Alexander Walker (critic)
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Alexander Walker (23 March 1930 – 15 July 2003) was a British film critic who wrote for the London ''
Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...
'' from 1960 to the end of his life. He wrote 20 books.


Life and career

Walker was born in
Portadown Portadown ( ) is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is based on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population ...
, County Armagh in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, the only son of Alfred, a commercial traveller, and Ethel Walker. He was educated at Portadown Grammar School,
Queen's University, Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...
, the
College of Europe The College of Europe (; ; ) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with three campuses in Bruges, Belgium; Warsaw, Poland; and Tirana, Albania. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 as a result of the 1948 Congress of ...
in
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,
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and the
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, where he lectured in political philosophy for two years from 1952. He worked for the ''
Birmingham Post The ''Birmingham Post'' is a weekly printed newspaper based in Birmingham, England, with distribution throughout the West Midlands. First published under the name the ''Birmingham Daily Post'' in 1857, it has had a succession of distinguished ...
'' from 1953, where he was noticed by Godfrey Winn, who became a significant influence upon him as well as, later,
Lord Beaverbrook William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (25 May 1879 – 9 June 1964), was a Canadian-British newspaper publisher and backstage politician who was an influential figure in British media and politics of the first half of the 20th century ...
and Lord Rothermere. The film critic of the London ''
Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...
'' from 1960, he remained in the role until his death in 2003. His most extended work was a book trilogy on the history of the British film industry: ''Hollywood England'', ''National Heroes'' and ''Icons in the Fire''. In addition, he was the author of an
Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...
biography, a history of the impact made on
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
by the rise of the talkies (''The Shattered Silents'') and a study of the work of
Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...
. Walker assembled a collection of more than 200 drawings and prints by modern artists, which were bequeathed to the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
after his death in 2003. In 1968, he was a member of the jury at the 18th Berlin International Film Festival. Walker was a frequent broadcaster on radio and television on the arts. He authored the television series ''Moviemen'' and the BBC Radio series ''Film Star''. He was the author and co-producer of television programmes on the history of
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
,
Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress and a premier star during Hollywood's Silent film, silent and early Classical Hollywood cinema, golden eras. Regarded as one of the g ...
, and
Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...
. Walker was a member of the British Screen Advisory Council (formerly the Wilson Interim Action Committee on the Film Industry) from 1977 to 1992 and of the Board of Governors 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, ...
from 1989 to 1995. Walker was critical of the films '' Nothing Personal'' and '' Some Mother's Son'', both which are set during
the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
in Northern Ireland. He said that there was "undoubtedly an element of propaganda in these films... When they are shown abroad, the people who make the films and the people from the
Irish Film Board Not to be confused with Northern Ireland Screen. Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland, formerly known as Bord Scannán na hÉireann or the Irish Film Board, is Republic of Ireland, Ireland's state development agency for the Irish film, television an ...
who attend make speeches. In essence, what they are doing is giving their support to something which is anti-British". Rod Stoneman, who was chief executive of the Irish Film Board at the time, rejected Walker's criticism, and pointed out that, of the 23 Irish films which the board had assisted since its relaunch in 1993, only four had touched upon the Troubles.


Ken Russell

Walker had a close relationship with Kubrick, but was a fierce critic of the British director
Ken Russell Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films were mainly liberal adaptations of ...
, referring to the director's visceral '' The Devils'' (1971) as being "a garish glossary of sado-masochism … a taste for visual sensation that makes scene after scene look like the masturbatory fantasies of a
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boyhood." Having previously been a defender of Russell's early work for the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
he was increasingly critical of Russell films of the 1970s, reviewing '' The Music Lovers'' (1970) he wrote: "This man must be stopped: bring me an
elephant gun An elephant gun is a large caliber gun, rifled or smoothbore, originally developed for use by big-game hunters for elephant and other large game. Elephant guns were black powder muzzle-loaders at first, then black powder express rifles, t ...
." In a television showdown between the two men in response to Walker's assessment of ''The Devils'' as "monstrously indecent", Russell reached over and hit him around the head with a rolled up newspaper copy of his own review. In later life, when asked about the incident and if he regretted it, Russell responded that he did regret it, "I wish it had been an iron bar."


Honours

In 1970, 1974 and 1998, Walker was named Critic of the Year at the annual British Press awards, also being commended in 1985. He was made a Chevalier de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1981, and won the Golden Eagle Award in the Philippines for services to international cinema in 1982.


Personal life and death

Walker died in July 2003, aged 73. He listed his recreations in ''
Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...
'' as "ski-ing and persecuting smokers". He lived at 1 Marlborough, a block of flats at 38-40 Maida Vale in the area of the same name.


Books

*''Double Takes'' - notes and afterthoughts on the movies 1956-1976, Elm Tree Books 1977 *His history of British Film: **''Hollywood England'' – The British Film Industry in the 1960s: Harrop 1974 **''National Heroes'' – British Cinema in the 70s and 80s, London: Harrop 1985 **''Icons in the Fire – the decline and fall of almost everybody in the British film industry 1984-2000'', London, Orion Books 2004 *''Stanley Kubrick - Director'', Norton 1999 *''Audrey - her real story'', St. Martin's Press 1995 *''
Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympatheti ...
– a celebration'', New York: Applause Theatre Books, 1998 *''Dietrich'', New York: Harper and Row 1984 *''The Celluloid Sacrifice – aspects of sex in the movies'', London: Joseph 1966 *''Elizabeth - The Life of Elizabeth Taylor'', Weidenfeld 1991 *''Garbo - A portrait'', Macmillan 1980 *''Fatal Charm – The Life of
Rex Harrison Sir Reginald Carey Harrison (5 March 1908 – 2 June 1990) was an English actor. Harrison began his career on the stage at the Liverpool Playhouse in 1924. He made his West End debut in 1936 appearing in the Terence Rattigan play '' French W ...
'', St. Martin's Press 1993 *''
Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, 190? was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion-picture cont ...
- the ultimate star'', Harper and Row 1983 *''It's only a movie, Ingrid'' – encounters on and off the screen, London, Headline 1988 *''
Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show''. Sellers featured on a number of hit comi ...
- the authorized biography'', Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1981 *''Vivien - The life of Vivien Leigh'', Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1987 *''
Rudolph Valentino Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor who starred in several well-known sile ...
'', Stein and Day 1976 *''Shattered Silents - how the talkies came to stay'', London: Elm Tree Books 1978, New York: Morrow Quill Paperbacks, 1980 *''
Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...
directs'', New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich 1972 *''Stardom - the Hollywood phenomenon'', Stein and Day 1970 *''No Bells on Sunday: the Journals of Rachel Roberts'' (editor), London: Pavilion Books, 1984; New York, Harper & Row 1984


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Alexander 1930 births 2003 deaths British film critics British male journalists College of Europe alumni London Evening Standard people People associated with the British Museum People educated at Portadown College People from Portadown 20th-century British biographers 20th-century British male writers British male biographers Governors of the British Film Institute