James Bernard

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James Michael Bernard (* 20th September 1925 in India ; † 12. July 2001 in London ) was a British screenwriter and film composer , who for his only screenplay work in 1952 the Oscar for best original story won and especially by the music composed by him film music for the horror and science fiction films of the film production company Hammer Films became known.

Life

Bernard was born in India to an officer in the British Army , but moved to England as a toddler for health reasons , where he attended Wellington College in Berkshire . After he met the composer Benjamin Britten and his partner, the tenor Peter Pears , at the age of 17 in 1942 , he decided to work as a composer. Having 1943-1946 his military service in the Royal Air Force had served, he studied with Imogen Holst and Herbert Howells composition at the Royal College of Music . After graduating in 1949, he first worked as a composer for radio plays for the BBC .

When he met the screenwriter and film producer Paul Dehn around 1950 , they developed joint professional projects, a close friendship and finally a civil partnership that lasted until Dehn's death in 1976. The two wrote the screenplay for the film A city holds its breath (Seven Days to Noon, 1950) of John and Roy Boulting with Barry Jones , André Morell and Olive Sloane in the lead roles . For this he and Dehn were awarded the Oscar in 1952 in the then existing category Best Original Story.

From the mid-1950s on, he composed in particular the film music for the horror and science fiction films of the film production company Hammer Films and later for documentaries about this production company and its stars such as the television series Hammer House of Horror (1980), Peter Cushing: A One-Way Ticket to Hollywood (1989) and Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror (1994).

Filmography (selection)

Awards

Soundtrack

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Bernard, James
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bernard, James Michael (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British screenwriter and film composer
DATE OF BIRTH September 20, 1925
PLACE OF BIRTH India
DATE OF DEATH July 12, 2001
Place of death London