Frank Launder (28 January 1906 – 23 February 1997) was a British writer, film director and producer, who made more than 40 films, many of them in collaboration with Sidney Gilliat.

Early life and career

He was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England and worked briefly as a clerk before becoming an actor and then a playwright. He began working as a screenwriter on British films in the 1930s, contributing the original story for the classic

Will Hay William Thomson Hay (6 December 1888 – 18 April 1949) was an English comedian who wrote and acted in a schoolmaster sketch that later transferred to the screen, where he also played other authority figures with comic failings. His film ''Oh ...

comedy ''

Oh, Mr Porter! ''Oh, Mr Porter!'' is a 1937 British comedy film starring Will Hay with Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt and directed by Marcel Varnel. While not Hay's commercially most successful (although it grossed £500,000 at the box office – equal to ...

'' (1937).

Sidney Gilliat

Launder first collaborated with Gilliat in 1936 on the film '' Seven Sinners''. After writing a number of screenplays with Gilliat, including ''

The Lady Vanishes ''The Lady Vanishes'' is a 1938 British mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. Written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, based on the 1936 novel ''The Wheel Spins'' by Ethel L ...

'' (1938) for Alfred Hitchcock, and ''

Night Train to Munich ''Night Train to Munich'' is a 1940 British-American thriller film directed by Carol Reed and starring Margaret Lockwood and Rex Harrison. Written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, based on the 1939 short story ''Report on a Fugitive'' by Go ...

'' for

Carol Reed Sir Carol Reed (30 December 1906 – 25 April 1976) was an English film director and producer, best known for '' Odd Man Out'' (1947), '' The Fallen Idol'' (1948), ''The Third Man'' (1949), and ''Oliver!'' (1968), for which he was awarded the ...

; the two men wrote and directed the wartime drama '' Millions Like Us'' (1943). After founding their own production company Individual Pictures, they produced a number of memorable dramas and thrillers including ''

I See a Dark Stranger ''I See a Dark Stranger'' – released as ''The Adventuress'' in the United States – is a 1946 British World War II spy film with touches of light comedy, by the team of Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat, and starring Deborah Kerr and T ...

'' (1945) and '' Green for Danger'' (1946), but were best known for their comedies including '' The Happiest Days of Your Life'' (1950) and most famously, the St Trinian's series, based on

Ronald Searle Ronald William Fordham Searle, CBE, RDI (3 March 1920 – 30 December 2011) was an English artist and satirical cartoonist, comics artist, sculptor, medal designer and illustrator. He is perhaps best remembered as the creator of St Trinian's S ...

's cartoons set in an anarchic girls school. After ''The Happiest Years of Our Life'' Launder focused entirely on comedy. According to the British Film Institute 'over a hundred films feature either or in the credits, nearly forty feature both' but this large number was not 'at the expense of quality'.

Personal life

He was married secondly to actress Bernadette O'Farrell from 1950 until his death in Monaco. The couple had two children. Launder also had two children from his first marriage.

Selected films

* ''

Under the Greenwood Tree ''Under the Greenwood Tree: A Rural Painting of the Dutch School'' is a novel by the English writer Thomas Hardy, published anonymously in 1872. It was Hardy's second published novel, and the first of what was to become his series of Wessex n ...

'' (1929) writer * '' Children of Chance'' (1930) writer * ''

The W Plan ''The W Plan'' is a 1930 British spy film produced and directed by Victor Saville and starring Brian Aherne, Madeleine Carroll, Gibb McLaughlin, and Gordon Harker. The screenplay was written by Saville with Miles Malleson and Frank Launder, ...

'' (1930) writer * '' Hobson's Choice'' (1931) writer * '' Keepers of Youth'' (1931) writer * '' The Woman Between'' (1931) writer * '' Children of Fortune'' (1931) writer * '' After Office Hours'' (1932) writer * '' Josser in the Army'' (1932) writer * '' For the Love of Mike'' (1932) writer * '' Hawley's of High Street'' (1933) writer * '' Facing the Music'' (1933) writer * '' A Southern Maid'' (1933) writer * '' Those Were the Days'' (1933) writer * '' Get Off My Foot'' (1935) writer * '' Rolling Home'' (1935) writer * ''

The Black Mask ''The Black Mask'' is a 1901 short story collection by E. W. Hornung. It was published in the UK by Grant Richards, London, and in the US by Scribner's, New York under the title ''Raffles: Further Adventures of the Amateur Cracksman''.Rowland, ...

'' (1935) writer * '' Emil and the Detectives'' (1935) writer * '' Educated Evans'' (1936) writer * '' Twelve Good Men'' (1936) * '' Where's Sally?'' (1936) writer * ''

Don't Get Me Wrong "Don't Get Me Wrong" is a song released by British-American alternative rock group The Pretenders. It was the first single taken from the group's 1986 album, '' Get Close''. It can also be found on the band's '' The Singles'' album, released in ...

'' (1937) writer * ''

'' (1937) story * ''

'' (1938) writer * ''

'' (1940) writer * '' They Came by Night'' (1940) writer * '' The Young Mr. Pitt'' (1942) writer * '' Millions Like Us'' (1943) writer/director/producer * '' Two Thousand Women'' (1944) writer/director * ''

'' (1945) writer/director * '' Green for Danger'' (1946) producer * '' Captain Boycott'' (1947) writer/director * '' The Blue Lagoon'' (1949) writer/director/producer * '' The Happiest Days of Your Life'' (1950) writer/director/producer * ''

Folly to Be Wise ''Folly to Be Wise'' is a 1952 British comedy film directed by Frank Launder and starring Alastair Sim, Elizabeth Allan, Roland Culver, Colin Gordon, Martita Hunt and Edward Chapman. It is based on the play ''It Depends What You Mean'' by Jame ...

'' (1952) writer/director/producer * ''

The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan ''The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan'' (also known as ''Gilbert & Sullivan'' and ''The Great Gilbert and Sullivan'') is a 1953 British musical drama film dramatisation of the collaboration between Gilbert and Sullivan. Librettist W. S. Gilbert a ...

'' (1953) producer * '' The Belles of St. Trinian's'' (1954) writer/director/producer * '' The Constant Husband'' (1955) producer * '' Geordie'' (1955) co-writer/producer * '' The Green Man'' (1956) writer/producer * '' Blue Murder at St Trinian's'' (1957) writer/director/producer * '' Left Right and Centre'' (1959) writer/producer * '' The Bridal Path'' (1959) writer/director/producer * '' The Pure Hell of St Trinian's'' (1960) writer/director/producer * '' Joey Boy'' (1965) writer/director * ''

The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery ''The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery'' is a British comedy film, directed by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat, written by Sidney and Leslie Gilliat, and released on 4 April 1966. It is the last of the original series of films based on the ...

'' (1966) writer/director * '' The Wildcats of St Trinian's'' (1980) writer/director

References

External links

* * *
BritMovie: ''Individual Pictures; The cinema of Launder and Gilliat''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Launder, Frank 1906 births 1997 deaths English expatriates in Monaco English film directors English film producers English male screenwriters People from Hitchin 20th-century English screenwriters 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English businesspeople