Brian Desmond Hurst (12 February 1895 – 26 September 1986) was an
Irish film director
A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...
. With over thirty films in his filmography, Hurst was hailed as Northern Ireland's best film director by BBC film critic Mike Catto.
[Screening will honour 'NI's best film director' News Letter 12 February 2015 Mike Catto, film critic, BBC and Radio Ulster] He is perhaps best known for the 1951 ''
A Christmas Carol
''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...
'' adaptation
''Scrooge''.
Early life
Hurst was born at 23 Ribble Street,
Belfast
Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
, into a working-class family. He attended the New Road School, a public elementary school in East Belfast.
[Theirs is the Glory- 65th Anniversary of the making of the film, Ministory number 106, author Allan Esler Smith, published by Friends of the Airborne Museum Oosterbeek, November 2010.]
Hurst's father, Robert senior, and brother, Robert junior, were iron-workers in the
Harland and Wolff
Harland & Wolff Holdings plc is a British shipbuilding and Metal fabrication, fabrication company headquartered in London with sites in Belfast, Arnish yard, Arnish, Appledore, Torridge, Appledore and Methil. It specialises in ship repair, ship ...
shipyard. In August 1914, at the outbreak of
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Hurst enlisted as a private in the
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
. He saw service with the 6th Battalion
Royal Irish Rifles at the battle of
Chunuk Bair
The Battle of Chunuk Bair () was a World War I battle fought between the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman defenders and troops of the British Empire over control of the peak in August 1915. The capture of Chunuk Bair, ( Basin Slope, now ''Conk Bayırı'' ...
in
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east.
Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...
, the
Balkans
The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
and the
Middle East
The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.
The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
. At Chunuk Bair his regiment were "battle virgins when they were thrown into the Turkish machine gun fire for the first time on 10 August 1915". "They had set out a few hours before for the Chunuk Bair with twenty officers and over 700 men. Several stragglers and those who had lost their way returned to base in the hours that lay ahead but by the evening of 10 August the Hampshires and the Rifles had been broken in what amounted to a cruel massacre".
Hurst was interviewed by ''
Punch'' magazine in 1969. The article includes Hurst's statement that "I would fight for England against anybody except Ireland" and it continues: "Why for England? 'Because an Englishman is worth twenty foreigners.' Why not against Ireland? 'Because an Irishman is worth fifty Englishmen.'"
[Wilfred De'ath, ''Punch'', 8 October 1969, pp. 575-76]
Returning from
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
Hurst found life in Belfast constraining and he took a government grant to emigrate to
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
sometime in 1920. He enrolled at the
Toronto College of Art.
Early film career
Under the guidance of
John Ford
John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...
, sometimes referred to as Hurst's cousin although the two were unrelated by blood, Hurst learned about set management. Hurst made a cameo appearance as an extra in Ford's ''
Hangman's House
''Hangman's House'' is a 1928 American romantic drama genre silent film set in County Wicklow, Ireland, directed by John Ford (uncredited) with inter-titles written by Malcolm Stuart Boylan. It is based on a novel by Brian Oswald Donn-Byrne. ...
'' (1928) where he briefly appears
[John Hill. "'Purely Sinn Fein Propaganda': the banning of Ourselves Alone", ''Historic Journal of Film, Radio and Television'', University of Ulster, pp. 317, 327] alongside a young
John Wayne
Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...
. Hurst was with Ford and helped advise him when he brought Hollywood to Ireland when making ''
The Quiet Man'' (1952).
By 1933, Hurst was ready to return to the UK and settled in
Belgravia
Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a dangerous pla ...
, where he lived from the 1930s to his death in 1986, although he often returned to
Ulster
Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
to visit relatives for "a spiritual bath".
Hurst's early Irish work is
John Millington Synge
Edmund John Millington Synge (; 16 April 1871 – 24 March 1909), popularly known as J. M. Synge, was an Irish playwright, poet, writer, essayist, and collector of folklores. As an important driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival, Ir ...
's ''
Riders to the Sea'' (1935) and the
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...
love story ''
Ourselves Alone'' (1936). ''Irish Hearts'' (1934) "is certainly one of the main contenders for the first Irish sound feature film".
