Anthony William Landon Asquith (; 9 November 1902 – 20 February 1968) was an English

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

. He collaborated successfully with playwright

Terence Rattigan Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan (10 June 191130 November 1977) was a British dramatist and screenwriter. He was one of England's most popular mid-20th-century dramatists. His plays are typically set in an upper-middle-class background.Geoffrey Wan ...

on ''

The Winslow Boy ''The Winslow Boy'' is an English play from 1946 by Terence Rattigan based on an incident involving George Archer-Shee in the Edwardian era. The incident took place at the Royal Naval College, Osborne. Background Set against the strict c ...

'' (1948) and '' The Browning Version'' (1951), among other adaptations. His other notable films include '' Pygmalion'' (1938), '' French Without Tears'' (1940), '' The Way to the Stars'' (1945) and a 1952 adaptation of

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

's ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...

''.

Life and career

Born in London, he was the son of

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom ...

, the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

from 1908 to 1916, and

Margot Asquith Emma Margaret Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith (' Tennant; 2 February 1864 – 28 July 1945), known as Margot Asquith, was a British socialite, author. She was married to H. H. Asquith, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 18 ...

, who was responsible for 'Puffin' as his family nickname.Anthony Asquith biography
at BFI Screenonline He was educated at Eaton House,

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...

. The film industry was viewed as disreputable when Asquith was young, and according to the actor

Jonathan Cecil Jonathan Hugh Gascoyne-Cecil (22 February 1939 – 22 September 2011), known as Jonathan Cecil, was an English theatre, film, and television actor. Early life Cecil was born in London, England, the son of Lord David Cecil and the gr ...

, a family friend, Asquith entered this profession in order to escape his background.Geoffrey Macna
"The Asquith version"
''The Guardian'', 6 February 2003 At the end of the 1920s, he began his career with the direction of four silent films, the last of which, ''A Cottage on Dartmoor'', established his reputation with its meticulous and often emotionally moving frame composition. '' Pygmalion'' (1938) was based on the

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

play featuring

Leslie Howard Leslie Howard Steiner (3 April 18931 June 1943) was an English actor, director and producer.Obituary ''Variety'', 9 June 1943. He wrote many stories and articles for ''The New York Times'', ''The New Yorker'', and ''Vanity Fair'' and was one o ...

and

Wendy Hiller Dame Wendy Margaret Hiller, (15 August 1912 – 14 May 2003) was an English film and stage actress who enjoyed a varied acting career that spanned nearly 60 years. Writer Joel Hirschorn, in his 1984 compilation ''Rating the Movie Stars'', desc ...

. Asquith was a longtime friend and colleague of

(they collaborated on ten films) and producer

Anatole de Grunwald Anatole "Tolly" de Grunwald (25 December 1910 – 13 January 1967) was a Russian British film producer and screenwriter. Biography De Grunwald was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, the son of a diplomat (Constantin de Grunwald) in the s ...

. His later films included Rattigan's ''

'' (1948) and '' The Browning Version'' (1951), and

's ''

'' (1952). Asquith was an

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...

and, according to actor

, a repressed

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

. He died in 1968. He was buried at All Saints Churchyard,

Sutton Courtenay Sutton Courtenay is a village and civil parish on the River Thames south of Abingdon-on-Thames and northwest of Didcot. Historically part of Berkshire, it has been administered as part of Oxfordshire since the 1974 boundary changes. The ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...

, England.

Filmography

Feature films

*'' Shooting Stars'' (1927) *'' Underground'' (1928) *''

The Runaway Princess ''The Runaway Princess'' is a 1929 British-German silent drama film directed by Anthony Asquith and Fritz Wendhausen and starring Mady Christians, Fred Rains, Paul Cavanagh, and Anne Grey. Production The film was a co-production between Briti ...

'' (1929) *''

A Cottage on Dartmoor ''A Cottage on Dartmoor'' (a.k.a. ''Escape from Dartmoor'') is a 1929 British silent film, directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Norah Baring, Uno Henning and Hans Adalbert Schlettow. The cameraman was Stanley Rodwell. It was the last of ...

'' (1929) *''

Tell England ''Tell England: A Study in a Generation'' is a novel written by Ernest Raymond and published in February 1922 in the United Kingdom. Its themes are the First World War and the young men sent to fight in it. The book became a bestseller, some 3 ...

