Alan Gibson (April 28, 1938,

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

, Canada – July 5, 1987,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, UK) was a Canadian director active in British film and television. He was particularly notable in his early years for his work in horror. The films he directed include ''

Journey to Midnight ''Journey to Midnight'' is a 1971 British made-for-television horror film featuring two episodes derived from the 1968–1969 anthology television series ''Journey to the Unknown'' starring Chad Everett and Julie Harris, directed by Roy Ward B ...

'' (1968), ''

Crescendo In music, the dynamics of a piece is the variation in loudness between notes or phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings still require interpretation by the performer dependi ...

'' (1970), ''

Dracula A.D. 1972 ''Dracula A.D. 1972'' is a 1972 British horror film, directed by Alan Gibson and produced by Hammer Film Productions. It was written by Don Houghton and stars Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Stephanie Beacham. Unlike earlier films in Hammer ...

'', ''

The Satanic Rites of Dracula ''The Satanic Rites of Dracula'' is a 1973 British horror film directed by Alan Gibson and produced by Hammer Film Productions. It is the eighth film in Hammer's ''Dracula'' series, and the seventh and final one to feature Christopher Lee as Dr ...

'' (1974), '' Checkered Flag or Crash'' (1977), ''

Witness for the Prosecution In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...

'' (1982) and ''

A Woman Called Golda ''A Woman Called Golda'' is a 1982 American made-for-television film biopic of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir directed by Alan Gibson and starring Ingrid Bergman. It also features Ned Beatty, Franklin Cover, Judy Davis, Anne Jackson, Robert L ...

'' (1982) starring

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films, television movies, and plays.Obituary ''Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, she is often ...

. His television work includes ''

Eh Joe ''Eh Joe'' is a piece for television, written in English by Samuel Beckett, his first work for the medium. It was begun on the author's fifty-ninth birthday, 13 April 1965, and completed by 1 May. “It asfollowed by six undated typescripts (nu ...

'' (1965), '' The Capone Investment'' (1974), ''

Churchill and the Generals ''Churchill and the Generals'' is a 1979 BBC television drama concerning the relationship between Winston Churchill and generals of the Allied forces, set in the Cabinet Office and War Rooms between 1940 and 1945. It was written by Ian Curteis ...

'' (1979) and '' The Charmer'' (1987). Alan Gibson came up with the idea for ''

The Flipside of Dominick Hide ''The Flipside of Dominick Hide'' is a British television play first transmitted on BBC1 on 9 December 1980 as part of the '' Play for Today'' series. Peter Firth stars in the title role as a time traveller from Earth's future who illegally vis ...

'' (1980), a ''

Play for Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...

'' he co-wrote with Jeremy Paul and directed. As a child he had overheard his family discussing a recent UFO report and thought to himself: "Since there had been sightings of flying saucers recorded throughout history, it occurred to me that they were man-made machines, time machines from the future". The two men collaborated again on its sequel ''Another Flip for Dominick'' (1982).Richard Hewet
"''Flipside of Dominick Hide, The'' (1980)"
BFI screenonline "The Flipside of Dominick" Hide attained viewing figures of 5.3 million and a reaction index of 75 – compared to an average ''Play for Today'' score of 59. The ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'' letter editor claimed that "No other single new BBC TV play in 1980 attracted so much correspondence" – highlighting the public's affection for the show.

Awards

'' was nominated for five BAFTA awards, and ''

'' won a Golden Globe and several Emmy awards.

Filmography

1987 *The Charmer (TV Mini-Series) (6 episodes) 1985 * Martin's Day (film) * The Best of All Time Horror Classics (Video documentary) 1984 * Helen Keller: The Miracle Continues (TV Movie) 1980 - 1982 *Play for Today (TV Series) (2 episodes) - Another Flip for Dominick (1982) - The Flipside of Dominick Hide (1980) * Witness for the Prosecution (TV Movie) * Tales of the Unexpected (TV Series) (10 episodes) - The Skeleton Key (1982) - The Absence of Emily (1982) - Operation Safecrack (1982) - The Way to Do It (1981) - There's One Born Every Minute (1981) * A Woman Called Golda (TV Movie) * Hammer House of Horror (TV Series) (2 episodes) - The Two Faces of Evil (1980) - The Silent Scream (1980) 1979 *Churchill and the Generals (TV Movie) * Atom Spies (TV Movie) 1978 * Z Cars (TV Series) (1 episode) - Prey (1978) * People Like Us (TV Mini-Series) (5 episodes) - Another War (1978) - The Biter Bit (1978) - Re-Arrangements (1978) - Breakout (1978) - The First Lessons in Love (1978) 1977 *

