Bernard Knowles (20 February 1900 – 12 February 1975) was an English film director, producer,

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the c ...

and screenwriter. Born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, Knowles worked with

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

on numerous occasions before the director emigrated to Hollywood. Knowles later graduated as a director and screenwriter, directing a number of high-profile films, including the 1946 Gainsborough Melodrama '' The Magic Bow''. He worked a great deal on television shows, including ''

Fabian of the Yard ''Fabian of the Yard'' is a British police procedural television series based on the real-life memoirs of Scotland Yard detective Robert Fabian, made by the BBC and broadcast between November 1954 and February 1956. It is considered the earlie ...

'', '' Dial 999'', ''

Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' () by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. Set in England in the Middle Ages, this novel marked a shift away from Scott’s prior practice of setting st ...

'' and ''

The Adventures of Robin Hood ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Technicolor swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and stars Errol Flynn, Olivia ...

''.

Career

Cinematographer

Knowle's credits include ''

Mumsie ''Mumsie'' is a 1927 British silent drama film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Pauline Frederick, Nelson Keys and Herbert Marshall. It was adapted from the 1920 play of the same title by Edward Knoblock about a favourite son of a fam ...

'' (1927) and ''

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's ho ...

'' (1928) for ''

Herbert Wilcox Herbert Sydney Wilcox CBE (19 April 1890 – 15 May 1977) was a British film producer and director. He was one of the most successful British filmmakers from the 1920s to the 1950s. He is best known for the films he made with his third wife ...

'', '' Love's Option'' (1928), '' The Broken Melody'' (1929), '' The Silver King'' (1929), ''

Auld Lang Syne "Auld Lang Syne" (: note "s" rather than "z") is a popular song, particularly in the English-speaking world. Traditionally, it is sung to bid farewell to the old year at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve. By extension, it is also often ...

'' (1929), '' Rookery Nook'' (1930), '' The Nipper'' (1930), ''

French Leave A French leave, sometimes Irish goodbye or Irish exit, is a departure from a location or event without informing others or without seeking approval. Examples include relatively innocuous acts such as leaving a party without bidding farewell in ...

'' (1930), ''

School for Scandal ''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777. Plot Act I Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling Sn ...

'' (1930), '' Canaries Sometimes Sing'' (1930), '' The Calendar'' (1931), ''

The Hound of the Baskervilles ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' is the third of the four crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in '' The Strand Magazine'' from August 1901 to April 1902, it is se ...

'' (1931), and ''

White Face ''White Face'' (also known as ''Edgar Wallace's White Face the Fiend'') is a 1932 British crime film directed by T. Hayes Hunter and starring Hugh Williams, Gordon Harker and Renee Gadd. The film is based on a play by Edgar Wallace. Plot A ...

'' (1932'',

The Good Companions ''The Good Companions'' is a novel by the English author J. B. Priestley. Written in 1929, it follows the fortunes of a concert party on a tour of England. It is Priestley's most famous novel and established him as a national figure. It wo ...

'' (1933), '' Falling for You'' (1933). He workes on the lighting for '' Jew Süss'' (1934). He shot ''

Jack Ahoy ''Jack Ahoy'' is a 1934 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Jack Hulbert, Nancy O'Neil, Alfred Drayton and Sam Wilkinson. Its plot follows a humble seaman falls in love with an Admiral's daughter, whilst trying to battle ...

'' (1934) and '' The Camels are Coming'' (1934).

Alfred Hitchcock

Knowles combined with

on '' The 39 Steps'' (1935). He shot '' Forever England'' (1935), ''

King of the Damned ''King of the Damned'' is a 1935 British prison film directed by Walter Forde and starring Conrad Veidt, Helen Vinson, Noah Beery and Cecil Ramage. Plot summary Convict 83 is a prisoner on an island, where the harsh regime of the Governor p ...

'' (1935) and ''

Rhodes of Africa ''Rhodes of Africa'' is a 1936 British biographical film charting the life of Cecil Rhodes. It was directed by Berthold Viertel and starred Walter Huston, Oskar Homolka, Basil Sydney and Bernard Lee. Plot The movie begins with the captions: "Th ...

