Vernon Harris (26 February 1905 – February 1999) was a British screenwriter. He often worked with the film director

Lewis Gilbert Lewis Gilbert (6 March 1920 – 23 February 2018) was an English film director, producer and screenwriter who directed more than 40 films during six decades; among them such varied titles as '' Reach for the Sky'' (1956), '' Sink the Bismarck! ...

who said:

arris In architecture, an arris is the sharp edge formed by the intersection of two surfaces, such as the corner of a masonry unit; the edge of a timber in timber framing; the junction between two planes of plaster or any intersection of divergent a ...
worked with me in some way on almost every film I did over nearly forty years. In those early days, we very often did the complete screenplay together. Vernon’s real strength was as a script editor. We would lay out the scenario together and we would then usually depend upon a dialogue writer to supply the dialogue.

Harris was nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include stage plays, mus ...

for his script for film ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before opening in the W ...

'' (1968). Harris was born in

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...

. He worked extensively for radio at the BBC, notably on ''PC49'' and ''

Band Waggon ''Band Waggon'' was a comedy radio show broadcast by the BBC from 1938 to 1940. The first series featured Arthur Askey and Richard "Stinker" Murdoch. In the second series, Askey and Murdoch were joined by Syd Walker, and the third series ad ...

''. He died in

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 ...

Credits

Screenwriter

* ''

Play Up the Band ''Play Up the Band'' is a 1935 British musical comedy film directed by Harry Hughes and starring Stanley Holloway, Betty Ann Davies and Leslie Bradley. The film was made at Ealing Studios by the independent company City Films.Perry p.175 The ...

'' (1935) * '' Joy Ride'' (1935) – also story * '' The Improper Duchess'' (1936) *'' Tropical Trouble'' (1936) *''

'' (1940) – also devised by *'' The Adventures of PC 49'' (1949) – based on radio series * '' A Case for PC 49'' (1951) – also based on radio series * ''

Emergency Call An emergency telephone number is a number that allows a caller to contact local emergency services for assistance. The emergency number differs from country to country; it is typically a three-digit number so that it can be easily remembered and ...

'' (1952) aka ''The Hundred Hour Hunt'' * '' There Was a Young Lady'' (1953) – original story *'' Cosh Boy'' (1953) aka ''The Slasher'' * '' Albert R.N.'' (1953) aka ''Break to Freedom'' * ''

The Good Die Young ''The Good Die Young'' is a 1954 British crime film directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Laurence Harvey, Gloria Grahame, Joan Collins, Stanley Baker, Richard Basehart and John Ireland. It was made by Remus Films from a screenplay by ...

'' (1954) * '' The Sea Shall Not Have Them'' (1954) * '' Reach for the Sky'' (1956) – additional scenes * ''

Three Men in a Boat ''Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)'',The Penguin edition punctuates the title differently: ''Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog!'' published in 1889, is a humorous novel by English writer Jerome K. Jerome describing ...

'' (1956, joint nomination with Hubert Gregg for

BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay The BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay was a British Academy Film Award from 1954 to 1967. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is a British organisation that hosts annual awards shows for film, television, children's film ...

) * ''

The Admirable Crichton ''The Admirable Crichton'' is a comic stage play written in 1902 by J. M. Barrie. Origins Barrie took the title from the sobriquet of a fellow Scotland, Scot, the polymath James Crichton, a 16th-century genius and athlete. The epigram-loving E ...

'' (1957) aka ''Paradise Lagoon'' * ''

Carve Her Name with Pride ''Carve Her Name with Pride'' is a 1958 British war Drama (film and television), drama film based on the book of the same name by R. J. Minney. The film, directed by Lewis Gilbert, is based on the true story of Special Operations Executive agen ...

'' (1958) *''

A Cry from the Streets ''A Cry from the Streets'' is a 1958 British drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert, starring Max Bygraves and Barbara Murray. It was written by Vernon Harris based on the 1957 novel ''The Friend in Need'' by Elizabeth Coxhead. Plot When a man ...

'' (1958) (nomination for BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay) *'' Ferry to Hong Kong'' (1959) *'' Light Up the Sky!'' (1960) * '' Almost Angels'' (1962) * ''

Emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

'' (1962) * ''

'' (1968 – 1969 nominee for Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay) *''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...

'' (1971) *''

Paul and Michelle ''Paul and Michelle'' is a 1974 drama film directed and produced by Lewis Gilbert, whose story Vernon Harris and Angela Huth dramatized. It is a sequel to the 1971 film ''Friends,'' by the same director and with the same lead actors. Gilbert says ...

'' (1974)

As script editor

*'' The Adventurers'' (1970) *'' Seven Nights in Japan'' (1976) *'' The Spy Who Loved Me'' (1977) *'' Moonraker'' (1979) *'' Educating Rita'' (1983)

Storyboard artist

*'' Shirley Valentine'' (1989)

Actor

*'' Joy Ride'' (1935) * '' Show Flat'' (1936) *'' Tropical Trouble'' (1936) *'' Farewell Again '' (1937) *'' The Claydon Treasure Mystery'' (1938) *'' The Last Barricade'' (1938) *'' The Gables Mystery'' (1938)

Radio Writer

*''

'' (1938–40) *''The Adventures of PC 49''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Vernon 1905 births 1999 deaths People from Folkestone English male screenwriters British storyboard artists 20th-century British screenwriters 20th-century English male writers