Alan Samuel Lyle-Smythe MBE, M.C. (9 November 1914 – 1 October 2006), who wrote under the name Alan Caillou, was an English-born author, actor, screenwriter, soldier, policeman and

professional hunter A professional hunter (less frequently referred to as market or commercial hunter and regionally, especially in Britain and Ireland, as professional stalker or gamekeeper) is a person who Hunting, hunts and/or manages Game (hunting), game by profe ...

Biography

Alan Lyle-Smythe was born in

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 ...

, England. Prior to

World War II 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 served with the Palestine Police from 1936 to 1939 and learned the

Arabic language Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

. He was awarded an MBE in June 1938. He married Aliza Sverdova in 1939, then studied acting from 1939 to 1941. In January 1940, Lyle-Smythe was commissioned in the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and do ...

. Due to his linguistic skills, he transferred to the Intelligence Corps and served in the Western Desert, in which he used the surname "Caillou" (the French word for 'pebble') as an alias. He was captured in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

, imprisoned and threatened with execution in Italy, then escaped to join the British forces at

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

. He was then posted to serve with the

partisan Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Ital ...

s in

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. He wrote about his experiences in the book ''The World is Six Feet Square'' (1954). He was promoted to captain and awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

in 1944. Following the war, he returned to the Palestine Police from 1946 to 1947, then served as a

Police Commissioner A police commissioner is the head of a police department, responsible for overseeing its operations and ensuring the effective enforcement of laws and maintenance of public order. They develop and implement policies, manage budgets, and coordinate ...

in British-occupied

Italian Somaliland Italian Somaliland (; ; ) was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia, which was ruled in the 19th century by the Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate in the north, and by the Hiraab Imamate and ...

from 1947 to 1952, where he was recommissioned a captain. He wrote about this experience in the

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

''Sheba Slept Here''. After work as a District Officer in

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

and professional hunter, Lyle-Smythe travelled to Canada, where he worked as a hunter and then became an actor on Canadian television.

Writing career

He wrote his first novel, ''Rogue's Gambit'', in 1955, first using the name Caillou, one of his aliases from the war. Moving from

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

to Hollywood, he made an appearance as a contestant o
the 23 January 1958 edition
of ''

You Bet Your Life ''You Bet Your Life'' is an American comedy quiz series that has aired on both radioDaktari'', '' The Man From U.N.C.L.E.'' (including the screenwriting for "The Bow-Wow Affair" from 1965), '' Thriller'', ''

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (, 1734September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyo ...

'', ''

Quark A quark () is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nucleus, atomic nuclei ...

'', ''

Centennial A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century. Notable events Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: * Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

'', and '' How the West Was Won''. In 1966-67, he had a recurring role (as Jason Flood) in NBC's "Tarzan" TV series starring Ron Ely. Caillou appeared in such television movies as '' Sole Survivor'' (1970), ''

The Hound of the Baskervilles ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' is the third of the four Detective fiction, crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serial (literature), serialised in ''The Strand Magazine'' from ...

'' (1972, as Inspector Lestrade), and '' Goliath Awaits'' (1981). His cinema film credits included roles in ''

Five Weeks in a Balloon ''Five Weeks in a Balloon, or, A Journey of Discovery by Three Englishmen in Africa'' () is an adventure novel by Jules Verne, published in 1863. It is the first novel in which he perfected the "ingredients" of his later work, skillfully mixing ...

'' (1962), '' Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion'' (1965), '' The Rare Breed'' (1966), '' The Devil's Brigade'' (1968), '' Hellfighters'' (1968), '' Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)'' (1972), ''

Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo ''Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo'' is a 1977 American sports film, sports adventure film, adventure comedy film directed by Vincent McEveety and written by Arthur Alsberg and Don Nelson (screenwriter), Don Nelson. The film is the third installment in ...

'' (1977), '' Beyond Evil'' (1980), ''

The Sword and the Sorcerer ''The Sword and the Sorcerer'' is a 1982 American sword and sorcery fantasy film co-written and directed by Albert Pyun, and starring Lee Horsley, Kathleen Beller, Simon MacCorkindale, George Maharis, Richard Lynch, and Richard Moll. The plot ...

