Search Results for: Rodney Giesler

…nbsp;Bob Dunbar (Editor of "British Ally", Moscow 1944-47)Interviewed by Rodnev Giesler in London on 15 4 97 Born Gravesend 1914. Father a journalist at Odhams Press.

…or Kenneth Branagh. Phyllis Dalton (PD)Costume DesignerBECTU No.467Interviewer: Rodney Gielsler (RG)Date 11/02/20002 Tapes Side 100:00:00 – 00: Introductions; born 1925 in Chiswick; father worked…

Joins Crown Film Unit at Pinewood, 1944. Unit closed 1953. Freelance documentary director until 1956. One of the first directors of TV commercials, John did over 1000. Further freelance activities.

Born Isleworth 28 Sep 1923 Ordinary family. Went Stowe school 17 office boy Knight Frank & Rutley at start of WW2. Inot Army 1943 1946. Newcastle University . 2nd Lieutenant. To Burma for 18 months in RA. Caught tropical fevers invalided home 1946. Joined Ealing Studios as runner 1946 to 1948. Talks about the film Whisky Galore on location in Scotland.  Joined ACTT. Worked on Blue Lamp, Scott of the Antarctic. Explains Jack Cardiff's method of shooting. Promoted to 3rd Assistant  Director on Passport to Pimlico. First Ealing Comedy.Made redundant from Ealing by Michael Balcon. Joined Crown Film Unit. 1950 in Beaconsfield as Asst Director. Talks with meeting Lord Mountbatten at Festival of Britain.Relates working in Baghdad on King Feisal film 1953. Joined BBC as Studio Manager  later Floor Manager 1954. Married 1959 to a BBC casting manager.Worked on variety of programmes. Women of Troy. Worked with Denis Vance & Chloe Gibson. Promoted to Assistant Producer. Directed World of Tim Frazer. All programmes were live on TV. Employed Director at ABC TV commercial TV. Started directing the Avengers. Was on first episode with Honor Blackman and suggested a black leather suit for her. Next series Jezebel Ex UK 1963. Freelance after ABC TV.. Back to BBC as a freelance on Z Cars 1964. Onto Coronation Street as Director at Granada. Talks of Summer Outing on locationwith Coronation Street Cast at Blue John mine in Derbyshire relating problems with time. Joined BBC as staff trainer of Production Assistants late 1960's. Instructed Esther Rantzen and Alan Yentob. Went to Kenya as Televison Adviser to Kenya TV for two years.First worked in colour in 1970's. Job with Scottish Television as Freelance Director on documentaries & drama. Went to Zambia to make documentary on the explorer David Livingstone. Most happy making documentaries. Born Isleworth 28 Sep 1923 Ordinary family. Went Stowe school 17 office boy Knight Frank & Rutley at start of WW2. Inot Army 1943 1946. Newcastle University . 2nd Lieutenant. To Burma for 18 months in RA. Caught tropical fevers invalided home 1946. Joined Ealing Studios as runner 1946 to 1948. Talks about the film Whisky Galore on location in Scotland.  Joined ACTT. Worked on Blue Lamp, Scott of the Antarctic. Explains Jack Cardiff's method of shooting. Promoted to 3rd Assistant  Director on Passport to Pimlico. First Ealing Comedy.Made redundant from Ealing by Michael Balcon. Joined Crown Film Unit. 1950 in Beaconsfield as Asst Director. Talks with meeting Lord Mountbatten at Festival of Britain.Relates working in Baghdad on King Feisal film 1953. Joined BBC as Studio Manager  later Floor Manager 1954. Married 1959 to a BBC casting manager.Worked on variety of programmes. Women of Troy. Worked with Denis Vance & Chloe Gibson. Promoted to Assistant Producer. Directed World of Tim Frazer. All programmes were live on TV. Employed Director at ABC TV commercial TV. Started directing the Avengers. Was on first episode with Honor Blackman and suggested a black leather suit for her. Next series Jezebel Ex UK 1963. Freelance after ABC TV.. Back to BBC as a freelance on Z Cars 1964. Onto Coronation Street as Director at Granada. Talks of Summer Outing on locationwith Coronation Street Cast at Blue John mine in Derbyshire relating problems with time. Joined BBC as staff trainer of Production Assistants late 1960's. Instructed Esther Rantzen and Alan Yentob. Went to Kenya as Televison Adviser to Kenya TV for two years.First worked in colour in 1970's. Job with Scottish Television as Freelance Director on documentaries & drama. Went to Zambia to make documentary on the explorer David Livingstone. Most happy making documentaries.

Roy Fowler (1934 – 2021) was a British screenwriter, film critic, and oral historian, best known for his central role in establishing and developing the British Entertainment History Project (BEHP). Through his tireless work interviewing hundreds of industry professionals, he helped preserve the voices and experiences of a generation of film, television, and cinema workers whose contributions might otherwise have been lost.Early Life and CareerBorn in 1934, Fowler developed a lifelong passion for cinema from an early age. He entered the British film and television industry during the post-war years, working across several areas including screenwriting and production. Alongside his creative work, he also developed a deep interest in documenting the stories of the men and women who made up Britain’s screen industries.Writing and Film WorkFowler’s own career spanned screenwriting, criticism, and broadcasting, giving him firsthand insight into the cultural and industrial shifts that shaped British cinema in the second half of the 20th century. He wrote extensively on film, contributing to a growing body of criticism that sought to treat cinema as both an art form and a key part of national identity.The British Entertainment History ProjectIn the early 1980s, as a member of the Association of Cinematograph, Television and Allied Technicians (ACTT) union, Fowler recognised the urgent need to preserve the memories of an ageing generation of film and television workers. He became one of the founders of the History Project, which later became the British Entertainment History Project (BEHP).Over the decades, Fowler personally conducted or participated in hundreds of interviews with film directors, actors, camera operators, laboratory technicians, editors, and projectionists. His interviews were often extensive, encouraging subjects to reflect not only on their careers but also on the wider cultural and social contexts of their work.Interviewing StyleRoy Fowler was widely admired for his sensitive, probing interview style. He approached each subject with genuine curiosity, deep preparation, and respect, enabling interviewees to speak openly about their lives. Many who sat with Fowler commented on his ability to balance professional insight with warmth and humour.LegacyRoy Fowler’s legacy lies above all in the BEHP Oral History Collection, which today represents one of the world’s most significant archives of recorded testimony about film, television, and entertainment industries. He died in 2021