'' (1931) *''

Dance Pretty Lady ''Dance Pretty Lady'' is a 1931 British drama film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Ann Casson, Carl Harbord, Michael Hogan, Moore Marriott and Flora Robson. It was based on the 1912 novel '' Carnival'' by Compton Mackenzie. The novel ...

'' (1932) *'' The Lucky Number'' (1933) *'' Letting in the Sunshine'' (1933) *''

Unfinished Symphony An unfinished symphony is a fragment of a symphony, by a particular composer, that musicians and academics consider incomplete or unfinished for various reasons. The archetypal unfinished symphony is Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 8 (sometimes ...

'' (1934) *''

Moscow Nights __NOTOC__ "Moscow Nights" ( rus, Подмосковные вечера, r=Podmoskovnyje večera, ), later covered as "Midnight in Moscow", is a Soviet Russian song. Composition and initial success Composer Vasily Solovyov-Sedoi and poet Mikhai ...

'' (1935) *'' Pygmalion'' (1938) *'' French Without Tears'' (1940) *'' Freedom Radio'' (1941) *'' Quiet Wedding'' (1941) *'' Cottage to Let'' (1941) *'' Uncensored'' (1942) *''

We Dive at Dawn ''We Dive at Dawn'' is a 1943 war film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring John Mills and Eric Portman as Royal Navy submariners in the Second World War. It was written by Val Valentine and J. B. Williams with uncredited assistance from Fra ...

'' (1943) *''

The Demi-Paradise ''The Demi-Paradise'' (also known as ''Adventure for Two'') is a 1943 British comedy film made by Two Cities Films. It stars Laurence Olivier as a Soviet Russian inventor who travels to England to have his revolutionary propeller manufactured, a ...

'' (1943) *'' Fanny by Gaslight'' (1944) *'' The Way to the Stars'' (1945) *'' While the Sun Shines'' (1947) *''

'' (1948) *''

The Woman in Question ''The Woman in Question'' (released in the United States as ''Five Angles on Murder'') is a 1950 British Murder-mystery film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Jean Kent, Dirk Bogarde and John McCallum. After a woman is murdered, the com ...

'' (1950) *'' The Browning Version'' (1951) *''

'' (1952) *'' The Final Test'' (1953) *'' The Net'' (1953) *'' The Young Lovers'' (1954) *'' Carrington V.C.'' (1955) *'' On Such a Night'' (1955) *'' Orders to Kill'' (1958) *'' The Doctor's Dilemma'' (1958) *''

Libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defi ...

'' (1959) *''

The Millionairess ''The Millionairess'' is a 1960 British romantic comedy film directed by Anthony Asquith, and starring Sophia Loren and Peter Sellers. Set in London, it is a loose adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's 1936 play of the same name. Plot By the ...

'' (1960) *'' Two Living, One Dead'' (1961) *'' Guns of Darkness'' (1962) *'' The V.I.P.s'' (1963) *''

The Yellow Rolls-Royce ''The Yellow Rolls-Royce'' is a 1964 British dramatic composite film written by Terence Rattigan, produced by Anatole de Grunwald, and directed by Anthony Asquith, the trio responsible for '' The V.I.P.s'' (1963). Apparently adapting an idea fr ...

'' (1965)

Short films

*'' The Story of Papworth'' (1935)See also advertisement for its premiere in ''The Times'', 14 December 1935, p. 11. *''

Channel Incident ''Channel Incident'' is a 1940 British short (15 minute) drama film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Peggy Ashcroft, Gordon Harker, Robert Newton and Kenneth Griffith. It combines documentary footage with acting. It is placed on the shi ...

'' (1940) *''

Rush Hour A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice every weekday: o ...

'' (1941) *''

Two Fathers "Two Fathers" is the eleventh episode of the sixth season and the 128th episode overall of the science fiction television series ''The X-Files''. The episode first aired in the United States and Canada on February 7, 1999, on the Fox Network and ...

'' (1944)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Asquith, Anthony 1902 births 1968 deaths English people of Scottish descent People educated at Gibbs School People educated at Summer Fields School People educated at Winchester College Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Children of prime ministers of the United Kingdom Younger sons of earls Film directors from London LGBT film directors Deaths from cancer in England Deaths from lymphoma Asquith family Tennant family LGBT people from England 20th-century LGBT people