'' (1936). Knowles and Hitchcock were reunited on ''

Secret Agent Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

'' (1936) and ''

Sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identiti ...

'' (1936). In between Knowles filmed '' East Meets West'' (1936). Knowles then shot '' Take My Tip'', (1937), then was back for Hitchcock on '' Young and Innocent'' (1937). He did some uncredited camera work on ''

King Solomon's Mines ''King Solomon's Mines'' (1885) is a popular novel by the English Victorian adventure writer and fabulist Sir H. Rider Haggard. It tells of a search of an unexplored region of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain for the ...

'' (1937). Knowles then filmed ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, where it ran at the Sa ...

'' (1939), and was back with Hitchcock for ''

Jamaica Inn The Jamaica Inn is a traditional inn on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall in the UK, 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 ...

'' (1939), the last movie the director made before moving to the US. Others were '' French Without Tears'' (1940) for

Anthony Asquith Anthony William Landon Asquith (; 9 November 1902 – 20 February 1968) was an English film director. He collaborated successfully with playwright Terence Rattigan on '' The Winslow Boy'' (1948) and '' The Browning Version'' (1951), among ot ...

; '' Spy for a Day'' (1940); '' Gaslight'' (1940), for

Thorold Dickinson Thorold Barron Dickinson (16 November 1903 – 14 April 1984) was a British film director, screenwriter, film editor, film producer, and Britain's first university professor of film. Dickinson's work received much praise, with fellow directo ...

; '' Freedom Radio'' (1941) and '' Quiet Wedding'' (1941) for Asquith; ''

The Saint's Vacation ''The Saint's Vacation'' is a 1941 adventure film produced by the British arm of RKO Pictures. The film stars Hugh Sinclair as Simon Templar, also known as "The Saint", a world-roving crimefighter who walks the fine edge of the law. This was t ...

'' (1941); '' Jeannie'' (1941), '' The Day Will Dawn'' (1942), '' Unpublished Story'' (1942), '' Secret Mission'' (1942) and '' Talk About Jacqueline'' (1942) for Harold French; '' The Demi-Paradise'' (1943) for Asquith; and '' English Without Tears'' (1944) for French.

Director

Knowles went to

Gainsborough Pictures Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, north London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The c ...

to shoot ''

Love Story Love Story or A Love Story may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres * Romance (love) ** Romance film ** Romance novel Films * ''Love Story'' (1925 film), German silent film * ''Love Story'' (1942 film), Italian drama film * ''Love ...

'' (1944). It was a huge hit and the studio gave him the chance to direct with '' A Place of One's Own'' (1945) starring their two biggest stars, James Mason and Margaret Lockwood. It was not a financial success. However Knowles' next film as director, '' The Magic Bow'' (1946), a biopic of

Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices f ...

starring

Stewart Granger Stewart Granger (born James Lablache Stewart; 6 May 1913 – 16 August 1993) was a British film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s, rising to fame thr ...

, was better received. So too was the drama ''

The Man Within ''The Man Within'' (1929) is the first novel by author Graham Greene. It tells the story of Francis Andrews, a reluctant smuggler, who betrays his colleagues, and the aftermath of his betrayal. It is Greene's first published novel. (Two earlier a ...

'' (1947) with

Michael Redgrave Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in '' Mourning Becomes El ...

. Knowles had a big hit with '' Jassy'' (1947) starring Lockwood. He left Gainsborough to direct '' The White Unicorn'' (1947) for producer

John Corfeld John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

. He then directed two popular comedies, '' Easy Money'' (1948), and '' The Perfect Woman'' (1949), co-writing the latter. Knowles directed '' The Lost People'' (1949) with

Muriel Box Violette Muriel Box, Baroness Gardiner, (22 September 1905 – 18 May 1991) was an English screenwriter and director, Britain's most prolific female director, having directed 12 feature films and one featurette. Her screenplay for ''The Seventh ...

. Knowles did ''

The Reluctant Widow ''The Reluctant Widow'' is a 1946 Regency romance Regency romances are a subgenre of romance novels set during the period of the British Regency (1811–1820) or early 19th century. Rather than simply being versions of contemporary romance sto ...

