Birth name:John Lee Thompson Birth:1 August 1914 Died:30 August 2002 Nationality:
Career / Biography
J Lee Thompson was an early exponent of British social realism films and the then later known for his action and thriller films. He came from a theatrical family and then worked in rep before starting work on scripts for plays an films. He served in the RAF in World War 2. The first film he directed was an adaptation of his own play, Murder Without A Crime. His next film was The Yellow Balloon, another crime film. His next film was the comedy For Better, for Worse of newly wed struggling in the aftermath of World War 2.
After another couple of comedies he returned to crime with Yield to the Night of a woman in prison waiting to hanged for murder. Woman In A Dressing Gown is one of the first British social realism / kitchen sink drama that was a forerunner of the British new wave. The following year he made one of the great British war films, Ice Cold In Alex. It is a character driven war film.
Tiger Bay is notable for the first acting role of Hayley Mills. North West Frontier was an epic set in India during British rule. This film opened him up to wider audience outside of Britain. The Guns Of Navarone is a high action war film that had his biggest budget to date. Again it also has the character development as well as the action. He gained a Best Director Oscar nomination. Cape Fear was a move into the thriller genre of film of a man taking revenge on the lawyer who put him in prison. This was his first film that he made in America.
He then made two historical epics with Yuel Brynner, King Of The Sun and Taras Bulba. For What a Way to Go! he brought together an all star cast for a black comedy. He returned to British cinema with Return From The Ashes and the dark and unsettling horror film Eye Of The Devil. Mackenna's Gold was his last big Hollywood film an was a western that had a difficult filming that went over budget. The Chairman is a cold war thriller. He then directed some of the sequels to the Planet Of The Apes films. In the later part of his career he made 9 action films with Charles Bronson. Although J Lee Thompson may not be well known as a director his work is significant and influential.
