Peter Collinson (film director)
Encyclopedia
Peter Collinson was a British
film director
probably best known for directing the 1969 movie The Italian Job
.
, Lincolnshire
in 1936. His parents, an actress and a musician, separated when he was two years old; he was raised by his grandparents. From ages eight to 14 he attended the Actor's Orphanage in Chertsey
, Surrey
where he had the chance to write and act in many plays. Noel Coward
, who was president of the orphanage at the time, became his godfather and helped him to obtain jobs in the entertainment industry.
In 1954 he was called up for national service
and served two years in Malaya
during the Malayan Emergency
.
and directing for ATV
at Elstree studios where he met Michael Klinger
who would offer him the director role on his first film, The Penthouse. Collinson also worked with Telefís Éireann
, the Republic of Ireland
's national TV station, and in 1963 he won a Jacob's Award for his production, The Bomb.
to the United States
in the mid-1970s.
Although Collinson was lauded as a talented director, he was also known as a rather sadistic authoritarian towards his actors. He directed William Holden
and Rick Schroder
in the 1980 movie The Earthling and was said to have driven the young child actor to tears on numerous occasions. It was during filming that Collinson discovered he was terminally ill.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
probably best known for directing the 1969 movie The Italian Job
The Italian Job
The Italian Job is a 1969 British caper film, written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley and directed by Peter Collinson. Subsequent television showings and releases on video have established it as an institution in the United Kingdom....
.
Early life
Peter Collinson was born in CleethorpesCleethorpes
Cleethorpes is a town and unparished area in North East Lincolnshire, England, situated on the estuary of the Humber. It has a population of 31,853 and is a seaside resort.- History :...
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
in 1936. His parents, an actress and a musician, separated when he was two years old; he was raised by his grandparents. From ages eight to 14 he attended the Actor's Orphanage in Chertsey
Chertsey
Chertsey is a town in Surrey, England, on the River Thames and its tributary rivers such as the River Bourne. It can be accessed by road from junction 11 of the M25 London orbital motorway. It shares borders with Staines, Laleham, Shepperton, Addlestone, Woking, Thorpe and Egham...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
where he had the chance to write and act in many plays. Noel Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
, who was president of the orphanage at the time, became his godfather and helped him to obtain jobs in the entertainment industry.
In 1954 he was called up for national service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
and served two years in Malaya
Federation of Malaya
The Federation of Malaya is the name given to a federation of 11 states that existed from 31 January 1948 until 16 September 1963. The Federation became independent on 31 August 1957...
during the Malayan Emergency
Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency was a guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army , the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948 to 1960....
.
Career
His early television work included time as a floor manager for the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and directing for ATV
Associated TeleVision
Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982...
at Elstree studios where he met Michael Klinger
Michael Klinger (producer)
Michael Klinger was a British film producer.Klinger was born in London. His father was a Polish-born tailor. Klinger was initially the owner of a strip club, but began a business association with Tony Tenser in 1960 after they had met following a publicity stunt organised by Tenser at a cinema he...
who would offer him the director role on his first film, The Penthouse. Collinson also worked with Telefís Éireann
RTÉ One
RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...
, the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
's national TV station, and in 1963 he won a Jacob's Award for his production, The Bomb.
Personal life
He emigrated with his wife Hazel and family from the UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the mid-1970s.
Although Collinson was lauded as a talented director, he was also known as a rather sadistic authoritarian towards his actors. He directed William Holden
William Holden
William Holden was an American actor. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954 and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974...
and Rick Schroder
Rick Schroder
Richard Bartlett "Rick" Schroder, Jr. is an American actor and film director.He debuted in the 1979 hit film The Champ, going on to become a child star on the sitcom Silver Spoons...
in the 1980 movie The Earthling and was said to have driven the young child actor to tears on numerous occasions. It was during filming that Collinson discovered he was terminally ill.
Filmography
- The Penthouse (1967)
- Up the JunctionUp the Junction (1968 film)Up the Junction is a 1968 British film directed by Peter Collinson and starring Dennis Waterman, Suzy Kendall, Adrienne Posta, Maureen Lipman and Liz Fraser. It is based on the book of the same name by Nell Dunn and was adapted by Roger Smith...
