Leslie Halliwell

Leslie Robert James Halliwell (born February 23, 1929 in Bolton , Lancashire , † January 29, 1989 in Esher , Surrey ) was a British author , film journalist , film critic and film historian .

life and work

After graduating from school, Halliwell first studied English Philology at St Catharine's College in Cambridge . But soon afterwards he turned to film journalism and wrote numerous film reviews. Until his retirement in 1986, Halliwell worked primarily for various production companies and for British television as a buyer of American films.

Halliwell achieved particular popularity through his film dictionaries, which have appeared in numerous editions and have long been considered standard cinematographic works. In 1965 the film enthusiast published his Filmgoers' Companion for the first time , an encyclopedia with articles on filmmakers of all genres, films, motifs and production companies. Halliwell was able to win Alfred Hitchcock for the foreword of this work . In 1977 the first edition of Halliwell's Film Guide appeared with numerous reviews of productions from the silent film era . In 1979 he also published Halliwell's Television Companion . All three standard works are regularly revised and reissued to this day.

Halliwell also wrote other books and essays on film history and individual productions, memoirs ( Seats in All Parts ) and numerous articles for the Daily Mail newspaper .

Leslie Halliwell died of cancer on January 29, 1989 in Surrey at the age of 59 .

Bibliography (selection)

• from 1965 The Filmgoers' Companion
• 1975 The Clapperboard Book of the Cinema (with Graham Murray)
• from 1977 Halliwell's Film Guide
• from 1979 Halliwell's Television Companion
• 1985 Seats in All Parts
• 1986 Halliwell's Harvest

Web links

• Leslie Halliwell in the Internet Movie Database (English)