Charles Frend

Charles Herbert Frend (21 November 1909 – 8 January 1977) was an English film director and editor, closely associated with Ealing Studios. Beginning his career as a film editor, he worked on a number of major British productions during the 1930s, including four films directed by Alfred Hitchcock. His editing of Goodbye, Mr. Chips earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing.

After moving into directing under producer Michael Balcon, Frend became one of Ealing's key directors. His films included Scott of the Antarctic (1948), A Run for Your Money (1949), The Cruel Sea (1953), The Long Arm (1956) and Barnacle Bill (1957). The Cruel Sea was the most successful film at the British box office in 1953, while The Long Arm received a Silver Bear at the 6th Berlin International Film Festival.

Biography

Early life

Frend was born in Pulborough, Sussex, on 21 November 1909 to Edward Charles and Bertha Maud Frend.

Frend followed his first feature with The Foreman Went to France (1943), a wartime drama inspired by the attempt to retrieve specialised machinery from France during the German invasion.

He then directed San Demetrio London (1943); Robert Hamer completed the film after Frend fell ill. He also directed the short subject The Return of the Vikings (1943), followed by Johnny Frenchman (1945).

Post-war films

Frend's first non-war film was the melodrama The Loves of Joanna Godden (1947), adapted from the 1921 novel Joanna Godden by Sheila Kaye-Smith.

He followed it with Scott of the Antarctic (1948), depicting Robert Falcon Scott's expedition to the South Pole. The film was a major Ealing production and was highly successful at the British box office.

Frend then moved into comedy, making A Run for Your Money (1949), which he also co-wrote, and The Magnet (1950).

He returned to wartime subject matter with The Cruel Sea (1953), adapted from the novel by Nicholas Monsarrat. The film portrayed Royal Navy convoy escorts during the Battle of the Atlantic and became the most successful film at the British box office in 1953.

Starring Jack Hawkins, Donald Sinden, Denholm Elliott, Virginia McKenna and Stanley Baker, The Cruel Sea became one of Frend's best-known films and a prominent example of the cycle of British Second World War films made during the 1950s.

Frend next directed Robert Donat in the drama Lease of Life (1954).

His police procedural The Long Arm (1956), starring Jack Hawkins, received the Silver Bear for an Outstanding Artistic Contribution at the 6th Berlin International Film Festival.

Frend then directed further television productions including Man of the World, The Sentimental Agent and Zero One, before directing another feature, Torpedo Bay (1963), with James Mason.

Final productions

His last credit as principal director was The Sky Bike (1967) for the Children's Film Foundation.

Frend subsequently directed episodes of Man in a Suitcase, and worked as a second-unit director on Guns in the Heather and David Lean's Ryan's Daughter (1970).

Frend died in a hospital in London on 8 January 1977, aged 67, after a long illness.

Awards and recognition

Frend was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing for Goodbye, Mr. Chips at the 12th Academy Awards in 1940. Their professional association extended from Frend's work as an editor at Gaumont British and MGM-British through his directing career at Ealing and later work for Bryanston Films.

After Frend's death, Balcon described him as broad-minded and liberal, with a pride in Britain and the British people that was reflected in his work.