Ralph Philip Thomas (10 August 1915 – 17 March 2001) was an English film director who directed the
''Doctor'' film series.
Thomas cast the actor
James Robertson Justice
James Robertson Justice (15 June 1907 – 2 July 1975) was a British actor. He often portrayed pompous authority figures in comedies, including each of the seven films in the ''Doctor'' series. He also co-starred with Gregory Peck in seve ...
in many of his films. He often worked with the producer
Betty E. Box, who was married to ''Carry On'' producer
Peter Rogers
Peter Rogers (20 February 1914 – 14 April 2009) was an English film producer. He is best known for creating the ''Carry On'' series of films.
Life and career
Rogers began his career as a journalist for his local paper, before graduat ...
.
Early life
Ralph Philip Thomas was born on 10 August 1915 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 ...
. Thomas was a nephew of producer
Victor Saville.
He studied law at Middlesex University College.
Career
Early career
Thomas entered the film business as a
clapper boy at
Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of Pinewood Group, the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not ...
in 1932 during his summer vacation while at college. Following graduation, instead of becoming a lawyer he decided to enter the film industry, and became an apprentice at Shepperton Studios, working as a clapper boy and then in the editing room, the sound department and art department. From 1932 to 1934, Thomas worked predominantly on "
quota quickies Quota may refer to: Economics
* Import quota, a restriction on the quantity of goods that can be imported into a country
* Market Sharing Quota, an economic system used in Canadian agriculture
* Milk quota, a quota on milk production in Europe
* ...
". He discovered he loved editing the most and worked predominantly as an editor for the next few years, including a period working alongside
David Lean
Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor, widely considered one of the most important figures of Cinema of the United Kingdom, British cinema. He directed the large-scale epi ...
. When his employer, Premiere Stafford, went broke he worked for a while as a journalist at the ''
Bristol Evening Post
The ''Bristol Post'' is a city/regional five-day-a-week (formerly appearing six days per week) newspaper covering news in the city of Bristol, including stories from the whole of Greater Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. It was ...
'' for over a year. He returned to editing before joining the army in 1939.
During 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 ...
, Thomas served with the
9th Lancers
The 9th Queen's Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, ...
rising to the rank of Major and being awarded the
Military Cross
The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...
. He took part in the
Battle of El Alamein.
Post-war career
Thomas left the army in 1945 and re-entered the film industry, although he could only gain work as an assistant editor. He assisted editing ''
Odd Man Out
''Odd Man Out'' is a 1947 British film noir directed by Carol Reed, and starring James Mason, Robert Newton, Cyril Cusack, and Kathleen Ryan. Set in Belfast, Northern Ireland, it follows a wounded Nationalist leader who attempts to evade pol ...
'' (1946) then began making
film trailer
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...
s for the
Rank Organisation
The Rank Organisation (founded as the J. Arthur Rank Organisation) is a British entertainment conglomerate founded in 1937 by industrialist J. Arthur Rank. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the Uni ...
. He worked his way up to becoming head of Rank's trailer department as well as writing films. Thomas later said making trailers was "enormously useful" because he "learned a lot of the technique of how the varying directors whose pictures I had worked on operated. Also, it teaches one a great deal of discipline about brevity in story telling".
Early films as director
Sydney Box had enjoyed Thomas's trailer for ''
Miranda'' (1948) and when a position of director came up due to an unexpected illness, Thomas made his directoral debut in ''
Once Upon a Dream'' (1949).
He made a two more comedies for Sydney Box: ''
Helter Skelter'' then ''
Traveller's Joy'' (both also 1949). Thomas later recalled this time as:
Enormously exciting and invigorating. We knew that we were not always doing very creative work, but that there was a chance to gain experience and that this wasn't going to last... You were quite likely to finish shooting on Friday, plan to go into the cutting rooms on Monday to look over your stuff and get your cut ready, then go for a drink, and you'd be given another script and be told, 'The sets are standing and you start on Monday – this is the cast!' It wasn't necessarily good and we didn't get a lot of money, but it was regular.
While assembling trailers, Thomas met Sydney Box's sister Betty, and the two of them struck up a rapport. In 1949 it was announced
Betty Box,
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 Sevent ...
and Thomas had formed Feature Film Facilities, to make six or seven films, starting with an adaptation of several
Guy de Maupassant
Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, celebrated as a master of the short story, as well as a representative of the naturalist school, depicting human lives, destinies and s ...
stories. This never happened. However, when Thomas left Sydney Box to go under contract with the Rank Organisation to make ''
The Clouded Yellow'' (1950), he brought Betty with him as a producer. They ended up making over twenty films together.
