Monja Danischewsky (28 April 1911 – 16 October 1994) was a British producer and writer, born in Archangel into a
Russian-Jewish family who left Russia for England in 1919 and who produced and wrote the films ''
Topkapi'' and ''
Rockets Galore!'' (1957) and others.
Biography
Early life
Monja Danischewsky's family left
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
for
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
in 1919.
Career
Monja started out with various publicity jobs, then to
Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in west London, England. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on th ...
as publicity director in 1938 and occasional writer. Monja switched to producing in 1949; and later became an independent producer ''
The Galloping Major'' (1951); returned as producer/writer in mid-1950s and continued briefly after Ealing ended; ''
Rockets Galore'' (1958) and ''
The Battle of the Sexes'' (1959). Monja has written two books about his experiences in the film industry. Autobiography, 'White Russian, Red Face', 1966. and 'Out of my Mind', a collection of anecdotes, 1972.
Personal life
Monja was known as Danny to friends and fellow filmmakers. He married Brenda Danischewsky (born Rattrey) and they had 3 children. In later life he moved to
Farnham
Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tributary of the ...
,
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
with his wife. He died there at the age of 83.
Filmography
As writer
*''
Undercover'' (1943)
*''
Bitter Springs'' (1950)
*''
The Galloping Major'' (1951)
*''
Meet Mr. Lucifer'' (1953)
*''
The Love Lottery'' (1954) (additional dialogue and scenes)
*''
Rockets Galore!'' (1957)
*''
The Battle of the Sexes'' (1959)
*''
Two and Two Make Six'' (1962)
*''
Topkapi'' (1964) (screenplay)
*''
Mister Moses'' (1965)
*''Avalanche'' (1969) (as John Danischewsky)
*''
That Lucky Touch'' (1975) (adaptation)
As producer
*''
Whisky Galore!'' (1949) (associate producer)
*''
The Galloping Major'' (1951)
*''
Meet Mr. Lucifer'' (1953)
*''
The Love Lottery'' (1954)
*''
The Battle of the Sexes'' (1959)
*''
Two and Two Make Six'' (1962) (producer)
*''Avalanche'' (1969) (producer) (as John Danischewsky)
*''
Run Wild, Run Freedom'' (1969)
Published works
*''White Russian, Red Face'' (
Gollancz, 1966)
*''Out of My Mind'' (Michael Joseph, 1972)
* short memoir by Danischewsky of
Barnett Freedman, in Emma Mason (ed.), ''Tales of Barnett Freedman'' (Bread and Butter Press, 2020)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Danischewsky, Monja
1911 births
1994 deaths
English film producers
White Russian emigrants to the United Kingdom
Russian Jews
20th-century English screenwriters
20th-century English businesspeople