Peter Graham Scott (27 October 1923 – 5 August 2007) was an English

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

and film producer,

television director A television director is in charge of the activities involved in making a television program or section of a program. They are generally responsible for decisions about the editorial content and creative style of a program, and ensuring the prod ...

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

film editor Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film stock, film which increasingly involves the use Digital cinema, of digital ...

and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

. He was one of the producers and directors who shaped British

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

in its formative years and his background in film editing and directing helped to move television out of an era of studio-bound productions and towards programmes that owed more to cinema than to the stage.

Biography

Scott was born in

East Sheen East Sheen, also known as Sheen, is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its long High Street, high street has shops, offices, restaurants, cafés, pubs and suburban supermarkets and is also the economic ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, but was brought up in

Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a suburban town in the London Borough of Hounslow, West London, England. It lies immediately east of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's original area of ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, where he attended acting classes at the

Italia Conti Academy The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, also known simply as Italia Conti, is a drama school based in Woking, England. It was founded by the English actress Italia Conti in 1911. Italia Conti offers courses in acting, musical theatre, and da ...

. As a teenager after the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he worked in the films division of the

British Ministry of Information The Ministry of Information (MOI), headed by the Minister of Information, was a United Kingdom government department created briefly at the end of the First World War and again during the Second World War. Located in Senate House at the Univer ...

until he was called up for military service.Peter Graham Scott Obituary, Television director and producer best known for The Onedin Line
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. Retrieved February 11, 2023. However, as a newly commissioned

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

officer, his service was abruptly ended by an accident while training. Once recovered, he went back to filmmaking, and by 1947 was an editor on '' Brighton Rock'', starring a young

Richard Attenborough Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, film director, and Film producer, producer. Attenborough was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Acade ...

. In 1950, he married Mimi Martell, and they had two sons (deceased) and two daughters. In 1984, Scott won the Royal Television Society's ''Sir Ambrose Fleming Award for Outstanding Contribution to Television''. In 1999, he published his memoirs, ''British Television: An Insider's History''. Scott died in

Windlesham Windlesham is a geographically-large village in the Surrey Heath borough of Surrey, England, approximately south west of central London. Its name derives from the Windle Brook, which runs south of the village into Chobham, and the common suffi ...

, on 5 August 2007.

Filmography

Acted

*''

Young and Innocent ''Young and Innocent'', released in the US as ''The Girl Was Young'', is a 1937 British Crime film, crime thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Nova Pilbeam and Derrick De Marney. Based on the 1936 novel ''A Shilling for Candl ...

'' (1937) *'' Pastor Hall'' (1940)

Edited

*'' Brighton Rock'' (1947) *'' The Perfect Woman'' (1949) * '' Shadow of the Eagle'' (1950) * '' The Rival of the Empress'' (1951) * ''

Radio Cab Murder Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connected to ...

'' (1954) * ''

River Beat ''River Beat'' is a 1954 British second feature noir crime film directed by Guy Green and starring John Bentley, Phyllis Kirk and Leonard White. It was written by Rex Rientis and distributed in the United States by Lippert Pictures. Plot J ...

'' (1954) *''

The Avengers (TV series) ''The Avengers'' is a British Spy fiction, espionage television series that aired from 7 January 1961 to 21 April 1969. It initially focused on David Keel (Ian Hendry), aided by John Steed (Patrick Macnee). Ian Hendry left after the first seri ...

Directed

*'' Room for Two'' (1940) (assistant director) *''

Major Barbara ''Major Barbara'' is a three-act English play by George Bernard Shaw, written and premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907. The story concerns an idealistic young woman, Barbara Undershaft, who is engaged in helping the poor as a Major in ...

'' (assistant director) *''

Kipps ''Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul'' is a novel by H. G. Wells, first published in 1905. It was reportedly Wells's own favourite among his works, and it has been adapted for stage, cinema and television productions, including the musical '' ...

'' (1941) (assistant director) *''Panic'' (1948) * ''

Escape Route ''Escape Route'' is the fifth studio album by United States, American Hip hop music, hip hop artist Joe Budden. It released in digital format exclusively on Amalgam Digital on August 11, 2009 and physical copies were released on October 6, 2009 t ...