Box defined their relationship in a 1973 interview:
I'm a natural pessimist and he's a natural optimist. I'm always in the depths of despair and he is always full of joy. Good teams are often made of opposites... We (she and Ralph Thomas) do have awful, boring fights. Directing a film is not an easy job. For any man to stay sweet and gentle through eight weeks of purgatory is impossible.
Their second film together was ''
Appointment with Venus'' (1951), a war comedy with
David Niven
James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was an English actor, soldier, raconteur, memoirist and novelist. Niven was known as a handsome and debonair leading man in Classic Hollywood films. His accolades include an Academ ...
. This was followed by ''
Venetian Bird
''Venetian Bird'' (U.S. title ''The Assassin'') is a 1952 British thriller film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Richard Todd, Eva Bartok and John Gregson. The screenplay was adapted by Victor Canning from his 1950 Venetian Bird (novel), no ...
'' (1952), a thriller shot partly on location in Venice.
Thomas then made several comedies, ''
A Day to Remember
A Day to Remember is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Ocala, Florida, in 2003 by guitarist Tom Denney and drummer Bobby Scruggs. They are known for their amalgamation of metalcore and pop-punk. The band currently consists of voca ...
'' (1953), ''
The Dog and the Diamonds'' (also 1953) and ''
Mad About Men'' (1954). It was a film released between the last two, however, which established his career.
''Doctor in the House''
They had a massive box office hit with ''Doctor in the House'' (1954). The film made a star of
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 led to a number of sequels, all of which would be directed by Thomas.
Thomas later reflected, "In a way it doesn't really do your career any good to have such a big success early on... you can easily get thrown off course because you get offered all sorts of things which you don't really want to do and shouldn't do. You become easily flattered because you like this first taste of fame."
However, the films gave Thomas and Box a great deal of control. Thomas says whenever they made a "doctor" film, Rank would finance another movie they wanted "as long as the thing we wanted to make had a reasonable budget and was not too idiotic."
Thomas made a war film, ''
Above Us the Waves'' (1955), before doing a second "Doctor", ''
Doctor at Sea'' (also 1955). Both these movies would be among the most successful films at the British box office in 1955. He followed them with the less popular ''
Checkpoint'' (1956), a ''
noir''
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...
thriller concerning car racing starring
Anthony Steel and featuring location filming in Europe.
The success of ''Doctor in the House'' saw Thomas offered to direct the Cold War comedy, ''
The Iron Petticoat
''The Iron Petticoat'' (also known as ''Not for Money'') is a 1956 British Cold War comedy film starring Bob Hope and Katharine Hepburn, and directed by Ralph Thomas. The screenplay by Ben Hecht became the focus of a contentious history behind t ...
'' with
Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...
and
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose Katharine Hepburn on screen and stage, career as a Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong ...
. The film was a financial success but production was an unhappy experience for Thomas. It was the only time he worked with major Hollywood stars.
He returned to "Doctor" series with ''
Doctor at Large'' (1957), the second most popular movie at the British box office in its year of release.
This success encouraged Rank to finance Thomas and Box for a series of expensive adventure films starring Dirk Bogarde shot on location, aimed at the international market: ''
Campbell's Kingdom'' (1957), ''
A Tale of Two Cities
''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by English author Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long impr ...
'' (1958) and ''
The Wind Cannot Read
''The Wind Cannot Read'' is a 1958 British drama film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Dirk Bogarde, Yoko Tani, Ronald Lewis and John Fraser. It was based on the 1946 novel by Richard Mason, who also wrote the screenplay.
Ralph Thom ...
'' (also 1958). None of these achieved the financial success of the "Doctor" movies, although the last two in particular are regarded among Thomas' finest works. Also on a large scale was ''
The 39 Steps'' (1959), starring
Kenneth More
Kenneth Gilbert More (20 September 1914 – 12 July 1982) was an English actor.
Initially achieving fame in the comedy ''Genevieve (film), Genevieve'' (1953), he appeared in many roles as a carefree, happy-go-lucky gent. Films from this period ...
in a remake of the
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 ...
classic, which was a box-office success. Thomas returned to comedy with the smaller budgeted ''
Upstairs and Downstairs'' (also 1959), starring
Michael Craig.
1960s
Thomas and Box wanted to make two riskier films, a story about nuns, ''
Conspiracy of Hearts'' (1960), and a political story ''
No Love for Johnnie'' (1961). Rank agreed to finance provided they made a fourth doctor film: ''
Doctor in Love'' (1960) was the result; despite Dirk Bogarde refusing to take part (Michael Craig took over the lead), it was still a big hit. ''Conspiracy of Hearts'' was also highly successful. ''No Love for Johnnie'' was a flop, but was highly acclaimed critically – perhaps the most admired of all Thomas' movies.
