Frank Launder (28 January 1906 – 23 February 1997) was a British writer, film director and producer, who made more than 40 films, many of them in collaboration with Sidney Gilliat.

Early life and career

He was born in

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district of Hertfordshire, England. The town dates from at least the 7th century. It lies in the valley of the River Hiz at the north-eastern end of the Chiltern Hills ...

, Hertfordshire, England and worked briefly as a clerk before becoming an actor and then a playwright. He began working as a screenwriter on British films in the 1930s, contributing the original story for the classic Will Hay comedy '' Oh, Mr Porter!'' (1937).

Sidney Gilliat

Launder first collaborated with Gilliat in 1936 on the film '' Seven Sinners''. After writing a number of screenplays with Gilliat, including ''

The Lady Vanishes ''The Lady Vanishes'' is a 1938 British Mystery film, mystery Thriller (genre), thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. Written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, based on the 1936 novel '' ...

'' (1938) for

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. 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 featu ...

, and '' Night Train to Munich'' for Carol Reed; the two men wrote and directed the wartime drama '' Millions Like Us'' (1943). He and Gilliat were championed by studio head Ted Black who influenced the team's later career. After founding their own production company Individual Pictures, they produced a number of memorable dramas and thrillers including '' I See a Dark Stranger'' (1945) and '' Green for Danger'' (1946), but were best known for their comedies including '' The Happiest Days of Your Life'' (1950) and most famously, the St Trinian's series, based on Ronald Searle's cartoons set in an anarchic girls school. After ''The Happiest Days of Your Life'' Launder focused entirely on comedy. According to the British Film Institute 'over a hundred films feature either Launder or Gilliat in the credits, nearly forty feature both' but this large number was not 'at the expense of quality'.

Personal life

He was married secondly to actress Bernadette O'Farrell from 1950 until his death in Monaco. The couple had two children. Launder also had two children from his first marriage.

Selected films

References

External links

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BritMovie: ''Individual Pictures; The cinema of Launder and Gilliat''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Launder, Frank 1906 births 1997 deaths English expatriates in Monaco English film directors British comedy film directors English film producers English male screenwriters People from Hitchin 20th-century English screenwriters 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English businesspeople British film studio executives