Raymond Egerton Harry Watt (18 October 19062 April 1987) was a Scottish documentary and feature film director, who began his career working for

John Grierson John Grierson (26 April 1898 – 19 February 1972) was a Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. In 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" in a review of Robert J. Flaherty's '' ...

and

Robert Flaherty Robert Joseph Flaherty, (; February 16, 1884 – July 23, 1951) was an American filmmaker who directed and produced the first commercially successful feature-length documentary film, '' Nanook of the North'' (1922). The film made his reputati ...

. His 1959 film '' The Siege of Pinchgut'' was entered into the

9th Berlin International Film Festival The 9th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 26 June to 7 July 1959. The festival welcomed the cinematic movement known as the French New Wave and screened the work of directors such as Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda and Franç ...

Biography

He was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, the son of the Scottish Liberal MP Harry Watt. He studied at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...

but failed to complete his degree. He enlisted in the Merchant Navy and worked in a number of industrial jobs.

Documentaries

In 1932, Watt joined the Empire Marketing Board Film Unit under John Grierson and began working on documentaries. He was an assistant on ''

Man of Aran ''Man of Aran'' is a 1934 Irish fictional documentary ( ethnofiction) film shot, written and directed by Robert J. Flaherty about life on the Aran Islands off the western coast of Ireland. It portrays characters living in premodern condition ...

'' (1934). In 1936 Watt became a director for the London unit of the American newsreel series '' March of Time'', where his films included ''England's Tithe War'' (1936). Watt then joined the

GPO Film Unit The GPO Film Unit was a subdivision of the UK General Post Office. The unit was established in 1933, taking on responsibilities of the Empire Marketing Board Film Unit. Headed by John Grierson, it was set up to produce sponsored documentary film ...

where he made his reputation as a documentarian with ''

Night Mail ''Night Mail'' is a 1936 British documentary film directed and produced by Harry Watt and Basil Wright, and produced by the General Post Office (GPO) Film Unit. The 24-minute film documents the nightly postal train operated by the London, ...

'' (1936) which received much acclaim. He followed it with '' The Saving of Bill Blewitt'' (1936) starring Bill Blewitt, who then appeared in Watt's ''

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

'' (1938). World War II saw Watt make war-themed films: '' Squadron 992'' (1940), ''

London Can Take It! ''London Can Take It!'' is a 1940 short British propaganda film directed by Humphrey Jennings and Harry Watt and narrated by US journalist and war correspondent Quentin Reynolds. It was produced by the GPO Film Unit for the British Ministry ...

'' (1940) and ''

Christmas Under Fire ''Christmas Under Fire'' is a 1941 British short documentary film directed by Harry Watt for the Crown Film Unit of the Ministry of Information. It was conceived as propaganda primarily for an American audience, to raise support for the All ...

'' (1941). His film '' Target for Tonight'' (1941) won an honorary

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

in 1942.

Features

Watt made his feature debut with ''

Nine Men The Nine Men was a council of citizens elected by the residents of New Netherland to advise its Director General Peter Stuyvesant on the governance of the colony. It replaced the previous body, the Eight Men, which itself had superseded th ...

'' (1943), a war movie produced by

Michael Balcon Sir Michael Elias Balcon (19 May 1896 – 17 October 1977) was an English film producer known for his leadership of Ealing Studios in west London from 1938 to 1956. Under his direction, the studio became one of the most important British film ...

. He helped write '' For Those in Peril'' and followed this with a comedy, '' Fiddlers Three'' (1944) starring

Tommy Trinder Thomas Edward Trinder (24 March 1909 – 10 July 1989) was an English stage, screen and radio comedian whose catchphrase was "You lucky people!". Described by Cultural history, cultural historian Matthew Sweet (writer), Matthew Sweet as "a cocky ...

. Balcon sent Watt to Australia to find a subject for the film. The result was '' The Overlanders'' (1946) which was a big hit and helped make a star of

Chips Rafferty John William Pilbean Goffage MBE (26 March 190927 May 1971), known professionally as Chips Rafferty, was an Australian actor. Called "the living symbol of the typical Australian", Rafferty's career stretched from the late 1930s until he died i ...

. It inspired Ealing to set up production in Australia. However the follow-up, ''

Eureka Stockade The Eureka Rebellion was a series of events involving gold miners who revolted against the British administration of the colony of Victoria, Australia, during the Victorian gold rush. It culminated in the Battle of the Eureka Stockade, wh ...

'' (1949), was not a success. Watt went to East Africa on a similar mission to the one he had for ''The Overlanders'' – travel around the country, and find a subject for a film. He came up with '' Where No Vultures Fly'' (1951) which was another big hit. It led to a less successful sequel, '' West of Zanzibar'' (1954). Watt worked as a producer for Granada Television from 1955 to 1956. He returned to Australia for '' The Siege of Pinchgut'' (1959). He directed some television on shows like '' The Four Just Men'' (1959–60). He died in

Amersham Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, south-east of Aylesbury and north-east of High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt. There ar ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1936) * '' The Saving of Bill Blewitt'' (1937) * ''

'' (1938) * '' Squadron 992'' (1939) * '' The First Days'' (1939) * '' Dover Front Line'' (1940) * ''

'' (1940) * ''

'' (1941) * '' Target for Tonight'' (1941) * ''

'' (1943) * '' Fiddlers Three'' (1944) * '' The Overlanders'' (1946) * ''

'' (1949) * '' Where No Vultures Fly'' (1951) * '' West of Zanzibar'' (1954) * '' The Siege of Pinchgut'' (1959)

References

* https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-48881

External links

* *
Harry Watt
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

1906 births 1987 deaths Scottish documentary filmmakers Scottish film directors Film people from Edinburgh {{UK-film-director-stub