nominated – Academy Award for Best Director<br>Nominated – Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay<br>Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Film<br>Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Direction<br>Nominated – Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film<br>Nominated – Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay

|}

Television

  • Danger Man
  • Man in a Suitcase
  • The Avengers (five episodes)
  • The Adventures of Black Beauty
  • Space: 1999
  • The Professionals
  • The Adventurer
  • Strange Report
  • Dick Turpin
  • Return of the Saint (The Poppy Chain)

See also

  • List of Academy Award winners and nominees from Great Britain

References

  • BECTU interview of Crichton conducted by Sid Cole and Alan Lawton (1987) reproduced on the BFI screenonline website