Sidney Henry Cole (31 October 1908 – 25 January 1998) was a British film and television producer. Earlier in his career he worked as a film editor. Cole was educated at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 mill ...

(LSE), and entered the film industry as a scenario reader for

Stoll Picture Productions Stoll Pictures was a British film production and distribution company of the silent era, founded in April 1918. Background During the early to mid-1920s it was the largest film company in Britain and one of the biggest in Europe. Its major do ...

, a company founded by Sir Oswald Stoll. A longstanding friend of director Thorold Dickinson, he edited Dickinson's '' The High Command'' (1936) and '' Gaslight'' (1940) and

Alberto Cavalcanti Alberto de Almeida Cavalcanti (February 6, 1897 – August 23, 1982) was a Brazilian-born film director and producer. He was often credited under the single name "Cavalcanti". Early life Cavalcanti was born in Rio de Janeiro, the son of a p ...

's '' Went the Day Well?'' (1942). Cavalcanti was "a joy" to work with and later in his life Cole remained pleased with his work on the film, stating that it was "very tightly edited by me".BECTU interview of Cole conducted by Alan Lawson (1987)
as reproduced on the BFI screenonline website The longest portion of Cole's career though was as a producer, initially credited as an associate producer, for

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever ...

(where he was employed for eleven years) and the television production company ITC. For ITC he produced ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...

'' (US: ''Secret Agent'', 1964–67) and '' Man in a Suitcase'' (1967–68). Later he supervised '' The Adventures of Black Beauty'' (1972–74) and ''

Dick Turpin Richard Turpin (bapt. 21 September 1705 – 7 April 1739) was an English highwayman whose exploits were romanticised following his execution in York for horse theft. Turpin may have followed his father's trade as a butcher ear ...

'' (1979–82) for

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 ...

, the latter via the Gatetarn company he founded with

Richard Carpenter Richard Carpenter may refer to: * Richard Carpenter (theologian) (1575–1627), English clergyman and theological writer * Richard Carpenter (ca. 1700–1750), original owner of the Belvale property in Virginia * Richard Cromwell Carpenter (1812� ...

and Paul Knight. Sidney Cole was politically engaged through much of his career. He was involved in making documentaries on the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

with DickinsonAnn Ogid
Cole, Sidney (1908-1998)
BFI scereenonline page and employed nearly two-dozen blacklisted American writers on ''

The Adventures of Robin Hood ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Technicolor swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and stars Errol Flynn, Olivia ...

'' (1955–60), a series whose executive producer

Hannah Weinstein Hannah Weinstein ( Dorner; June 23, 1911 – March 9, 1984) was an American journalist, publicist and left-wing political activist who moved to Britain and became a television producer. She is best remembered for having produced ''The Adventure ...

had herself chosen exile in London because of

McCarthyism McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left so ...

. With Peter Proud, Cole founded the ACTT union.

Selected filmography

* '' Midshipman Easy'' (editor, 1935) * '' The Avenging Hand'' (editor, 1936) * '' The High Command'' (editor, 1937) * '' Gaslight'' (editor, 1940) * '' Went The Day Well?'' (editor, 1943) * '' Scott Of The Antarctic'' (associate producer, 1948) * '' Secret People'' (producer, 1952) * ''

The Adventures Of Robin Hood ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Technicolor swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and stars Errol Flynn, Olivia ...

'' (producer, 1955) * '' The Adventures Of Sir Lancelot'' (producer, 1956) * '' The Buccaneers'' (producer, 1956) * ''

Sword Of Sherwood Forest ''Sword of Sherwood Forest'' is a 1960 British Eastman Color adventure film in MegaScope directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer Film Productions. Richard Greene reprises the role of Robin Hood, which he played in ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' ...

'' (producer, 1960) * ''

'' (producer, US: ''Secret Agent'', 1964–67) * '' Man In A Suitcase'' (producer, 1967) * '' The Adventures Of Black Beauty'' (producer, 1972) * ''

'' (producer, 1979)

References

External links

*
Part 2 of BECTU interview (1987) with Peter Proud conducted by Sid Cole and Alan Lawson
reproduced on the BFI screenonline website 1908 births 1998 deaths Alumni of the London School of Economics British film editors British film producers British television producers {{UK-tv-bio-stub