Stephen B. Grimes was an English production designer

Production designer

In film and television, a production designer is the person responsible for the overall look of a filmed event such as films, TV programs, music videos or adverts. Production designers have one of the key creative roles in the creation of motion pictures and television. Working directly with the...

 and art director

Art director

The art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....

. He won an Academy Award and was nominated for two more in the category Best Art Direction

Academy Award for Best Art Direction

The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...

.

Overview

Stephen B. Grimes started working in the British film industry after the war as a sketch-artist. From the mid 50s to the late 60s, Grimes worked almost exclusively with John Huston

John Huston

John Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...

. Their longer term collaboration resulted in 14 films in over 30 years.

Grimes also had a fruitful long-term working relationship with Sydney Pollack

Sydney Pollack

Sydney Irwin Pollack was an American film director, producer and actor. Pollack studied with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City, where he later taught acting...

, making 7 films with him.

Grimes also worked with directors David Lean

David Lean

Sir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...

, Peter Yates

Peter Yates

Peter James Yates was an English director and producer. He was born in Aldershot, Hampshire.The son of an army officer, he attended Charterhouse School as a boy, graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked for some years as an actor, director and stage manager...

, Mark Rydell

Mark Rydell

Mark Rydell is an American actor, film director and producer.-Career:Rydell's initial training was in music. As a youth, he wanted to be a conductor. He began his career as an actor and first became known for his role as Walt Johnson on The Edge of Night and as Jeff Baker on As the World Turns,...

 and Ulu Grosbard

Ulu Grosbard

Ulu Grosbard is a Belgian-born, naturalized American theatre and film director and film producer.Born in Antwerp, Grosbard emigrated to Havana with his family in 1942. In 1948, they moved to the United States, where he earned Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Chicago...

.

One of his great strengths as a Production Designer was his skill as an artist: in researching and preparing a film he would produce many beautiful, dramatic and atmospheric sketches. These would help the Director and Director of Photography (and other key personnel) to create the visual style and look of a film. Grimes understood the importance of light, space and texture – he put more into his sketches than most art directors – and tended to make sketches as much as or more than take photographs. He was not lavish, he liked the challenge of getting a good visual look with essentials – combining observation and imagination. Grimes was conscientious with high standards and poured himself into his work.

Biography

Stephen B. Grimes was the second of seven children of Leslie and Nancy Grimes. Leslie was an artist and cartoonist. Three of his brothers, Michael Grimes, Bruce Grimes and Colin Grimes also worked in the British film and TV industry as Art Directors or Assistant Art Directors. Colin Grimes (living) sometimes assisted Stephen.

Grimes grew up in Haslemere, Surrey; Peldon in Essex; and Lansdowne Road, Notting Hill Gate, London.
He went to St Martins School of Art, where he met and then married Kathleen Grimes (née Sanders). They had five children. Grimes was in the Army at the tail-end of the war.

Work as sketch artist or draughtsman

After leaving art school Grimes was told that they were employing sketch-artists at Denham Studios. He went along with a portfolio of work and was taken on. Carmen Dillon took him ‘under her wing’ and he also worked alongside Oliver Messel

Oliver Messel

Oliver Hilary Sambourne Messel was an English artist and one of the foremost stage designers of the 20th century....

, Vertchinsky, Paul Sheriff

Paul Sheriff

Paul Sheriff was Russian-born British art director. He won an Academy Award and was nominated for another in the category Best Art Direction.-Selected filmography:...

, Hein Heckroth

Hein Heckroth

German art director Hein Heckroth began his career working with the German national ballet...

, Ivor Beddoes, John Box

John Box

John Allan Hyatt Box OBE, , was a British film production designer and art director. During his career he won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction on four occasions and won its BAFTA equivalent three times, making him the most decorated film designer of all time...

 and Ralph Brinton. From mid 40s to mid 50s Grimes worked as a sketch artist or draughtsman on a variety of films made at Denham and Pinewood Studios

Pinewood Studios

Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...

 including:

• Henry V, 1944 (d: Lawrence Olivier) SG designed the posters
• Caesar and Cleopatra, 1945 (d: Gabriel Pascal) SG sketch artist
• Carnival, 1946 (d: Stanley Haynes) SG draughtsman
• Temptation Harbour, 1946 (d: Lance Comfort) SG sketch artist
• Vice Versa, 1947 (d: Peter Ustinov) SG draughtsman
• Trottie True, 1948 (d: Brian Desmond Hurst)
• The Rocking Horse Winner, 1949 (d: Anthony Pélissier) SG draughtsman
• Give Us This Day, 1949 (d: Edward Dmytryk)
• The Story of Robin Hood and His Merry Men, 1951–52 (d: Ken Annakin) SG sketch artist
• Moulin Rouge, 1952 (d: John Huston) SG copied Toulouse-Lautrec paintings and posters used in the film.
• Crimson Pirate, 1952 (d: Robert Siodmak) SG set-up/sketch artist. Went to Ischia on location.
• Rob Roy the Highland Rogue, 1953 (d: Harold French) SG set-up/continuity sketches
• The Sword and the Rose, 1953 (d: Ken Annakin) SG set-up/continuity sketches
• The Million Pound Note, 1953 (d: Ronald Neame) SG sketch artist
• The Black Knight, 1954 (d: Tay Garnett) SG sketch artist
• Attila the Hun, 1954 (d: Pietro Francesci) SG special effects and matte shots
• Svengali, 1954 (d: Noel Langley) SG copied the paintings of Hildergard Neff
• The Bespoke Overcoat, 1955 (short d: Jack Clayton)
• The Iron Petticoat, 1956 (d: Ralph Thomas)
• Moby Dick, 1956 (d: John Huston) SG: Assistant Art Director – SG’s first screen credit. AD was Ralph Brinton

