Allan George Davis (13 August 1913–10 January 2001) was an
Anglo-Australian
English Australians, also known as Anglo-Australians, are Australians whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England. In the 2021 census, 8,385,928 people, or 33% of the Australian population, stated that they had English ancestry (wheth ...
actor, director for film and theatre, and producer for film and television.
Biography
Davis was born in London to Australian parents of Welsh descent. His father Leslie was on a business visit to London with his new wife Daisy. Six months later they returned to Sydney on the maiden voyage of the ''Orsova'' in 1914.
Davis grew up in Sydney's eastern suburbs, studying at Cranbrook School and the University of Sydney where he studied economics. He became interested in drama at school and performed in plays at University.
In 1933 Davis made his first professional appearance in a film, ''The Squatter's Daughter''. He also begins appearing in plays at the Independent Theatre in North Sydney.
[Allan Davis: F EditionThe Times; London (UK) ondon (UK)4 Jan 2001: 19.]
In 1934, he moved to London, where he furthered his acting career. He was assistant manager for some Cochran shows. In London he sung and ance in a revue for Andre Charlot at the Comedy Theatre.
He joined the opening season of the York Citizens' Repertory Theatre in 1935 as an actor-stage manager. He stage-managed West End shows and moved from acting to directing.
[Allan Davis; Obituaries: ate EditionDavis, Alison. Sydney Morning Herald; Sydney, N.S.W. ydney, N.S.W9 Feb 2001: 41.]
During World War II he served in the British Army, rising to the rank of captain and seeing action in Italy, Greece, and Austria. In 1946 he became a director at the Bexhill Repertory. Then he was director of the Bristol Old Vic from 1949-1950.
In 1950 he undertook a lecture tour of American university theaters for the
Rockefeller Foundation. During this time, he was hired to direct the period epic ''
Rogue's March'' for
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
, his only major American film; the film was released in
1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...
, featuring climactic battle footage shot at the real
Khyber Pass by
Geoffrey Barkas
Geoffrey Barkas (born Geoffrey de Gruchy Barkas, 27 August 1896 – 3 September 1979) was an English film maker active between the world wars.
Barkas led the British Middle East Command Camouflage Directorate in the Second World War. His larges ...
in
1935.
Davis was a director and producer in London West End theaters from 1954 on but returned to Australia in the 1960s to tour for J.C. Williamson's.
He directed ''
No sex please, we're British
''No Sex Please, We're British'' is a British farce written by Alistair Foot and Anthony Marriott, which premiered in London's West End on 3 June 1971 at the Strand Theatre. It was panned by critics, but ran until 5 September 1987, transferri ...
'' for 16 years, from 1971 to 1987. His production company was also involved in film and television production from the 1970s on before closing down in the early 1990s.
Davis died in London in 2001.
Select filmography
*''
Chevron Theatre'' (1953) (TV series( - director
*''
Rogue's March'' (1953) - director
*''
Your Play Time'' (1953) (TV series) - director
*''
The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse
''The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse'' is an American dramatic anthology series that aired on ABC from 1953 to 1955, sponsored by Pepsi-Cola. The show was hosted by Arlene Dahl (1953), Anita Colby (1954), and, finally, Polly Bergen (1955). Initially the s ...
'' (1954) - director
*''
Rheingold Theatre
''Douglas Fairbanks Presents'' is a 1953-1956 syndicated half-hour dramatic anthology series. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. was the host, and he sometimes starred in episodes. It was also known as ''Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Presents''. A total of 117 episo ...
'' (1954) (TV series) - director
*''
O.S.S.'' (1957–58) (TV series) - director
*''
Theatre Night
''Theatre Night'' is the umbrella title under which adaptations of classic and contemporary stage plays were usually broadcast on BBC 2 between 15 September 1985 and 21 July 1990.
List of episodes
The main source for compiling this list was th ...
'' (1958–59) (TV series) - director
*''
Clue of the Twisted Candle
''Clue of the Twisted Candle'' is a 1960 British crime film directed by Allan Davis and starring Bernard Lee, David Knight and Francis De Wolff. Part of the long-running series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios, it ...
'' (1960) - director
*''
The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre
The ''Edgar Wallace Mysteries'' is a British second-feature film series mainly produced at Merton Park Studios for Anglo-Amalgamated. There were 48 films in the series, which were released between 1960 and 1965. The series was screened as ''The ...
'' (1960–61) - director
*''The Square Mile Murder'' (1961) (short) - director
*''Wings of Death'' (1961) (short) - director
*''
Clue of the New Pin'' (1961) - director
*''
Rendezvous'' (1961) (TV series) - director
*''
The Fourth Square
''The Fourth Square'' is a 1961 British crime film directed by Allan Davis and starring Conrad Phillips, Natasha Parry and Delphi Lawrence. Part of the long-running series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios, it is loos ...
'' (1961) - director
*''
Love Among the Ruins Love Among the Ruins may refer to:
Literature
* "Love Among the Ruins" (poem), a poem by Robert Browning
* ''Love Among the Ruins. A Romance of the Near Future'', a novel by Evelyn Waugh
* ''Love Among the Ruins'', a novel by Warwick Deeping
* ''L ...
'' (1975) (TV movie) - producer
Select Theatre Credits
*''The Marquiese'' by Noel Coward (1934) - Independent Theatre, Sydney
*''Someone Waiting'' (1956) - Broadway - director
*''Breath of Spring'' (1958) - director
*''
Spring and Port Wine'' (1965) by Bill Naughton - Mermaid Theare - director
*''Keep It in the Family'' (1967) - Broadway - director
*''Spring and Port Wine'' (1968) - Australian tour - director
*''Come as You Are'' (1969) by John Mortimer - London - director
*''A Touch of Spring'' by Samuel Taylor (1975) - Comedy Theatre, London - with Hayley Mills, Francis Matthews, Leigh Lawson and Julian Fellowes - director
*''No Sex Please We're British'' by Alistair Foot and Anthony Marriott (1971–83) - Garrick Theatre in London, England - director
*'' Straight and Narrow'' by Jimmy Chinn (1980s) - director
References
Notes
*Papers of Allan Davis - MS Acc03.300, National Library of Australia.
External links
Allan Davisat
IMDb
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
Allan Davisat
IBDB
The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It was conceived and created by Karen Hauser in 1996 and is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade asso ...
Allan Davisat
Ausstage
AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia, providing records of productions from the first recorded performance in Australia (1789, by convicts) up unt ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Allan
1913 births
2001 deaths
British theatre directors
Australian theatre directors
Australian film directors
Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom