John Eldridge(1917-1962)
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
John Eldridge made his name as a documentary director but really made
his reputation for a series of gentle, lyrical and "veddy" British
features. He began his career as an assistant editor in the mid-'30s,
and by 1939 had graduated to a full-fledged documentary director. One
of his best received earlier films was
Three Dawns to Sydney (1949),
about the countries one sees while flying from England to Australia.
After making a few more documentaries he moved into feature films and
joined John Grierson's
well-regarded Group 3 Productions. His first feature for that company,
Brandy for the Parson (1952),
was a whimsical comedy about liquor smugglers on the coast of Kent,
reminiscent of the classic British comedy
Whisky Galore! (1949). His next,
Scotch on the Rocks (1953), was another
comedy in that same vein, about residents of the Hebrides Islands and
how they outwitted an unfeeling government bureaucracy.
Fuss Over Feathers (1954) was a
slightly more serious tale of a bird preserve, praised by critics for
the lush photography of
Arthur Grant.
Unfortunately, it was to be Eldridge's last film as a director. He had
been plagued by poor health, and after this film he was just not up to
the rigors, both physical and emotional, of directing. After writing
screenplays for a half-dozen or so pictures for other directors, his
health finally gave out and he died in 1960, at just 42 years of age.
his reputation for a series of gentle, lyrical and "veddy" British
features. He began his career as an assistant editor in the mid-'30s,
and by 1939 had graduated to a full-fledged documentary director. One
of his best received earlier films was
Three Dawns to Sydney (1949),
about the countries one sees while flying from England to Australia.
After making a few more documentaries he moved into feature films and
joined John Grierson's
well-regarded Group 3 Productions. His first feature for that company,
Brandy for the Parson (1952),
was a whimsical comedy about liquor smugglers on the coast of Kent,
reminiscent of the classic British comedy
Whisky Galore! (1949). His next,
Scotch on the Rocks (1953), was another
comedy in that same vein, about residents of the Hebrides Islands and
how they outwitted an unfeeling government bureaucracy.
Fuss Over Feathers (1954) was a
slightly more serious tale of a bird preserve, praised by critics for
the lush photography of
Arthur Grant.
Unfortunately, it was to be Eldridge's last film as a director. He had
been plagued by poor health, and after this film he was just not up to
the rigors, both physical and emotional, of directing. After writing
screenplays for a half-dozen or so pictures for other directors, his
health finally gave out and he died in 1960, at just 42 years of age.