Work as art director or production designer

• (Typee, 1955 - unrealised film project that was to be directed by John Huston. SG did pre-production and went on trip to Tahiti with JH to scout locations.)
• (The Man Who Would Be King, 1956 – unrealised film project d: John Huston. SG went on location trip with JH to Afghanistan; made many preparatory sketches (and later collaborated on a script in early 60s). This long-time cherished film project of JH’s was originally to star Humphrey Bogart and Clark Gable. Film eventually made by Huston in 1975 with Sean Connery and Michael Caine, but SG not available.)
• (A Farewell to Arms, 1957 (d: Charles Vidor) JH started directing this and SG was associate AD. Huston left the picture, SG stayed on but also didn’t complete it. David O Selznick was the producer.)
• Heaven Knows Mr Allison, 1957 (d: John Huston) Locations in Tobago
• The Roots of Heaven, 1958 (d: John Huston) Locs: Congo
• The Unforgiven, 1959 (d: John Huston) Locs: Durango, Mexico
• (The Boy and the Bridge, 1959 (d: Kevin McClory) SG worked on this but is not credited as AD, maybe he just did sketches? Locs: Tower Bridge, Bermondsey)
• The Misfits, 1961 (d: John Huston). Had to have US AD because of the union situation – so shared credit with William Newberry. Locs: Nevada (near Reno and Dayton)
• (Lawrence of Arabia, 1962 (d: David Lean) SG made some contributions to the art direction but not credited, John Box main PD)
• Freud (or Freud – The Secret Passion), 1962 (d: John Huston). Locs: Vienna, Munich, London
• The List of Adrian Messenger, 1963 (d: John Huston) Locs: mainly Ireland, some London
• The Chalk Garden, 1963 (d: Ronald Neame) Locs: Sussex. Carmen Dillon was AD, SG associate AD
• The Night of the Iguana, 1964 (d: John Huston) Locs: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. SG received AA nomination for the Art Direction
• The Bible, 1966 (d: John Huston) Locs: Rome, Sicily, Sardinia and Egypt
• This Property Is Condemned, 1966 (d: Sydney Pollack)
• Reflections in a Golden Eye, 1967 (d: John Huston). SG also undertook second unit direction Locs: Rome, Italy - prints were specially treated so that the colour appeared washed out and sepia toned
• (Red White and Zero,1967 – a portmanteau films which was shelved (Directors: Peter Brook, Zero Mostel, Tony Richardson)
• Sinful Davey, 1968 (d: John Huston) Locs: Ireland
• (The Madwoman of Chaillot, 1969 (d: Bryan Forbes) The film was begun by John Huston and sets designed by SG before Huston left the production and SG left with him)
• A Walk With Love and Death, 1969 (d: John Huston) Locs: Austria and Italy
• Ryan’s Daughter, 1970 (d: David Lean) Locs: Dingle, Ireland
• (The Last Run, 1971 (d: Richard Fleischer) Film was started by John Huston with SG as AD but Huston walked off the picture and SG left too Locs: Spain
• The Way We Were, 1973 (d: Sydney Pollack) SG received an AA nomination for the Production Design
• The Yakuza, 1974 (d: Sydney Pollack) Locs: Japan. SG undertook second unit direction.
• Three Days of the Condor, 1975 (d: Sydney Pollack) Locs: NY, US
• Independence, 1975 (d: John Huston) 28 minute short made for the American Bicentennial
• Murder by Death, 1976 (d: Robert Moore)
• Bobby Deerfield, 1977 (d: Sydney Pollack) SG also did second unit direction Locs: France, Italy, Switzerland
• Straight Time, 1977 (d: Ulu Grosbard)
• (The Bounty, 1978 (dir: David Lean) unrealised film project, SG undertook preparatory work)
• The Electric Horseman, 1979 (d: Sydney Pollack) Locs: American West and Las Vegas
• Urban Cowboy, 1980 (d: James Bridges)
• True Confessions, 1981 (d: Ulu Grosbard)
• On Golden Pond, 1981 (d: Mark Rydell) Locs: New Hampshire. SG also undertook second unit direction
• Never Say Never Again, 1983 (d: Irving Kershner)
• Krull, 1083 (d: Peter Yates) Locs: Italy, Pinewood
• The Dresser, 1984 (d: Peter Yates)
• Out of Africa, 1985 (d: Sydney Pollack) Locs: Kenya. SG won Academy Award
• The Dead, 1987 (d: John Huston). Locs: mostly shot in an industrial warehouse in LA. 2nd unit in Dublin.
• (preliminary work on Rain Man which was originally to be directed by Sydney Pollack)
• Haunted Summer, 1988 (d: Ivan Passer) Locs: Italy
• (The King’s Whore, 1990 (d: Axel Corti) SG did preparatory work only, was working on the preliminary sketches at the time of his death in Sept 1988.)

Selected filmography

Grimes won an Academy Award for Best Art Direction and was nominated for two more:
Won

• Out of Africa (1985)

Nominated

• The Way We Were
  The Way We Were
  The Way We Were is a 1973 American romantic dramatic film co-starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford, directed by Sydney Pollack. The screenplay by Arthur Laurents was based on his college days at Cornell University and his experiences with the House Un-American Activities Committee.A box...
  
  (1973)
• The Night of the Iguana
  The Night of the Iguana (film)
  The Night of the Iguana is a 1964 film based on the 1961 play The Night of the Iguana by Tennessee Williams. Directed by John Huston, it starred Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, and Deborah Kerr. It won the 1964 Academy Award for Best Costume Design, and was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best...
  
  (1964)

External links