Stewart McAllister (27 December 1914 – 27 November 1962) was a British documentary

film editor Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film stock, film which increasingly involves the use Digital cinema, of digital ...

who collaborated closely with

Humphrey Jennings Frank Humphrey Sinkler Jennings (19 August 1907 – 24 September 1950) was an English documentary filmmaker and one of the founders of the Mass Observation organisation. Jennings was described by film critic and director Lindsay Anderson in 1 ...

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 ...

to produce films for the

Crown Film Unit The Crown Film Unit was an organisation within the British Government's Ministry of Information during the Second World War; until 1940, it was the GPO Film Unit. Its remit was to make films for the general public in Britain and abroad. Its outp ...

of the Ministry of Information. His contributions towards these films was largely neglected until Dai Vaughan's biography of him, ''Portrait of an Invisible Man'', was published in 1983.

Early life

McAllister was born in the Scottish county of

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...

on 27 December 1914. While studying painting at the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; ) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and design. These are all awa ...

, McAllister became involved in the Film Society.

Career

During his time in the Film Society, one of McAllister's films brought him to the attention of documentary film-maker

John Grierson John Grierson (26 April 1898 – 19 February 1972) was a Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. In 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" in a review of Robert J. Flaherty's '' ...

. Grierson invited him to join the

GPO Film Unit The GPO Film Unit was a subdivision of the UK General Post Office. The unit was established in 1933, taking on responsibilities of the Empire Marketing Board Film Unit. Headed by John Grierson, it was set up to produce sponsored documentary film ...

. During the

, McAllister continued working with this unit, which was renamed the

in 1940. In this time, he worked as an editor for most of the films directed by

, including ''

Fires Were Started ''Fires Were Started'' is a 1943 British film written and directed by Humphrey Jennings. Filmed in documentary style, it shows the lives of firefighters through the Blitz during the Second World War. The film uses actual firemen (including Cyri ...

'' and '' Listen to Britain''. Other films he edited during the war include the Harry Watt film '' Target for Tonight''. Following the death of Humphrey Jennings in 1950, McAllister began working for the

British Transport Films British Transport Films was an organisation set up in 1949 to make documentary films on the general subject of British transport. Its work included internal training films, travelogues (extolling the virtues of places that could be visited via t ...

unit, under

Edgar Anstey Edgar Anstey (16 February 1907 – 26 September 1987), was a leading British documentary filmmaker. Anstey was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, England in 1907, and was educated at Watford Grammar School for Boys and Birkbeck College. He ...

. With Anstey's encouragement, McAllister began working as a producer, resulting in films such as the humorous ''I Am a Litter Basket'' (1959). He also narrated many of the films that he produced.

Death

McAllister died in the Law Hospital,

on 27 November 1962.

Collaboration with Jennings

McAllister's role in the production of Crown Film Unit films has often been overlooked, with greater attention being focused on Jennings. However, the exact nature of McAllister's collaboration with Humphrey Jennings remains uncertain. McAllister's biographer, Dai Vaughan, provides substantial evidence through quotations from primary sources and critical analyses of the films, that McAllister's creativity and skills were a defining factor in what are known are known as 'Jenning's films', and that McAllister is an excellent case study for re-examining the validity of a theory of a single 'author' of a film. McAllister's contribution seems to have been particularly significant for the film ''Listen to Britain'', which uniquely acknowledged that it was 'Directed and edited by Humphrey Jennings and Stewart McAllister'. The recycling of other footage necessitated a greater degree of creative editing. Some of the film's most memorable scenes, including the cut from

Flanagan and Allen Flanagan and Allen were a British singing and comedy double act most active during the 1930s and 1940s. Its members were Bud Flanagan (1896 – 1968, born Chaim Weintrop) and Chesney Allen (1894–1982). They were first paired in a Florrie Ford ...

in a factory to Dame Myra Hess at the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

, were attributed to McAllister by his colleagues.

Personality

McAllister was shy and introverted but was also considered bad-tempered and argumentative.

Filmography

As editor

*''7 Till 5'' (1933) *''North Sea'' (1938) *''The Islanders'' (1939 - as assistant editor) *''Men of the Lightship'' (1940) *''

London Can Take It! ''London Can Take It!'' is a 1940 short British propaganda film directed by Humphrey Jennings and Harry Watt and narrated by US journalist and war correspondent Quentin Reynolds. It was produced by the GPO Film Unit for the British Ministry ...

'' (1940) *'' The Heart of Britain'' (1941) *'' Words for Battle'' (1941) *'' Target for Tonight'' (1941) *'' Listen to Britain'' (1942) *''

'' (1943) *''

The Silent Village ''The Silent Village'' is a 1943 British propaganda short film in the form of a drama documentary, made by the Crown Film Unit and directed by Humphrey Jennings. The film was named one of the top 5 documentaries of 1943 by the National Board of ...

'' (1943) *''The Eighty Days'' (1944) *''

A Diary for Timothy ''A Diary for Timothy'' is a 1945 British documentary film directed by Humphrey Jennings. It was produced by Basil Wright for the Crown Film Unit. The narration, spoken by Michael Redgrave, was written by Jennings and E. M. Forster and is an a ...

'' (1945) *''

Family Portrait Family Portrait may refer to: Portraiture painting * Family Portrait (Hals, four persons), ''Family Portrait'' (Hals, four persons), a 1635 painting by Frans Hals * Family Portrait (Hals, five persons), ''Family Portrait'' (Hals, five persons), ...

'' (1950) *''Journey Into History'' (1951) *''Train Time'' (1952) *'' Frontline: Memories of the Camps'' (1985) *''A Painful Reminder: Evidence for All Mankind'' (1985)

As producer

*''The Heart is Highland'' (1952) *''Ocean Terminal'' (1952) *''The Coasts of Clyde'' (1959) *''I Am a Litter Basket'' (1959) *''Groundwork for Progress'' (1959) *''Railway Electrification at Industrial Frequency'' (1960)

As director

*''Listen to Britain'' (1942) *''The Land of Robert Burns'' (1953)

References

External links

*
Stewart McAllister on BFI Screenonline
{{DEFAULTSORT:McAllister, Stewart 1914 births 1962 deaths British film editors Scottish film editors Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art