'' (1950) with

Jean Kent Jean Kent (born Joan Mildred Field; 29 June 1921 − 30 November 2013) was an English film and television actress. Biography Born Joan Mildred Field (sometimes incorrectly cited as Summerfield) in Brixton, London in 1921, the only child of va ...

, an attempt to reprise the success of the Gainsborough melodramas.

Television

Later films as director included some B Pictures, ''

Park Plaza 605 ''Park Plaza 605'', released as ''Norman Conquest'' in the United States, is a 1953 British crime film. Made as a B movie, it stars Tom Conway, Eva Bartok, and Joy Shelton, and also features Sid James and Richard Wattis. It is based on the '' ...

'' (1953) and '' Barbados Quest'' (1955) with Tom Conway. He began to work in television, directing episodes of '' Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Presents'' (1953), ''

'' (1953), '' Colonel March of Scotland Yard'' (1956), ''

The New Adventures of Martin Kane ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1957), '' Sword of Freedom'' (1957), ''

The Adventures of Sir Lancelot ''The Adventures of Sir Lancelot'' is a British television series first broadcast in 1956, produced by Sapphire Films for ITC Entertainment and screened on the ITV network. The series starred William Russell as the eponymous Sir Lancelot, a ...

'' (1956–57), '' The Buccaneers'' (1956–57), ''

'' (1958–59), ''

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...

'' (1958), '' Dial 999'' (1958), and ''

'' (1960).

Later career

Knowles' later directing credits include '' Frozen Alive'' (1964), and '' Spaceflight IC-1: An Adventure in Space'' (1965). He co-directed '' Hell Is Empty'' (1967) and was the director on '' Magical Mystery Tour'' (1967), starring

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

.See old-time Britain on the Beatles' bus Finkelstein, DanielAuthor InformationView Profile. The Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. anberra, A.C.T9 Oct 2012: 17. He died shortly before his 75th birthday in

Taplow Taplow is a village and civil parish in the Unitary Authority of Buckinghamshire, England. It sits on the left bank of the River Thames, facing Maidenhead in the neighbouring county of Berkshire, with Cippenham and Burnham to the east. It is the ...

, Buckinghamshire in 1975.

Selected filmography

As cinematographer

''With Alfred Hitchcock'' *'' The 39 Steps'' (1935) *''

'' (1936) *''

'' (1936) *'' Young and Innocent'' (1937) *''

'' (1939)

Others

* ''

'' (1928) * '' Love's Option'' (1928) * '' The Broken Melody'' (1929) * '' The Silver King'' (1929) * ''

'' (1929) * '' Canaries Sometimes Sing'' (1930) * ''

'' (1930) * '' The Calendar'' (1931) * ''

'' (1933) * '' East Meets West'' (1936) * '' Take My Tip'' (1937) * '' Gaslight'' (1940) * ''

'' (1941) * '' Quiet Wedding'' (1941) * '' Freedom Radio'' (1941) * '' Jeannie'' (1941) * '' Unpublished Story'' (1942) * ''

Talk About Jacqueline ''Talk About Jacqueline'' is a 1942 British comedy film directed by Harold French and Paul L. Stein and starring Hugh Williams, Carla Lehmann and Roland Culver. A woman tries to conceal her questionable past from her new husband. It was based on ...

'' (1942) * '' The Demi-Paradise'' (1942) * ''

'' (1944)

As director

*'' A Place of One's Own'' (1945) *'' The Magic Bow'' (1946) * '' The White Unicorn'' (1947) *'' Easy Money'' (1948) *'' The Perfect Woman'' (1949) *''

'' (1950) *''

'' (1953) *'' Barbados Quest'' (1955) *'' Spaceflight IC-1: An Adventure in Space'' (1965) *'' Magical Mystery Tour'' (TV) (1967)

References

External links

*
Bernard Knowles
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knowles, Bernard 1900 births 1975 deaths English cinematographers English film directors English film producers English male screenwriters Mass media people from Manchester 20th-century English screenwriters 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English businesspeople