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Charles Saunders (director)

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Charles Saunders
Born
Charles Joel Saunders

(1904-04-08)8 April 1904
Paddington, London, England
Died20 April 1997(1997-04-20) (aged 93)
Denham, Buckinghamshire, England
Other namesChas Saunders
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter, film editor
RelativesSir Peter Saunders (brother)

Charles Joel Saunders (8 April 1904 – 20 April 1997)[1] was an English film director and screenwriter who began in the industry as a film editor, and who also contributed to television.[2] He was the brother of the theatrical producer Sir Peter Saunders.

Career

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Educated at Bedales, Saunders entered the film industry in 1927 and acted as assistant director and editor with such companies as Gaumont-British.[3] His directorial debut was a romantic comedy called No Exit (which he wrote, produced and directed),[4] about a publisher's daughter who wrongly believes that a humble staff writer of her father's is secretly a best-selling author.[5]

However, his main occupation from 1930 to 1943 was in the film editing sphere, learning the trade by contributing to over 20 films,[2] and rising to become supervising editor for the 1942 Gainsborough movie Alibi, a thriller which starred James Mason and Margaret Lockwood.[6]

In 1944, he collaborated with Bernard Miles to co-direct (and co-write) Tawny Pipit, a film starring Miles himself as an Army colonel involved with village folk in an effort to protect rare birds' nests from egg thieves.[3]

After working as a second unit director in 1945 on The Way to the Stars,[7] and as a location director in 1947 on The White Unicorn,[8] he resumed his career as director with Fly Away Peter in 1948.[9] Saunders would go on to make around ten films (including 1951's One Wild Oat,[10] featuring a then little-known Audrey Hepburn as a hotel receptionist) before moving into television, and in 1953 and 1954 he directed eight episodes of the anthology series Douglas Fairbanks Presents, for Douglas Fairbanks Productions Limited.[2]

He was still busy with several movie assignments, making The Golden Link, The Scarlet Web, and Meet Mr. Callaghan in 1954. He made three films in 1955, The Hornet's Nest, One Jump Ahead, and A Time to Kill. Returning to television direction once more, he then made seven episodes of the police drama series, Fabian of the Yard, broadcast on the BBC in 1955, before completing three more films in 1956 (Behind the Headlines, The Narrowing Circle, and Find the Lady).[2]

After making three more episodes of "Fabian" in 1955 and 1956, he continued working with the BBC, filming nine instalments[2] of another TV series, Adventures of the Big Man in 1956, which presented stories about a public relations officer in a large store.[11]

Seven more films followed in 1957, before Saunders began to make films which marked a departure from the formulaic work he had been employed on previously.[2] The 1958 "English sexploitation movie", Nudist Paradise,[12] was perhaps the beginning of the end of Saunders' mainstream career in films, although he did make a horror movie the same year, called Womaneater, the story of a crazed scientist who feeds women to a flesh-eating tree in return for a life-giving serum.[13] It was produced by Guido Coen, for whom Saunders made other movies such as the 1957 drama Kill Her Gently and the 1959 thriller Naked Fury.

After several more films, concluding with the 1963 crime thriller Danger by My Side, Saunders retired from film-making.[citation needed]

He died in 1997 in Denham, Buckinghamshire.[3]

Selected filmography

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References

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  1. ^ "SAUNDERS, Charles". BFI.org.uk. British Film Institute. [Vital dates]. Archived from the original on 15 January 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "SAUNDERS, Charles". BFI.org.uk. British Film Institute. [Filmography]. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2008.
  3. ^ a b c McFarlane, Brian (28 February 2014). The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth Edition (softcover) (4th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 673. ISBN 978-0-7190-9139-1.
  4. ^ "No Exit". New York Times. 6 November 2012. [Production Credits]. Archived from the original on 6 November 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  5. ^ No Exit synopsis: The New York Times website. Retrieved on 4 March 2008.
  6. ^ "Alibi". BFI.org.uk. British Film Institute. 1942. ["Credits"]. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2008.
  7. ^ "The Way to the Stars". BFI.org.uk. British Film Institute. 1945. ["Credits"]. Archived from the original on 15 January 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2022. Second Unit Director
  8. ^ "The White Unicorn". BFI.org.uk. British Film Institute. 1947. ["Credits"]. Archived from the original on 15 January 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2008. Location Director
  9. ^ a b "Fly Away Peter". BFI.org.uk. British Film Institute. 1931. Archived from the original on 15 January 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  10. ^ "One Wild Oat". BFI.org.uk. British Film Institute. 1951. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  11. ^ "Adventures of the Big Man". BFI.org.uk. British Film Institute. 1956. [Episodes]. Archived from the original on 25 January 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2008.
  12. ^ "Nudist Paradise". emovieposter.com. Poster Image Archive. 1958. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2008.
  13. ^ "Womaneater". eofftv.com. Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film and Television. 6 March 2007. Archived from the original on 2 December 2007. Retrieved 4 March 2008.
  14. ^ "Immediate Possession". BFI.org.uk. British Film Institute. 1931. Archived from the original on 13 January 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  15. ^ "Peace and Quiet". BFI.org.uk. British Film Institute. 1931. [Click on "More..."] Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  16. ^ "We dine at Seven". BFI.org.uk. British Film Institute. 1931. [Click on "More..."] Archived from the original on 13 January 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  17. ^ "Murder Reported". BFI.org.uk. British Film Institute. 1957. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  18. ^ "The Gentle Trap". BFI.org.uk. British Film Institute. 1960. Archived from the original on 5 February 2009. Retrieved 18 December 2022. Released on 28 October 1960
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