Desmond Davis

Desmond Stanley Tracey Davis (24 May 1926 – 3 July 2021) was a British film and television director, best known for his 1981 film Clash of the Titans.

Early life and career Desmond Davis was born in Wandsworth, southwest of London. His parents were Dorothy (nee Newbold) and Isaac (known as William) Davis, director of optical lens manufacturer Newbold & Co. While a student at the Regent Street Polytechnic (now University of Westminster), Davis studied photography and cinematography. Tom Jones won four Oscars, including Academy Award for Best Picture, at the 36th Academy Awards.

Director Davis made his directorial debut in 1964 with Girl with Green Eyes, written by Edna O’Brien adapting her novel The Lonely Girl from her trilogy The Country Girls.

At the 1966 San Sebastian International Film Festival, Davis won the Golden Shell award for I Was Happy Here. The film starred Sarah Miles in another O’Brien adaptation. The final feature film Davis directed in the 1960s was the 1969 comedy A Nice Girl Like Me starring Barbara Ferris.

Davis' best known feature film is the 1981 version of Clash of the Titans, which was his first theatrical release in 12 years. Producer Charles H. Schneer selected Davis as director after being impressed with Davis's visually inventive work on Measure for Measure. Clash of the Titans''' all-star cast in this epic fantasy/mythological film included Laurence Olivier as Zeus.

In the 1980s Davis directed feature-length dramas mostly for television. Davis worked with O'Brien again to adapt The Country Girls for television in 1983. Davis also directed the 1983 television adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's The Sign of Four with Ian Richardson as Sherlock Holmes. In 1984 Davis directed Camille, another feature film for television. This adaptation of The Lady of the Camellias starred Greta Scacchi and Colin Firth. For his next and last theatrical feature film, Davis directed the 1984 adaptation of Agatha Christie's Ordeal by Innocence starring Donald Sutherland and Faye Dunaway.

Davis continued his work in television, including directing episodes of the British drama series The Chief in 1991. He retired from directing in 1994.

Personal life and death Davis married Shirley Smith in 1959, and the couple had one son, Tim, before divorcing.

Davis died on 3 July 2021, at the age of 95.

Films directedGirl with Green Eyes (1964)The Uncle (1966)I Was Happy Here (1966)Smashing Time (1967)A Nice Girl Like Me (1969)The Spirit of Adventure: Night Flight (1979)Clash of the Titans (1981)The Man of Destiny (1981)BBC2 Playhouse: "Passing Through" (1982)The Adventures of Little Lord Fauntleroy (1982)The Agatha Christie Hour: "In a Glass Darkly" (1982)Russian Night... 1941 (1982)Ordeal by Innocence (1984)Camille (1984)Love with a Perfect Stranger (1986)Freedom Fighter (1988)The Man Who Lived at the Ritz (1989)Screen One'': "Doggin' Around" (1994)