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

(5 episodes) - What Pleases the Prince (1978) - Hire and Fire (1978) - Witness (1977) - Decoy (1977) - Creed of Slaves (1977) * Checkered Flag or Crash (film) * Raffles (TV Series) (2 episodes) - The Chest of Silver (1977) - The Gold Cup (1977) ... (exterior sequences) 1976 *Dangerous Knowledge (TV Series) (6 episodes) - Dividends (1976) - Surrender Value (1976) - Death Risk (1976) - Clause for Concern (1976) - A Deadly Policy (1976) *Thriller (TV Series) (2 episodes) - Sleepwalker (1976) - Murder in Mind (1973) 1975 Quiller (TV Series) (1 episode) - Mark the File Expendable (1975) * Village Hall (TV Series) (3 episodes) - The Rough and the Smooth (1975) - Distant Islands (1974) - Dancing in the Dark (1974) * Churchill's People (TV Series) (2 episodes) - O Canada (1975) - The Coming of the Cross (1975) 1974 The Capone Investment (TV Series) (6 episodes) - Final Innings (1974) - One Killer Makes Two (1974) - Money in the Bank (1974) - The Citizen from Chicago (1974) - The Grass Is Greener (1974) * Intent to Murder (TV Movie) * The Playboy of the Western World (TV Movie) 1973-1974 *

Orson Welles Great Mysteries ''Orson Welles Great Mysteries'' is a British television series originally transmitted between 1973 and 1974, produced by Anglia Television for the ITV network. The series is an anthology of mystery stories. Each episode is introduced by Ors ...

(TV Series) (7 episodes) - The Furnished Room (1974) - Ice Storm (1974) - Death of an Old-Fashioned Girl (1973) - The Monkey's Paw (1973) - Money to Burn (1973) * The Satanic Rites of Dracula (film) 1973 * Crown Court (TV Series) (9 episodes) - The Black Poplar: Part 3 (1973) - The Black Poplar: Part 2 (1973) - The Black Poplar: Part 1 (1973) - Who Was Kate Greer: Part 3 (1973) - Who Was Kate Greer: Part 2 (1973) 1972-1973 * The Adventures of Black Beauty (TV Series) (6 episodes) - The Witch (1973) - Clown on Horseback (1972) - Mantrap (1972) - The Viking Helmet: Part 2 (1972) - The Viking Helmet: Part 1 (1972) * The Man in the Wood (TV Movie) 1970-1972 *ITV Sunday Night Theatre (TV Series) (5 episodes) - Last Year's Confetti (1972) - Consequences (1972) - Time Lock (1972) - The Silver Collection (1971) - The Policeman and the Cook (1970) * Dracula A.D. 1972 (film) * Budgie (TV Series) (1 episode) - Twenty-Four Thousand Ball Point Pens (1972) 1970 * Confession (TV Series) (1 episode) - The Wind Blew Her Away (1970) * Goodbye Gemini (film) * Crescendo (film) 1969 * BBC Play of the Month (TV Series) (1 episode) - The Marquise (1969) - Detective (TV Series) (1 episode) - Elimination Round (1969) * Plays of Today (TV Series) (1 episode) - The English Boy 1967-1969 * Thirty-Minute Theatre (TV Series) (3 episodes) - Remote Control (1969) - Another Moon Called Earth (1967) - Teeth (1967) 1968-1969 * Journey to the Unknown (TV Series) (3 episodes) - Poor Butterfly (1969) - Somewhere in a Crowd (1968) - Jane Brown's Body (1968) 1968 * Journey to Midnight 1967-1968 * Boy Meets Girl (TV Series) (2 episodes) - Purposes of Love (1968) - A High-Pitched Buzz (1967) 1965-1968 * Theatre 625 (TV Series) (10 episodes) - Home Sweet Honeycombe (1968) - The Lost Years of Brian Hooper (1967) - The Cupboard (1967) - On the March to the Sea (1966) - The Melody Suit (1966) 1968 * Mogul (TV Series) (3 episodes) - The Wrecking of the Sierra Nevada (1968) - The Day the Sea Caught Fire (1968) - Stop It, You're Breaking My Heart (1968) 1968 * Public Eye (TV Series) (1 episode) - There's No Future in Monkey Business (1968) 1966-1967 * The Wednesday Play (TV Series) (2 episodes) - Kippers and Curtains (1967) - The Private Tutor (1966) 1966 * Double Image (TV Mini-Series documentary) (play director - 2 episodes) - Impossible Odds (1966) ... (play director) - A Separate Peace (1966) ... (play director) * A Separate Peace (TV Movie) * Eh, Joe? (TV Movie) 1965 * 199 Park Lane (TV Series) (2 episodes) - Episode #1.6 (1965) - Episode #1.5 (1965) 1964-1965 * Story Parade (TV Series) (4 episodes) - The Unbearable Bassington (1965) - The Flaw in the Crystal (1964) - Shadow of Guilt (1964) - Not for Every Eye (1964) 1964-1965 *Thursday Theatre (TV Series) (2 episodes) - The Kidders (1965) - Write Me a Murder (1964)

Personal life

Alan Gibson was born in Canada and moved to the UK to train at the Bristol Old Vic. After working as an actor in the theatre, he started directing when BBC2 was launched. He worked on film and TV for the rest of his career. He lived in London with his wife Kate (d. 1997) and their daughters Sarah-Kate and Jessica and died of cancer in 1987 at the age of 49, just a few months before his last work '' The Charmer'' was broadcast. His brother is the Canadian writer

Graeme Gibson Thomas Graeme Cameron Gibson (9 August 1934 – 18 September 2019) was a Canadian novelist.Alan Gibson
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

The Flipside of Dominick Hide
at Curious British Telly {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Alan 1938 births 1987 deaths Canadian television directors Film directors from London, Ontario