James Hill

James Hill (1 August 1919 – 7 October 1994) was a British film and television director, screenwriter and producer whose career spanned 52 years between 1937 and 1989, best remembered for his documentaries and short subjects such as Giuseppina and The Home-Made Car, and as director of the internationally acclaimed Born Free.

Hill also directed, produced and/or wrote such diverse films as Black Beauty, A Study in Terror, Every Day's a Holiday, The Lion at World's End (a.k.a. Christian the lion), Captain Nemo and the Underwater City, The Man from O.R.G.Y., and the children's television series' Worzel Gummidge and Worzel Gummidge Down Under.

Life and work

Early career Hill was born in Eldwick, Yorkshire on 1 August 1919 and attended Belle Vue Boys' School. He entered the GPO Film Unit (under the control of the Ministry of Information) in 1937 as an assistant, then served in the RAF Film Unit during World War II, receiving a DFC. He is said to have been the model for Donald Pleasence' character Flight Lt. Colin Blythe ("the Forger") in The Great Escape (1963).

After the war he became a documentary director, primarily of shorts, before graduating to feature length children's movies with The Stolen Plans in 1952.

In 1955 Hill entered a new phase with the documentary The New Explorers, sponsored by the BP oil company who (following Shell Oil's example) produced a number of industry-related, independently produced documentaries and shorts.

Mainstream In the 1960s Hill expanded his scope and firmly established himself as a mainstream director. In the words of Richard Chatten of The Independent: "The British cinema of the Sixties was littered with the bones of directors who showed promise in the field of documentaries and shorts but came to grief in features; but James Hill was one of the most conspicuous exceptions."

Beginning with The Kitchen (1961), based on Arnold Wesker's play, it was quickly followed by two John Mortimer play adaptations, Lunch Hour (1961), showing the dire consequences of a lunch hour romance, and the legal satire The Dock Brief (1962); both essentially two-hander plays. Every Day's a Holiday (1964), for which he also wrote the screenplay, was a teenage pop musical typical of the era.

The year 1965 began with A Study in Terror, pitting an imaginary Sherlock Holmes against real life Jack the Ripper. Considered to be one of the best films of its genre, it boasted an impressive cast which included John Neville, Donald Houston, Robert Morley, Anthony Quayle, Barry Jones and Judi Dench.

Born Free and African wildlife 1965 was also the year of Born Free, an international hit starring Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna, based on the autobiographical book by Joy Adamson about Elsa the Lioness. In an interview with Doris Martin, writer Sid Cole reminisced: "On Born Free I remember getting a card from Jimmy Hill saying he was in Kenya entirely surrounded by lions. (laughter)." Filmed on location in Kenya over a period of 9 months, with George Adamson as technical advisor, the shoot had a profound effect on the participants.

Closely associated with Travers, McKenna and Adamson, Hill followed up with three docu/dramas related to wildlife in Africa which he either directed, co-produced and/or wrote: The Lions Are Free (1967) on the fate of the Born Free lion-actors, An Elephant Called Slowly (1969), and The Lion at World's End (aka, Christian the Lion) (1971). He died in London on 7 October 1994, at the age of 75.

Selected filmography

YearTitleAsNotes 1949 A Journey for Jeremy director 1952 The Stolen Plans director, writer 1953 The Clue of the Missing Ape director, writer a.k.a. Gibraltar Adventure 1955 The New Explorers director for BP 1960 Giuseppina director, producer, writer a James Hill Production for BP see Awards below 1961 The Kitchen director 1961 Lunch Hour director composed main theme 1962 The Dock Brief director a.k.a. Trial and Error (US) starring Peter Sellers and Richard Attenborough 1963 The Home-Made Car director, writer, producer a James Hill Production; see Awards below 1964 Every Day's a Holiday director, screenplayaka Seaside Swingers (US), The Adventures of Tim (UK: video title) 1964 The Golden Head co-director with Richard Thorpe 1965 A Study in Terror director a.k.a. Fog 1965 Born Free director see Awards below; trailer, Fandango.com: 1967 The Lions Are Free director, writer, producer trailer, videoemo.com 1967 Die Hölle von Macao/The Corrupt Ones director a.k.a. The Peking Medallion 1967 An Elephant Called Slowly director, writer, producer 1969 Captain Nemo and the Underwater City director 1970 The Man from O.R.G.Y. director aka, The Real Gone Girls 1971 The Lion at World's End writer, producer aka, Christian the lion 1971 Black Beauty director, additional dialogue 1973 Jane Goodall and the World of Animal Behavior: The Wild Dogs of Africa producer 1973 The Belstone Fox director, writer a.k.a. Free Spirit 1975 The Man from Nowhere director 1976 London Conspiracy director 1979–1981 Worzel Gummidge director, producer children's TV series 1980 The Wild and the Free director 1983 Owain Glendower, Prince of Wales (TV) director, writer 1984 The Young Visiters director, screenplay, producer 1987–1989 Worzel Gummidge Down Under director, writer children's series, directed 16 episodes, wrote 3

Hill appeared as himself in:

The Lion at World's End (1971) a.k.a. Christian the Lion (US) Without Walls Documentary (1992), episode "The Avengers" Avenging the Avengers Documentary (archival footage) (2000)

Awards

Year Status Award Category / Title 1960 Won Academy Award Best Documentary, Short Subjects for: Giuseppina (1960) 1963 Won Berlin International Film Festival: Silver Bear Special Prize: Short Film for: The Home-Made Car (1963) 1963 Honorable Mention Berlin International Film Festival: Youth Film Award Best Short Film Suitable for Young People for: The Home-Made Car (1963) 1964 Nominated Academy Award: Oscar Best Short Subject, Live Action Subjects for: The Home-Made Car (1963) 1967 NominatedDirectors Guild of America: DGA Award Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for: Born Free (1966) 1980 Nominated BAFTA TV Award 'Harlequin' (Drama/Light Entertainment) for: Worzel Gummidge (1979) 1981 Nominated BAFTA TV Award 'Harlequin' (Drama/Light Entertainment) for: Worzel Gummidge (1979) 1982 Nominated BAFTA TV Award 'Harlequin' (Drama/Light Entertainment) for: Worzel Gummidge (1979)