Thomas and Box then made two low-budget comedies. ''
No My Darling Daughter'' (1961) and ''
A Pair of Briefs'' (1962). Thomas did some uncredited work on ''
Carry On Cruising'' (1962), before making a university drama with Box, ''
The Wild and the Willing
''The Wild and the Willing'' (also known as ''Young and Willing'') is a 1962 British romantic drama film, directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Virginia Maskell, Paul Rogers, Ian McShane and Samantha Eggar. It is the film debuts of Ian McShan ...
'' (1962), an "
angry young man"-style melodrama which was the first film for
Ian McShane
Ian David McShane (born 29 September 1942) is an English actor. His television performances include the title role in the BBC series ''Lovejoy'' (1986–1994), Al Swearengen in '' Deadwood'' (2004–2006) and its 2019 film continuation, and M ...
,
John Hurt
Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 28 January 2017) was an English actor. Regarded as one of the finest actors of his time and known for the "most distinctive voice in Cinema of the United Kingdom, Britain", he was described by David Ly ...
and
Samantha Eggar
Victoria Louise Samantha Marie Elizabeth Therese Eggar (born 5 March 1939) is a retired English actress. After beginning her career in Shakespearean theatre she rose to fame for her performance in William Wyler's thriller ''The Collector'' (196 ...
.
None of these were particularly popular at the box office so Thomas returned to "doctor" films with ''
Doctor in Distress'' (1963). This starred Dirk Bogarde, who had been encouraged to reprise his role as Simon Sparrow one more time. In return, Rank agreed to finance Thomas and Bogarde in two more expensive films: the
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
spoof ''
Hot Enough for June'' (1964) and a serious look at the
Cyprus Emergency
The Cyprus Emergency was a conflict fought in British Cyprus between April 1955 and March 1959.
The National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters (EOKA), a Greek Cypriot right-wing nationalist guerrilla organisation, began an armed campaign in s ...
, ''
The High Bright Sun'' (1964).
Neither of the latter two were particularly popular. Thomas returned to more sure-fire material with a sixth "Doctor", ''
Doctor in Clover'' (1966). He then made two
Bulldog Drummond films, both starring
Richard Johnson, ''
Deadlier Than the Male
''Deadlier Than the Male'' is a 1967 British crime and mystery film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Richard Johnson and Elke Sommer. It is one of the many take-offs of James Bond produced during the 1960s, but is based on an already est ...
'' (1967) and ''
Some Girls Do'' (1969). In between he directed
Rod Taylor in a poorly-received thriller, ''
Nobody Runs Forever'' (also known as ''The High Commissioner'', 1968).
1970s
Thomas shot the last "doctor" film, ''
Doctor in Trouble'' in 1970. It made money but Thomas and Box were getting sick of the series and sold the franchise to television. They had a big hit ''
Percy'' (1971) which led to a sequel, ''
Percy's Progress'' (1974). However, other films Thomas made around this time – ''
Quest for Love'' (1971), an unusual sci-fi love story starring
Joan Collins
Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Awards, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime Emm ...
, and ''
The Love Ban'' (1973) – were less successful.
The downturn in production in the British film industry of the 1970s affected Thomas' ability to raise finance for his films and he began to work increasingly in television. His last feature was ''
A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square'' (1979).
Personal life
Thomas was the brother of
Gerald Thomas
Gerald Thomas (10 December 1920 – 9 November 1993) was an English film director best known for the long-running ''Carry On (franchise), ''Carry On'' series'' of British film comedies.
Early life
Born in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding ...
, who later became a film director on the ''
Carry On...'' series, and his son is the
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
-winning film producer
Jeremy Thomas.
Death and legacy
Thomas died on 17 March 2001 in London.
He is commemorated with a green plaque on
The Avenues, Kingston upon Hull
The Avenues is an area of high status Victorian housing located in the north-west of Kingston upon Hull, England. It is formed by four main tree-lined straight avenues running west off the north-north-east/south-south-west running ''Princes Ave ...
.
Thomas later described himself as:
A sort of journeyman picture maker and I was generally happy to make anything I felt to be halfway respectable. So my volume of work was enormous; I had a lot of energy and made all kinds of pictures. If you make all kinds, you score a hit sometimes. I made thrillers, comedies, love stories, war stories, one or two adventure things. Some filmmakers have a lot of talent and genius for it; others simply have a lot of energy and I'm afraid I belong in the latter category!