(1968) - The Long Day's DyingThe Long Day's DyingThe Long Day's Dying is a 1968 war film directed by Peter Collinson and starring David Hemmings. It was listed to compete at the 1968 Cannes Film Festival, but the festival was cancelled due to the events of May 1968 in France.-Cast:...
(1968) - The Italian JobThe Italian JobThe Italian Job is a 1969 British caper film, written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley and directed by Peter Collinson. Subsequent television showings and releases on video have established it as an institution in the United Kingdom....
(1969) - You Can't Win 'Em AllYou Can't Win 'Em AllYou Can't Win 'Em All is a 1970 war film, written by Leo Gordon and directed by Peter Collinson, starring Tony Curtis and Charles Bronson as two American soldiers in 1922 Turkey who protect the three daughters of a Turkish governor while thwarting an Turkish army colonel's attempt to take gold on...
(1970) - FrightFright (film)Fright is a 1971 British thriller film starring Susan George, Ian Bannen and Honor Blackman.-Plot:Young babysitter Amanda arrives at the Lloyd residence to spend the evening looking after their young son. Soon after the Lloyds leave, a series of frightening occurrences in the gloomy old house have...
(1971) - Straight on Till MorningStraight on Till MorningStraight on Till Morning is a 1972 British thriller film directed by Peter Collinson and starring Rita Tushingham, Shane Briant, James Bolam, Katya Wyeth and John Clive. A reserved young woman finds herself attracted to a handsome stranger, unaware of his psychotic tendencies...
(1972) - Innocent BystandersInnocent Bystanders (film)Innocent Bystanders is a 1972 spy thriller directed by Peter Collinson. It stars Stanley Baker and Geraldine Chaplin. The screenplay was written by James Mitchell based on his 1969 novel of the same name...
(1972) - The Man Called NoonThe Man Called NoonThe Man Called Noon is a 1973 film directed by Peter Collinson. It stars Richard Crenna and Stephen Boyd. It is based on a 1970 Louis L'Amour novel of the same name.-Cast:*Richard Crenna as Noon - an amnesiac gunfighter...
(1973) - Open SeasonOpen Season (1974 film)Open Season is a 1974 film directed by Peter Collinson. It stars Peter Fonda, John Phillip Law, William Holden and Cornelia Sharpe. The film was shot in both Spain and in England with parts of those countries used as the American backwoods...
(1974) - And Then There Were NoneAnd Then There Were None (1974 film)And Then There Were None is a 1974 film version of the Agatha Christie mystery novel of the same name. Two previous theatrical adaptations were released in 1945 and 1965, and a videotaped made-for-television version was broadcast in 1959...
(1974) - The Spiral StaircaseThe Spiral Staircase (1975 film)The Spiral Staircase is a 1975 British film directed by Peter Collinson. It is a remake of the 1945 film The Spiral Staircase.-Cast:* Jacqueline Bisset as Helen Mallory* Christopher Plummer as Dr. Joe Sherman* John Phillip Law as Steven Sherman...
(1975) - Target of an AssassinTarget of an AssassinTarget of an Assassin is a 1976 film directed by Peter Collinson. It stars Anthony Quinn and John Phillip Law. Target of an Assassin was completed in South Africa in 1976 as Tigers Don't Cry, but was not put into general American release for nearly nine years...
(1976) - The Sell OutThe Sell OutThe Sell Out is a 1976 film directed by Peter Collinson that was filmed in Israel. It stars Oliver Reed and Richard Widmark.-Plot:The CIA, the KGB and the Mossad scheme to eliminate Gabriel Lee, a former CIA Agent who defected to the Soviet Bloc but left Eastern Europe to travel to Isreal. He seeks...
(1976) - Tomorrow Never ComesTomorrow Never Comes (film)Tomorrow Never Comes is a 1978 British-Canadian crime film directed by Peter Collinson and starring Oliver Reed and Susan George.-Cast:*Oliver Reed as Jim Wilson*Susan George as Janie*Raymond Burr as Burke*John Ireland as Captain...
(1978) - The House on Garibaldi Street (1979)
- The EarthlingThe EarthlingThe Earthling is a drama film starring William Holden and Rick Schroder. It was filmed in 1979 in Australia, and released there in 1980. Peter Collinson directed this film and died of cancer shortly after its release...
(1980)
External links
- Collinson interview http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19670927/PEOPLE/709270301/1023