Monja Danischewsky (28 April 1911 – 16 October 1994) was a British producer and writer, born in Archangel into a Russian-Jewish family who left Russia for England in 1919 and who produced and wrote the films '' Topkapi'' and ''

Rockets Galore! ''Rockets Galore!'' is a 1957 British comedy film directed by Michael Relph and starring Jeannie Carson, Donald Sinden and Roland Culver. The sequel to '' Whisky Galore!'', it was much less successful than its predecessor. It was based on the n ...

'' (1957) and others.

Biography

Early life

Monja Danischewsky's family left

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

in 1919.

Career

He started out with various publicity jobs, then to

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever s ...

as publicity director in 1938 and occasional writer. Switched to producer 1949; became independent producer '' The Galloping Major'' (1951); returned as producer/writer in mid-1950s and continued briefly after Ealing ended; ''

Rockets Galore ''Rockets Galore!'' is a 1957 British comedy film directed by Michael Relph and starring Jeannie Carson, Donald Sinden and Roland Culver. The sequel to ''Whisky Galore! (1949 film), Whisky Galore!'', it was much less successful than its predecess ...

'' (1958) and '' The Battle of the Sexes'' (1959). Autobiography, 'White Russian, Red Face', 1966.

Filmography

As writer

*''

Undercover To go "undercover" (that is, to go on an undercover operation) is to avoid detection by the object of one's observation, and especially to disguise one's own identity (or use an assumed identity) for the purposes of gaining the trust of an ind ...

'' (1943) *'' Bitter Springs'' (1950) *'' The Galloping Major'' (1951) *'' Meet Mr. Lucifer'' (1953) *''

The Love Lottery ''The Love Lottery'' is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Charles Crichton and starring David Niven, Peggy Cummins, Anne Vernon and Herbert Lom. Produced by Ealing Studios it was one of several Ealing Comedies that veered away from the stan ...

'' (1954) (additional dialogue and scenes) *''

'' (1957) *'' The Battle of the Sexes'' (1959) *''

Two and Two Make Six ''Two and Two Make Six'', also known as ''A Change of Heart'' and ''The Girl Swappers'', is a 1962 black and white British romantic comedy film directed by Freddie Francis and starring George Chakiris and Janette Scott. Unusually, the two women ...

'' (1962) *'' Topkapi'' (1964) (screenplay) *'' Mister Moses'' (1965) *''Avalanche'' (1969) (as John Danischewsky) *''

That Lucky Touch ''That Lucky Touch'' is a 1975 British-West German comedy film directed by Christopher Miles and starring Roger Moore, Susannah York and Shelley Winters. The film was shot at Pinewood Studios, with location shooting around Brussels. The film's ...

'' (1975) (adaptation)

As producer

*'' Whisky Galore!'' (1949) (associate producer) *'' The Galloping Major'' (1951) *'' Meet Mr. Lucifer'' (1953) *''

'' (1954) *'' The Battle of the Sexes'' (1959) *''

'' (1962) (producer) *''Avalanche'' (1969) (producer) (as John Danischewsky) *'' Run Wild, Run Freedom'' (1969)

Published works

*''White Russian, Red Face'' ( Gollancz, 1966) *''Out of My Mind'' (Michael Joseph, 1972) * short memoir by Danischewsky of Barnett Freedman, in Emma Mason (ed.), ''Tales of Barnett Freedman'' (Bread and Butter Press, 2020)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Danischewsky, Monja 1911 births 1994 deaths English film producers White Russian emigrants to the United Kingdom Russian Jews 20th-century English screenwriters 20th-century English businesspeople