Jack Lee

AKA:
0.3936

1913-01-27

Slad, Gloucestershire, England

Biography

Wilfred John Raymond Lee (27 January 1913 – 15 October 2002) was a British film director, screenwriter, editor, and producer, who directed a number of postwar films on location in Asia and Australia for The Rank Organisation. Lee was born in the village of Slad near Stroud, Gloucestershire, the eldest brother of Laurie Lee, author of Cider with Rosie. In childhood, the two boys were close but fell out in later life. Natural rivals, Jack gained a place at the grammar school (Marling School in Stroud); Laurie failed to do so, attending Stroud Central School for Boys. He directed and co-wrote the screenplay of the pioneering motorcycle speedway film Once a Jolly Swagman (1949) which starred Dirk Bogarde. Among Jack Lee's other films are The Wooden Horse (1950), a popular Second World War POW escape film; Turn the Key Softly (1953), a realistic drama; A Town Like Alice (1956), starring Virginia McKenna and Peter Finch, based on Nevil Shute's novel; and Robbery Under Arms (1957), a Western-style adventure set in Australia, based on the 1888 bushranger novel by "Rolf Boldrewood". During the Australian feature film renaissance ushered in with Picnic at Hanging Rock, he served as chairman (from 1976 to 1981) of the South Australian Film Corporation, which started the careers of Bruce Beresford and Peter Weir.

Crew Roles

The Wooden Horse
Director
Once a Jolly Swagman
Director
A Town Like Alice
Director
Turn the Key Softly
Director
South of Algiers
Director
Circle of Deception
Director
Children on Trial
Director
Robbery Under Arms
Director
The Captain's Table
Director
The Woman in the Hall
Director
The Pilot Is Safe
Director
Ordinary People
Director
The Woman in the Hall
Screenplay
Turn the Key Softly
Screenplay
Children on Trial
Writer
London Can Take It!
Editor
London Can Take It!
Assistant Director
Cast RolesCast Roles Played = {0}