Gerald Thomas (10 December 1920 – 9 November 1993) was an English film director best known for the long-running '' ''Carry On'' series'' of British film comedies.

Early life

Born in Hull,

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, S ...

, England, Thomas was educated in Bristol and London, and was training in medicine when

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 ...

began. He served four years 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 ...

during the war, and upon his return to civilian life thought it too late to continue his medical studies.

Career

Thomas began his film career at Denham Studios, eventually becoming an assistant film editor beginning with

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

's ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' (1948). His editing work included many films directed by his older brother,

Ralph Thomas Ralph Philip Thomas (10 August 1915 – 17 March 2001) was an English film director who directed the Doctor (film series), ''Doctor'' film series. Thomas cast the actor James Robertson Justice in many of his films. He often worked with the pr ...

. His directorial debut was the

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

''Circus Friends'' (1956), produced by the

Children's Film Foundation The Children's Film Foundation (CFF) is a non-profit organisation which makes films and other media for children in the United Kingdom. Originally it made films to be shown as part of children's Saturday morning matinée cinema programming. Th ...

. His first feature was the thriller ''

Time Lock A time lock (also timelock) is a part of a locking mechanism commonly found in bank vaults and other high-security containers. The time lock is a timer designed to prevent the opening of the safe or vault until it reaches the preset time, ev ...

'' the following year. Beginning with the farcical military comedy '' Carry On Sergeant'' (1958), Thomas directed all 30 films in the '' Carry On'' series of British comedies, produced by Peter Rogers, ending with '' Carry On Emmannuelle'' (1978) and the belated '' Carry On Columbus'' (1992). Additionally, he directed the framing sequences of the compilation film '' That's Carry On!'' (1977). Other works as a director include the comedy '' Please Turn Over'' (1959) and a drama of post-war Austria, '' The Second Victory'' (1986).

Personal life

Thomas was married, and the couple had three daughters. He died at home of a heart attack. Thomas's nephew is the film producer Jeremy Thomas. He is commemorated with a green plaque on The Avenues, Kingston upon Hull.

Films directed

* ''Circus Friends'' (1956) * ''

'' (1957) * '' The Vicious Circle'' (1957) * '' The Duke Wore Jeans'' (1958) * '' Carry On Sergeant'' (1958) * '' Chain of Events'' (1958) * ''The Solitary Child'' (1958) * '' Please Turn Over'' (1959) * '' Carry On Nurse'' (1959) * '' Carry On Teacher'' (1959) * '' Watch Your Stern'' (1960) * '' No Kidding'' (1960) * '' Carry On Constable'' (1960) * ''

Carry On Regardless ''Carry On Regardless'' is a 1961 British comedy film, the fifth in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). The film revolves loosely around the activities of a job agency, 'Helping Hand', run by Sid James's character, Bert Handy ...

'' (1961) * '' Raising the Wind'' (1961) * ''

The Iron Maiden ''The Iron Maiden'' is a 1963 British comedy film. The film was directed by Gerald Thomas, and stars Michael Craig (actor), Michael Craig, Anne Helm, Jeff Donnell and Alan Hale Jr. There are minor roles for ''Carry On (series), Carry On'' stal ...

'' (1962) * '' Twice Round the Daffodils'' (1962) * '' Carry On Cruising'' (1962) * ''

'' (1963) * '' Nurse on Wheels'' (1963) * '' Carry On Cabby'' (1963) * '' Carry On Jack'' (1963) * '' Carry On Spying'' (1964) * '' Carry On Cleo'' (1964) * '' The Big Job'' (1965) * '' Carry On Cowboy'' (1966) * ''

Carry On Screaming ''Carry On Screaming!'' is a 1966 British comedy horror film, the twelfth in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). It was the last of the series to be made by Anglo-Amalgamated before the series moved to The Rank Organisation. Of ...

'' (1966) * '' Don't Lose Your Head'' (1966) * '' Follow That Camel'' (1967) * '' Carry On Doctor'' (1968) * '' Carry On... Up the Khyber'' (1968) * '' Carry On Camping'' (1969) * '' Carry On Again Doctor'' (1969) * '' Carry On Up the Jungle'' (1970) * '' Carry On Loving'' (1970) * '' Carry On Henry'' (1971) * '' Carry On at Your Convenience'' (1971) * '' Bless This House'' (1972) * '' Carry On Matron'' (1972) * '' Carry On Abroad'' (1972) * ''

Carry On Girls ''Carry On Girls'' is a 1973 British comedy film, the 25th release in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). The film features regulars Sid James, Barbara Windsor, Joan Sims, Kenneth Connor, Bernard Bresslaw and Peter Butter ...

'' (1973) * '' Carry On Dick'' (1974) * '' Carry On Behind'' (1975) * '' Carry On England'' (1976) * '' Carry On Emmannuelle'' (1978) * '' The Second Victory'' (1987) * '' Carry On Columbus'' (1992)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Gerald 1920 births 1993 deaths English film directors English film editors British comedy film directors Parody film directors British parodists British Army personnel of World War II People from Kingston upon Hull