[Brian McIlroy "British Filmmaking in the 1930s and 1940: The Example of Brian Desmond Hurst", in Wheeler Winston Dixon (ed.) ''Re-viewing British Cinema 1900 - 1992: Essays and Interviews'', State University of New York Press, 1994, pp. 28, 33-35] ''Riders to the Sea'' was shot in
Connemara
Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...
where Hurst used the actors of the
Abbey Theatre in Dublin and "the film reflects the disparity between the two, with the actors delivering their lines in a highly technical manner whilst the camera revels in the bleak, natural beauty of the coastline and sky. Hurst's visuals are invariably compared with those of his mentor, John Ford and the opening shots of Riders... are markedly Fordian in their elementary quality".
''Ourselves Alone'' was banned 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 ...
at the time of its release in 1936 although it has now achieved the recognition it deserved and is shown in museums and other public access points in Northern Ireland. It appears to have been misunderstood. At the time Hurst pointed out the original story had been written by a British Army officer and Hurst claimed that the film was "pro-British".
Hurst's earliest English films include ''
The Tell-Tale Heart'' (1934), ''
The Tenth Man'' (1936) and ''
Glamorous Night'' (1937). In 1937, Hurst was retained by
Alexander Korda
Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; ; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956) to direct a film about
T. E. Lawrence and he co-wrote a screenplay for it with Miles Malleson and Duncan Guthrie, but the project was obstructed by the British administration in
Palestine
Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
before Hurst, himself an Arabic-speaker, could scout locations.
''
On the Night of the Fire'' is regarded as one of the early examples of British
film noir
Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...
. Released in December 1939 at the outbreak of the
Second World War
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 ...
and set in
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...
, it charts the slow moral destruction of a barber following his theft of some money. Film critic David Quinlan described the film as "grim but gripping".
Andrew Spicer, in his book European Film Noir, wrote: ''"A riveting psychological study. With its sustained doom-laden atmosphere, Krampf’s expressive cinematography, its adroit mixture of location shooting and Gothic compositions and
Ralph Richardson's wonderful performance as a lower middle class Everyman, 'On the Night of the Fire' clearly shows that an achieved mastery of film noir existed in British cinema."''
Also in 1939, Hurst and Korda co-directed ''
The Lion Has Wings
''The Lion Has Wings'' is a 1939 British, black-and-white, documentary-style, propaganda film, propaganda war film that was directed by Adrian Brunel, Brian Desmond Hurst, Alexander Korda and Michael Powell. The film was produced by London Film ...
'' (1939) featuring Richardson. It was described by one critic as "Hurst's most celebrated film of the 1930s".
Hurst went on to make four more propaganda films from 1940 to 1942 and continued to make films set in the Second World War until 1956.
Later years
''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'', in its obituary of Hurst in 1986, commented that ''
Dangerous Moonlight'' (1941) was his best-known movie, "a big popular success" which "launched a cycle of pictures with concerti as their theme music" because of its successful utilisation of
Richard Addinsell's ''
Warsaw Concerto''.
Hurst worked for the
Ministry of Information during the Second World War, for whom his films included ''
A Call for Arms'' (1940), ''
Miss Grant Goes to the Door'' (1940) and his homeland film ''
A Letter From Ulster'' (1943), where Hurst and
Terence Young (as scriptwriter) and his fellow Ulsterman and Assistant Director
William MacQuitty created a film "promoting a sense of community"
between the people of Northern Ireland and over one hundred thousand troops from the America based in Northern Ireland at the time. Brian McIlroy explained that "Hurst was able to persuade one Catholic and one Protestant soldier to write letters home, explaining their impressions of their stay. From these letters, Terence Young, the scriptwriter, was able to construct a sequence of activities that revealed the different traditions of Ireland."
Hurst's ''
The Hundred Pound Window
''The Hundred Pound Window'' is a 1944 British Comedy film, comedy crime film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Anne Crawford, David Farrar (actor), David Farrar, Frederick Leister and Richard Attenborough. An accountant has to take a ...
'' (1944) sees a young
Richard Attenborough
Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, film director, and Film producer, producer.