'' (1982) and '' The Ice Pirates'' (1984). Caillou wrote 52

paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, ...

thrillers under his own name and the nom de plume of Alex Webb, with such heroes as Cabot Cain, Colonel Matthew Tobin, Mike Benasque, Ian Quayle and Josh Dekker, as well as writing many magazine stories. He also wrote books under female names. Several of Caillou's novels were filmed, such as '' Rampage'' with

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He is known for his antihero roles and film noir appearances. He received nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He received a star on the Holl ...

in 1963, based on his big game hunting knowledge; '' Assault on Agathon'' (with Nico Minardos as Cabot Cain), for which Caillou also wrote the screenplay; and '' The Cheetahs'', filmed in 1989.

Personal life

He was married to Aliza Sverdova from 1939 until his death. Their daughter Nadia Caillou (7 October 1952 – 5 February 2019) was the screenwriter for ''

Skeleton Coast The Skeleton Coast is the northern part of the Atlantic coast of Namibia. Immediately south of Angola, it stretches from the Kunene River to the Swakop River, although the name is sometimes used to describe the entire Namib Desert coast. The in ...

'' (1987).

Death

Alan Caillou died in

Sedona, Arizona Sedona ( ) is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino County, Arizona, Coconino and Yavapai County, Arizona, Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 United States Census, ...

in 2006.

Partial filmography

*''

Journey to the Center of the Earth ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (), also translated with the variant titles ''A Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' and ''A Journey into the Interior of the Earth'', is a classic science fiction novel written by French novelist Jules Ve ...

'' (1959) — Rector (uncredited) *''

Seven Thieves ''Seven Thieves'' is a 1960 American heist crime drama film shot in CinemaScope. It stars Edward G. Robinson, Rod Steiger, Joan Collins and Eli Wallach. Directed by Henry Hathaway and produced by Sydney Boehm, it was adapted for the scre ...

'' (1960) — Doctor Gerald Halsey (uncredited) *'' The Fiercest Heart'' (1961) — Major Adrian *'' Pirates of Tortuga'' (1961) — Ringose (uncredited) *'' It Happened in Athens'' (1962) — Narrator (voice) *''

'' (1962) — Inspector *''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

'' (TV series, 1962–1970) — Walter Craigsmuir / Jim Hare (2 episodes) *'' The List of Adrian Messenger'' (1963) — Insp. Seymour (uncredited) *'' Signpost to Murder'' (1964) — Dr. Upjohn (uncredited) *'' Strange Bedfellows'' (1965) — Magistrate (uncredited) *'' Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion'' (1965) — Carter *'' The Rare Breed'' (1966) — Taylor *'' Tarzan (1966 TV series)#Season 1: 1966–67'' Season 1, Episode 1: "Eyes of the Lion" (1966) — Jason Flood *'' The Devil's Brigade'' (1968) — Gen. Marlin *'' Hellfighters'' (1968) — Harry York *'' Sole Survivor'' (1970) — Albanian *''

'' (1972, TV Movie) — Inspector Lestrade *'' Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)'' (1972) — The Fool's Father *'' Dixie Dynamite'' (1976) — Englishman *''

'' (1977) — Emile *''

'' (1977–78) — The Head (TV series, 8 episodes) *'' Beyond Evil'' (1980) — Police Inspector *'' Gauguin the Savage'' (1980) — Inspector Aumont *''

'' (1982) — King Sancho *'' The Ice Pirates'' (1984) — Count Paisley (final film role)

Notes

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Caillou, Alan 1914 births 2006 deaths 20th-century British short story writers 20th-century English male actors 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English memoirists 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English screenwriters 20th-century pseudonymous writers Recipients of the Military Cross British Army personnel of World War II British military personnel of the Palestine Emergency English television writers English male television actors English male film actors English male screenwriters English spy fiction writers English thriller writers English travel writers English male short story writers English short story writers English male novelists Royal Army Service Corps officers Intelligence Corps officers Male actors from Surrey Members of the Order of the British Empire English male non-fiction writers British male television writers Palestine Police Force officers