Jack Lee (film director)
Encyclopedia
Jack Lee was a film director, writer, editor and producer.
Wilfred John Raymond Lee was born in the village of Slad
near Stroud
in Gloucestershire
. Among his films are The Wooden Horse
(1950), a Second World War film; A Town Like Alice
(1956), starring Virginia McKenna
and Peter Finch
, based on Nevil Shute
's novel
; and Robbery Under Arms
(1957), a Western
-style adventure set in Australia
, based on the 1888 novel by "Rolf Boldrewood". He served as chairman (1976–1981) of the South Australian Film Corporation
, which started the careers of Bruce Beresford
and Peter Weir
.
Jack Lee was the eldest brother of Laurie Lee
, author of Cider with Rosie
, but the two were never on good terms. The rivalry may have started when Jack was sent to grammar school
(Marling School
in Stroud), an advantage not granted to Laurie. He was married two times, in 1946 to Nora Dawson (née Nora Francisca Blackburne
) (21 April 1914 – 7 July 2009) after her divorce from Adam Alexander Dawson
, and in 1963 to Isabel Kidman, and had two children. He returned frequently to England but spent the rest of his life in Australia
, and died in Sydney
in 2002.
Wilfred John Raymond Lee was born in the village of Slad
Slad
Slad is a village in Gloucestershire, England, located in the Slad Valley, about from the town of Stroud.Slad is famous for being the home of Laurie Lee, who based his book Cider with Rosie on his own life in the village....
near Stroud
Stroud, Gloucestershire
Stroud is a market town and civil parish in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District.Situated below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills at the meeting point of the Five Valleys, the town is noted for its steep streets and cafe culture...
in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
. Among his films are The Wooden Horse
The Wooden Horse
The Wooden Horse is a 1950 British Second World War war film starring Leo Genn, Anthony Steel and David Tomlinson and directed by Jack Lee. It is based on the book of the same name by Eric Williams, who also wrote the screenplay....
(1950), a Second World War film; A Town Like Alice
A Town Like Alice (film)
A Town Like Alice is a 1956 British drama film, based on the novel by Nevil Shute and with Virginia McKenna and Peter Finch in the leading roles. The film does not follow the whole novel, concluding at the end of Part Two of the book, and many plot details are truncated or omitted...
(1956), starring Virginia McKenna
Virginia McKenna
Virginia A. McKenna OBE is a British stage and screen actress, author and wildlife campaigner.-Early career:McKenna trained as an actress at the Central School of Speech and Drama then worked on stage in London's West End theatres before making her motion picture debut in 1952...
and Peter Finch
Peter Finch
Peter Finch was a British-born Australian actor. He is best remembered for his role as "crazed" television anchorman Howard Beale in the film Network, which earned him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor, his fifth Best Actor award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and a...
, based on Nevil Shute
Nevil Shute
Nevil Shute Norway was a popular British-Australian novelist and a successful aeronautical engineer. He used his full name in his engineering career, and 'Nevil Shute' as his pen name, in order to protect his engineering career from any potential negative publicity in connection with his novels.-...
's novel
A Town Like Alice
A Town Like Alice is a novel by the British author Nevil Shute about a young Englishwoman in Malaya during World War II and in outback Australia post-war....
; and Robbery Under Arms
Robbery Under Arms (1957 film)
Robbery Under Arms is a 1957 British crime film directed by Jack Lee and starring Peter Finch, Ronald Lewis, Laurence Naismith and Jill Ireland. It is based on the Australian novel Robbery Under Arms by Thomas Alexander Browne...
(1957), a Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
-style adventure set in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, based on the 1888 novel by "Rolf Boldrewood". He served as chairman (1976–1981) of the South Australian Film Corporation
South Australian Film Corporation
South Australian Film Corporation is a South Australian Government statutory corporation established in 1972. Former State Premier Don Dunstan played an instrumental role in the foundation of the Corporation and its early film production activities....
, which started the careers of Bruce Beresford
Bruce Beresford
Bruce Beresford is an Australian film director who has made more than 30 feature films over a 40-year career.-Early life:...
and Peter Weir
Peter Weir
Peter Lindsay Weir, AM is an Australian film director. After playing a leading role in the Australian New Wave cinema with his films such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Last Wave and Gallipoli, Weir directed a diverse group of American and international films—many of them major box office...
.
Jack Lee was the eldest brother of Laurie Lee
Laurie Lee
Laurence Edward Alan "Laurie" Lee, MBE was an English poet, novelist, and screenwriter, raised in the village of Slad, and went to Marling School, Gloucestershire. His most famous work was an autobiographical trilogy which consisted of Cider with Rosie , As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning and...
, author of Cider with Rosie
Cider with Rosie
Cider with Rosie is a 1959 book by Laurie Lee . It is the first book of a trilogy that continues with As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning and A Moment of War...
, but the two were never on good terms. The rivalry may have started when Jack was sent to grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
(Marling School
Marling School
Marling School is a grammar school for boys located in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England, next to its sister school, Stroud High School. It is on the Cainscross Road, the main route out of Stroud towards the M5....
in Stroud), an advantage not granted to Laurie. He was married two times, in 1946 to Nora Dawson (née Nora Francisca Blackburne
Nora Francisca Blackburne
Nora Lee was a Casting Director.Nora Francisca Blackburne was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina daughter of a banker John Devereaux Blackburne and Francisca Magaria Lopez. Nora was educated at South Hampstead High School and then RADA...
) (21 April 1914 – 7 July 2009) after her divorce from Adam Alexander Dawson
Adam Alexander Dawson
Adam Dawson was a noted film editor.Adam Alexander Dawson was born at 33 Royal Terrace, Edinburgh, son of Alexander Bashall Dawson and Aileen Twentyman Smithers...
, and in 1963 to Isabel Kidman, and had two children. He returned frequently to England but spent the rest of his life in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and died in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in 2002.