Attenborough was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Acade ...
in his first credited role. Hurst directed scenes in ''
Caesar and Cleopatra'' (1945) where he provided
Roger Moore with his first film role and then helped pay for Moore to attend
RADA.
For ''
Theirs is the Glory'' (1946), Hurst took 200 members of the 1st Airborne back to
Arnhem
Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...
and
Oosterbeek
Oosterbeek is a village in the eastern part of Netherlands. It is located in the municipality of Renkum in the province of Gelderland, about west of Arnhem.
The oldest part of Oosterbeek is the Benedendorp (Lower Village), on the northern bank ...
to direct and "remake" their role in the
Battle of Arnhem
The Battle of Arnhem was fought during the Second World War, as part of the Allies of World War II, Allied Operation Market Garden. It took place around the Netherlands, Dutch city of Arnhem and vicinity from 17 to 26 September 1944. The Alli ...
. Every person in the film served with the 1st Airborne or was a civilian from Oosterbeek or Arnhem. Hurst said, "The film is my favourite because of the wonderful experience of working with soldiers and because it is a true documentary reconstruction of the event. I say without modesty it is one of the best war films ever made".
The premiere of ''Theirs is the Glory'' was on the second anniversary of the battle in September 1946 and was attended by the Prime Minister.
King George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...
commanded a private screening at
Balmoral Castle
Balmoral Castle () is a large estate house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and a residence of the British royal family. It is near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and west of Aberdeen.
The estate and its original castle were bought ...
. ''Theirs is the Glory'' and ''
A Bridge Too Far'' were compared in the battlefields magazine Against All Odds and the comparison is stark and revealing "''A Bridge Too Far'' is a slow moving epic, well worth a viewing with some authentic scenes, but is unconvincing in its portrayal of the battle of Oosterbeek... ''Theirs is the Glory'' is the only feature film currently released that accurately portrays the events at Oosterbeek in atmospheric and chronological terms, despite its jerky portrayal of events. This is a film to watch.".
Hurst's post-war career included producing and directing the Christmas film ''
Scrooge'' (1951) which is the "best of the many screen versions of Dickens's warm-as-mince-pies
A Christmas Carol
''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...
, with
Alastair Sim as Scrooge incarnate: his miserly humbuggery is a delight. So is
Michael Hordern's ghostly Jacob Marley and the snowy, atmospheric photography of
C.M. Pennington-Richards".
Hurst produced ''
Tom Brown's Schooldays
''Tom Brown's School Days'' (sometimes written ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'', also published under the titles ''Tom Brown at Rugby'', ''School Days at Rugby'', and ''Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby'') is a novel by Thomas Hughes, published in 18 ...
'' (1951) and directed the box office success ''
Malta Story'' (1953) featuring
Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. In the BFI, British Film Institute listing of 1999 of BFI Top 100 British films, the 100 most important British films of the 20th century ...
as an RAF pilot helping to defend Malta. "The combination of an A list cast, the portrayal of the iron reliance of the Maltese people, the gallantry of the RAF pilots and a tragic love story were the four components of its success".
Hurst went on to direct ''
Simba'' (1955) featuring
Dirk Bogarde
Sir Dirk Bogarde (born Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde; 28 March 1921 – 8 May 1999) was an English actor, novelist and screenwriter. Initially a matinée idol in films such as ''Doctor in the House (film), Doctor in the Hous ...
and
Donald Sinden and ''
The Black Tent'' (1956) featuring
Donald Pleasence,
Anthony Steel and
Donald Sinden again. ''The Black Tent'' was based on a short story of the same title by Robin Maugham. He made a period film, ''Dangerous Exile''.
Hurst's ''
Behind the Mask'' (1958) sees a young
Vanessa Redgrave obtaining her first credited role (alongside her father, Sir
Michael Redgrave).
Hurst's only excursion into farce was
His and Hers (1961) and saw a strong cast of
Terry Thomas joining the carry-on stalwarts
Kenneth Williams,
Joan Sims and
Kenneth Connor supported by
Oliver Reed
Robert Oliver Reed (13 February 1938 – 2 May 1999) was an English actor, known for his upper-middle class, macho image and his heavy-drinking, "hellraiser" lifestyle. His screen career spanned over 40 years, between 1955 and 1999. At the ...
