Philip Leacock

'Philip Leacock' (qv) was brought up in the Canary Islands and educated at the English boarding school Bedales. He began in the film industry as a camera assistant in 1935. After serving with the Army Kinematograph Service during World War II, he joined the Crown Film Unit in 1948, making his directing debut with _Life in Her Hands (1951)_ (qv). His previous experience working on documentaries led to his second film, _The Brave Don't Cry (1952)_ (qv), being a critical success. On the strength of this, he was signed by the Rank Organisation as a contract director. Leacock had a reputation for working well with children. Thus, many of his films, such as _The Spanish Gardener (1956)_ (qv), centered around children, or adolescents, as in _Take a Giant Step (1959)_ (qv).After 1963 Leacock moved to Hollywood, and concentrated almost exclusively on directing episodic television and made-for-TV movies. He retired in 1987 and died three years later while on vacation in London.::I.S.Mowis