"Lewis Gilbert, the British director of a string of celebrated films including the 1966 Michael Caine hit Alfie and The Spy Who Loved Me, arguably the high point of the Roger Moore James Bond era, has died aged 97. Bond producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli confirmed Gilbert’s death in a statement. “It is with great sadness that we learn of the passing of our dear friend Lewis Gilbert,” they said. “Lewis was a true gentleman. He made an enormous contribution to the British film industry as well as the Bond films, directing You Only Live Twice, The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker. His films are not only loved by us but are considered classics within the series. He will be sorely missed.” Gilbert was born in Hackney in 1920 into a family of music hall artistes, and became a child actor in the 1930s, appearing in Dick Turpin and two Alexander Korda produced films, Over the Moon and The Divorce of Lady X. However his interest lay more in behind the camera roles, and he worked as an assistant on Alfred Hitchcock’s Jamaica Inn in 1939. He cut his teeth making documentaries during the war, attached to the US Air Corps Film Unit, and broke into low-budget features after he was demobbed. Emergency Call, from 1952, was considered his breakthrough, allowing him to command bigger budgets and more expensive material. Reach for the Sky, the biopic of double amputee air ace Douglas Bader made a particular impact, as Gilbert profited from the burgeoning interest in heroic stories about the second world war. Carve Her Name With Pride (1958) and Sink the Bismarck! (1960) followed in a similar vein." Spy Who Loved Me director Lewis Gilbert dies aged 97
I rate the British film industry....even the bad movies are interesting. So NOT Hollywood in its style and thinking...and subject matter...like Australia, there are few guns in society so the interest and action had far more imagination input.
Does it get better than Kenneth More? Oh wait yes it does...the great John Mills...! At Dawn we Dive...probably my favourite war movie OAT.
Lewis Gilbert, as a boy, used to belong to my boy's club. the "Cambridge & Bethnal Green Boy's Club" When I discovered that he had written his biography "All my flashbacks" I rushed to buy a copy hoping to find at least a mention of the club which contributed so much to our formative years. What did I find ?..........Nada ! , and despite my admiration for his wonderful pictures i can never forgive him for that ! Sorry Lewis ! Ron
A post only you can make Ron...Just remember to leave him out of your autobiography. BTW - Whats your take on British war movies vs other countries efforts?
CAC "BTW - Whats your take on British war movies vs other countries efforts?" Simply, a good film is a good film, wherever it comes from and my own personal list of good ones is somewhere on record . Best regards Ron