. In 1962, in his late 60s, Hurst returned to
John Millington Synge
Edmund John Millington Synge (; 16 April 1871 – 24 March 1909), popularly known as J. M. Synge, was an Irish playwright, poet, writer, essayist, and collector of folklores. As an important driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival, Ir ...
and adapted the script and produced and directed ''
The Playboy of the Western World'', his last film.
Hurst gave early film roles to Richard Attenborough, Roger Moore and Vanessa Redgrave. The first four scriptwriting roles of later Bond director
Terence Young were on the Hurst directed films ''
On the Night of the Fire'' (1939), ''
A Call For Arms'' (1940),''
Dangerous Moonlight'' (1941) and ''
A Letter From Ulster'' (1942). They worked together again on the scripts of ''
Theirs is the Glory'' (1946) and ''
Hungry Hill'' (1947) and remained good friends.
Personal life
Hurst was gay.
He died on 26 September 1986 at Delaware Nursing Home in London.
He was cremated and his ashes were scattered on his older brother Robert's grave in
Dundonald Cemetery.
Recognition and honours
The
Directors Guild of Great Britain installed a blue plaque at Queens Film Theatre in Belfast for Brian Desmond Hurst, unveiled on 13 April 2011 by the Irish film producer
Redmond Morris. On the same date the
Ulster History Circle unveiled a blue plaque at Hurst's birthplace, 23 Ribble Street, East Belfast. This plaque was relocated in the summer of 2016 to the nearby Strand Arts Centre and Cinema on 152-154 Holywood Road, Belfast, BT4 1NY.
On 10 October 2012 the First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland officially launched an £8.3m extension to Titanic Studios (originally known as the
Paint Hall Studios) adding two new sound stages, at the
Titanic Quarter. The stages have been named after Hurst and the director
William MacQuitty.
Books on Hurst
''The Empress of Ireland'' (Scribner, 2004) by Christopher Robbins is a memoir of Hurst's later years.
''Theirs is the Glory: Arnhem, Hurst and Conflict on Film'' (Helion and Company, 2016) by David Truesdale and Allan Esler Smith is about Hurst's Battle of Arnhem film, his life, and his other war films.
''Hurst on Film 1928-1970'' (Quartertoten Productions Limited, 2021) edited by Caitlin Smith and Stephen Wyatt, consists of Hurst's memoirs, written in 1976–1977, combined with the first detailed overview of his life and work, and features extensive material drawn from his family archives.
''The Last Bohemian: Brian Desmond Hurst, Irish Film, British Cinema'' (
Syracuse University Press
Syracuse University Press, founded in 1943, is a university press that is part of Syracuse University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Domestic distribution for the press is currently provided by the University of North ...
, 2023) by Lance Pettitt, is based on "dedicated research, deep and wide, into his life and films".
''Brief Encounters: Lesbians and Gays in British Cinema 1930-71'' (
Cassell, 1996) and ''Fighting Proud: The Untold Story of the Gay Men Who Served in Two World Wars'' (
Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...
, 2017), both by
Stephen Bourne, contain chapters on Hurst.
Documentaries on Hurst
On 6 August 2011,
RTÉ Radio One's
Documentary on One series broadcast ''An Irishman Chained to the Truth'', a 40-minute programme about Hurst.
''The Human Blarney Stone: The Life and Films of Brian Desmond Hurst'' (2011) documentary was included as an extra on several US releases of ''
Scrooge'' from VCI.
Filmography
References
External links
*
Brian Desmond HurstYouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
channel
Brian Desmond Hurst Legacyon
Facebook
Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
Revisiting a Letter from Ulster(2011) featurette
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurst, Brian Desmond
1895 births
1986 deaths
20th-century memoirists from Northern Ireland
British LGBTQ film directors
Gay military personnel
Irish LGBTQ military personnel
Gay memoirists
Gay writers from Northern Ireland
Belgravia
Writers from London
British Army personnel of World War I
Royal Ulster Rifles soldiers
Military personnel from Belfast
20th-century LGBTQ people from Northern Ireland
Irish LGBTQ film directors
Film directors from Belfast