'' (1952) *''Our Marie'' (1953) * '' The Hideout'' (1956) * '' Account Rendered'' (1957) *'' Breakout'' (1959) *'' Devil's Bait'' (1959) *'' The Big Day'' (1960) *'' Captain Clegg'' (1962) (U.S. ''Night Creatures'') *'' Bitter Harvest'' (1963) *''

The Cracksman ''The Cracksman'' is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Peter Graham Scott and starring Charlie Drake. Plot Honest but naive locksmith Ernest Wright believes that everybody is equally honest. First, he is duped by a debonair con man into ...

'' (1963) *''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again ...

'' (7 episodes, 1960–63) *''

Mister Ten Per Cent ''Mister Ten Per Cent'' is a 1967 British comedy film directed by Peter Graham Scott and starring Charlie Drake, Derek Nimmo and Wanda Ventham. It was written by Mira Avrech, Charlie Drake, Norman Hudis and Lew Schwarz. It was the last in ...

'' (1967) *''

The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a British television series created by Patrick McGoohan. McGoohan portrays Number Six (The Prisoner), Number Six, an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a The Village (The Prisoner), mysteri ...

'' ( 1 episode, 1967) *'' Subterfuge'' (1968) *''

Children of the Stones ''Children of the Stones'' was a British television fantasy drama serial for children, produced by HTV in 1976 and broadcast on the United Kingdom's ITV network in January and February 1977. The serial was produced by Peter Graham Scott, with ...

'' (7 episodes, 1977 - also produced) *'' Into The Labyrinth'' (21 episodes, 1981–82, also produced and co-created)

Produced

*''

Tales of Mystery ''Tales of Mystery'' was a British supernatural television drama anthology series based on the short stories of Algernon Blackwood. It was broadcast by ITV ( Associated-Rediffusion) and ran over three seasons from 1961 to 1963. Produced by Pe ...

'' (1961–63) *'' Father Came Too!'' (1963) *'' Captain Clegg'' *'' The Troubleshooters'' (1965–68) *''

The Borderers ''The Borderers'' is a British television series produced by the BBC between 1968 and 1970. Setting A historical drama series, ''The Borderers'' was set during the 16th century and chronicled the lives of the Ker family, who lived in the Scot ...

'' (1968) *''

The Onedin Line ''The Onedin Line'' is a BBC television drama series that ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham. The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and covers the rise of a fictional shipping company, the Onedin Line, nam ...

'' (1971–80) *'' The Curse of King Tut's Tomb'' (1980) *'' Quiller'' (1975) *'' Kidnapped'' (1978) *'' Into the Labyrinth'' (1981–82) *''

Jamaica Inn The Jamaica Inn is a traditional inn on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, England, which was built as a coaching inn in 1750, and has a historical association with smuggling. Located just off the A30, near the middle of the moor close to the hamlet of ...

'' (1983) *''

The Master of Ballantrae ''The Master of Ballantrae: A Winter's Tale'' is an 1889 novel by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, focusing upon the conflict between two brothers, Scottish noblemen whose family is torn apart by the Jacobite rising of 1745. He wo ...

'' (1984) *''

Arch of Triumph Arch of Triumph may refer to: * Triumphal arch, a monumental structure in the shape of an arch Structures * Arc de Triomf, an 1888 structure in Barcelona, Spain * Arc de Triomphe, an 1836 structure in the Place Charles de Gaulle, Paris, France * ...

'' (1984) *'' Jenny's War'' (1985) *''

The Canterville Ghost "The Canterville Ghost" is a humorous short story by Oscar Wilde. It was the first of Wilde's stories to be published, appearing in two parts as "The Canterville Ghost – A Hylo-Idealistic Romance: The Redemptive Heroine" in '' The Court and S ...

References

Sources

"Peter Graham Scott"
'

The Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

, ''2007-08-21. Retrieved 2007-10-20 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Peter Graham 1923 births 2007 deaths 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English screenwriters BBC television producers Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War II English male television writers Civil servants in the Ministry of Information (United Kingdom) English film directors British comedy film directors English male screenwriters English television directors English television producers English television writers People from East Sheen People from Isleworth