Filmography
Director
* ''
Once Upon a Dream'' (1949)
* ''
Traveller's Joy'' (1949)
* ''
Helter Skelter'' (1949)
* ''
The Clouded Yellow'' (1951)
* ''
Appointment with Venus'' (1951)
* ''
Venetian Bird
''Venetian Bird'' (U.S. title ''The Assassin'') is a 1952 British thriller film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Richard Todd, Eva Bartok and John Gregson. The screenplay was adapted by Victor Canning from his 1950 Venetian Bird (novel), no ...
'' (1952)
* ''
A Day to Remember
A Day to Remember is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Ocala, Florida, in 2003 by guitarist Tom Denney and drummer Bobby Scruggs. They are known for their amalgamation of metalcore and pop-punk. The band currently consists of voca ...
'' (1953)
* ''
The Dog and the Diamonds'' (1953)
* ''
Mad About Men'' (1954)
* ''
Doctor in the House Doctor in the House may refer to:
* Doctor in the House (novel), ''Doctor in the House'' (novel), a 1952 novel by Richard Gordon
** Doctor in the House (film), ''Doctor in the House'' (film), a 1954 British film adaptation of the novel
*** Doctor i ...
'' (1954)
* ''
Above Us the Waves'' (1955)
* ''
Doctor at Sea'' (1955)
* ''
Checkpoint'' (1956)
* ''
The Iron Petticoat
''The Iron Petticoat'' (also known as ''Not for Money'') is a 1956 British Cold War comedy film starring Bob Hope and Katharine Hepburn, and directed by Ralph Thomas. The screenplay by Ben Hecht became the focus of a contentious history behind t ...
'' (1956)
* ''
Doctor at Large'' (1957)
* ''
Campbell's Kingdom'' (1957)
* ''
A Tale of Two Cities
''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by English author Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long impr ...
'' (1958)
* ''
The Wind Cannot Read
''The Wind Cannot Read'' is a 1958 British drama film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Dirk Bogarde, Yoko Tani, Ronald Lewis and John Fraser. It was based on the 1946 novel by Richard Mason, who also wrote the screenplay.
Ralph Thom ...
'' (1958)
* ''
The 39 Steps'' (1959)
* ''
Upstairs and Downstairs'' (1959)
* ''
Conspiracy of Hearts'' (1960)
* ''
Doctor in Love'' (1960)
* ''
No Love for Johnnie'' (1961)
* ''
No My Darling Daughter'' (1961)
* ''
A Pair of Briefs'' (1962)
* ''
The Wild and the Willing
''The Wild and the Willing'' (also known as ''Young and Willing'') is a 1962 British romantic drama film, directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Virginia Maskell, Paul Rogers, Ian McShane and Samantha Eggar. It is the film debuts of Ian McShan ...
'' (1962)
* ''
Doctor in Distress'' (1963)
* ''
Hot Enough for June'' (1964)
* ''
The High Bright Sun'' (1964) (US: ''McGuire, Go Home'')
* ''
Doctor in Clover'' (1966)
* ''
Deadlier Than the Male
''Deadlier Than the Male'' is a 1967 British crime and mystery film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Richard Johnson and Elke Sommer. It is one of the many take-offs of James Bond produced during the 1960s, but is based on an already est ...
'' (1967)
* ''
Nobody Runs Forever'' (1968)
* ''
Some Girls Do'' (1969)
* ''
Doctor in Trouble'' (1970)
* ''
Percy'' (1971)
* ''
Quest for Love'' (1971)
* ''
The Love Ban'' (1973)
* ''
Percy's Progress'' (1974)
* ''The Insurance Man from Ingersoll'' (1975) (TV movie)
* ''
A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square'' (1979)
Writer
* ''
Doctor's Daughters'' (1981) (TV series)
Producer
* ''
Pop Pirates'' (1984)
Editor
* ''
Second Bureau'' (1936)
* ''
Return of a Stranger'' (1937)
Unfinished films
*Untitled film about British policewomen, a female version of ''
The Blue Lamp''
*''The Red Hot Ferrari''
*''The Undertakers Man''
*''The Reckless Years'', the story of Byron and Shelley (1974)
[Box, p. 281.]
Notes
External links
*
Ralph Thomasin the ''
Time Out Film Guide''
Ralph Tomasat Britmovie
Obituaryat BBC
at ''The Telegraph''
at ''The New York Times''
at the ''Los Angeles Times''
Obituaryat ''The Guardian''
at
BFI Screenonline
Screenonline is a website about the history of British film, television and social history as documented by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and tele ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Ralph
1915 births
Thomas, Ralph
English film directors
Film producers from Kingston upon Hull
Recipients of the Military Cross
9th Queen's Royal Lancers officers
British Army personnel of World War II
20th-century English businesspeople
Military personnel from Kingston upon Hull