Walter C. Mycroft

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Walter Charles Mycroft (* late 1890 in London - Camberwell , United Kingdom , † June 12, 1959 in London) was a British journalist , film critic , screenwriter , film producer and film director .

Live and act

Mycroft's exact date of birth has been unclear for decades. He himself stated sometimes 1891, sometimes August 28, 1893. The fourth quarter of 1890 is documented in the birth records, i.e. the months from October to December. Mycroft's father was the journalist Walter Thomas Mycroft (1865-1948) and his wife Agnes Rosalind Mycroft. Due to a hunched back, Walter C. Mycroft's height was limited to 1.62 meters. He followed his father's career path and initially worked as a journalist for the Globe before moving to the Evening Standard as a film critic . In the course of the early 1920s he sponsored the idea of ​​a society for film that should set itself the task of making commercially unavailable art films available to the English public. From this, in collaboration with British filmmakers such as Ivor Novello and Sidney Bernstein , the London Film Society emerged in 1925 .

In 1927, Mycroft left the Evening Standard after five years and joined the production company British International Pictures (BIP), for which he initially revised scripts and served as a literary consultant. In 1933 Walter Mycroft rose to be the artistic director of BIP's Elstree Studios. At that time he had long since started writing his own scripts and producing films. During the transition from silent to sound films, Mycroft also worked briefly with the young Alfred Hitchcock : In 1928 he provided the literary and story template for his Champagne and in 1930 contributed to the script for the episode film Elstree Calling and the crime thriller Mord - Sir John takes hold a! . In the first decade of sound film, the 1930s, Mycroft was one of the most active filmmakers in his country. In 1934 alone he was involved in the production of over two dozen films. In the mid-1930s he also produced several musical novels with former stars of German singing cinema, including films with Richard Tauber ( Dein ist mein Herz und Wien, Wien, only you alone ), Joseph Schmidt ( A Star Fell From Heaven ) and Lilian Harvey ( Invitation to the Waltz ).

In 1937 Walter Mycroft rose to become head of production at the recently converted BIP, which was now the Associated British Picture Corporation. Mycroft's rapid decline began shortly after its great patron, BIP boss John Maxwell , died. At the end of 1941 Mycroft, who had also made his debut as a film director that year, was fired by the new bosses and was now barely active as a film producer until his death. At the time of his death in London's New End Hospital in June 1959, Walter Mycroft had written his memoirs but had not published them. This happened very late, in 2006. His memories were published under the title The Time of My Life . Walter Mycroft had five younger siblings: four sisters and the eldest brother.

Filmography

as a producer
  • 1931: Poor Old Bill
  • 1932: Men Like These
  • 1932: Sleepless Nights
  • 1932: For the Love of Mike
  • 1933: Red Wagon
  • 1933: A Southern Maid
  • 1934: Give Her a Ring
  • 1934: The Warren Case
  • 1934: My Old Duchess
  • 1934: The Luck of a Sailor
  • 1934: Yours is my heart ( Blossom Time )
  • 1935: The Student's Romance
  • 1935: Drake of England
  • 1935: Vienna, Vienna, just you alone ( Heart's Desire )
  • 1935: Mimi - The novel of a great love ( Mimi )
  • 1935: Dance Band
  • 1935: Invitation to the Waltz
  • 1936: A Star Fell from Heaven
  • 1936: sensation
  • 1936: The Tenth Man
  • 1936: Living Dangerously
  • 1937: Spring Handicap
  • 1937: Please Teacher
  • 1937: Glamorous Night
  • 1937: The Dominant Sex
  • 1938: premiere
  • 1938: Star of the Circus
  • 1938: Queer Cargo
  • 1938: Oh boy!
  • 1938: Marigold
  • 1939: Murder in Soho
  • 1939: Hell's Cargo
  • 1939: Lucky to Me
  • 1939: Yes, Madam?
  • 1939: The Outsider
  • 1940: The House of the Arrow
  • 1940: The Middle Watch
  • 1940: The Flying Squad
  • 1941: The Farmer's Wife
  • 1941: Spring Meeting
  • 1941: Banana Ridge
  • 1947: Comin 'Thro the Rye
  • 1952: The Woman's Angle
as a screenwriter
  • 1928: Tolerant woman ( Tesha )
  • 1930: Elstree Calling
  • 1930: murder - Sir John intervenes! (Murder!)
  • 1930: The Man from Chicago
  • 1931: Dreyfus
  • 1931: Keepers of Youth
  • 1931: Let's Love and Laugh
  • 1932: Money for Nothing
  • 1932: Carmen
  • 1941: Spring Meeting
  • 1941: Banana Ridge
  • 1947: The Phantom Shot
as director (complete)
  • 1941: My Wife's Family
  • 1941: Spring Meeting
  • 1941: Banana Ridge
  • 1947: Comin 'Thro the Rye (also film role)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ the date of death June 14, which is often read, is not applicable
  2. ↑ according to the membership card in the Royal Aero Club

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Mycroft, Walter C.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mycroft, Walter Charles (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British journalist, film critic, film producer, screenwriter and film director
DATE OF BIRTH between October 1890 and December 1890
PLACE OF BIRTH London - Camberwell , United Kingdom
DATE OF DEATH June 12, 1959
Place of death London