Michael Anderson

London-born 'Michael Anderson' (qv) began his career in films as an office boy at Elstree studios. By 1938, he had progressed up the ladder to become assistant director for distinguished film makers 'Noël Coward' (qv), 'David Lean' (qv) and 'Anthony Asquith' (qv). Shortly after, during wartime with the Royal Signals Corps (Army Kinematograph Service), Anderson made the acquaintance of 'Peter Ustinov' (qv). Upon demobilisation, the 24-year old up-and-coming director secured the release from the military of his 'favourite corporal' and mentor to work as first assistant on _Secret Flight (1946)_ (qv) and _Vice Versa (1948)_ (qv). For Ustinov's third venture, _Private Angelo (1949)_ (qv), Anderson both co-directed and co-wrote the screenplay, but the picture that first put him on the map was to be the patriotic wartime drama _The Dam Busters (1955)_ (qv), based on true events. Britain's most successful film of 1955, in turn, led to Anderson being hired by 'Mike Todd' (qv) to direct the all-star blockbuster _Around the World in 80 Days (1956)_ (qv). A hugely popular box-office hit and winner of five Academy 'Awards' (qv), it elevated Anderson into the realm of more ambitious international productions.His strong visual style -- in no small way complemented by a fruitful and long-standing collaboration with the cinematographer 'Erwin Hillier' (qv) -- became ideally suited for suspenseful thrillers and action subjects like _Chase a Crooked Shadow (1958)_ (qv), the sub-Hitchcockian psychological whodunnit _The Naked Edge (1961)_ (qv) or the underrated maritime drama _The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959)_ (qv) (based on a novel by 'Hammond Innes' (qv) and originally intended for 'Alfred Hitchcock' (qv) who went on to do _North by Northwest (1959)_ (qv) instead). Another little gem is the intricately plotted spy thriller _The Quiller Memorandum (1966)_ (qv), tautly directed and noteworthy for supremely well captured Berlin exteriors (a familiarity which stemmed from Anderson having spent some of his early childhood in Berlin and Hillier having worked at Ufa in the 20s before collaborating on 'Fritz Lang' (qv)'s classic thriller _M (1931)_ (qv)). According to Hillier, Anderson also had a reputation for being "superb at handling actors". This is reflected in his films which have often featured big name stars like 'Gary Cooper' (qv), 'Charlton Heston' (qv), 'Laurence Olivier' (qv) or 'Alec Guinness' (qv).Moving into science fiction, Anderson made style triumph over content with his (for the time) expensively made dystopian thriller _Logan's Run (1976)_ (qv). Though not a big success with critics, the picture won at the box office and helped MGM out of its financial doldrums. Also in this genre, but with less distinction, Anderson directed _Millennium (1989)_ (qv) and a miniseries, _The Martian Chronicles (1980)_ (qv). A foray into the world of comic strip heroes, _Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze (1975)_ (qv), proved to be one of his rare failures. His more recent work of note has included the Gemini Award-winning TV movie _Young Catherine (1991)_ (qv), based on the early life of Russia's Catherine the Great. 'Vanessa Redgrave' (qv), who played Empress Elizabeth, was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy in the Supporting Actress category.In 1957, Anderson received the Silver Medallion for outstanding work from the Screen Director's Guild of America and was in 2012 also honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of Canada. A Canadian resident since the 1970s, Anderson passed away at his home on the Canadian Sunshine Coast in British Columbia on April 25 2018 at the age of 98.::I.S.Mowis