Angus Roy MacPhail (8 April 1903 – 22 April 1962) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, active from the late 1920s. He is best remembered for his work with

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

Early life and education

Son of merchant clerk Angus MacPhail and Fanny Maud (née Karlowa), he was born in

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified i ...

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 ...

, and educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

where he studied English and edited '' Granta''. At Cambridge, he was a close friend of fellow Old Westminsters

Ivor Montagu Ivor Goldsmid Samuel Montagu (23 April 1904, in Kensington, London – 5 November 1984, in Watford) was an English filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, film critic, writer, table tennis player, and Communist activist in the 1930s. He helped to de ...

, later a filmmaker, who described MacPhail as "a red-haired and rather gauche Scot from Blackheath", and

Arnold Haskell Arnold Lionel David Haskell (19 July 1903, London – 14 November 1980, Bath) was a British dance critic who founded the Camargo Society in 1930. With Ninette de Valois, he was influential in the development of the Royal Ballet School, later be ...

, later a dance critic and headmaster of the

Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially ...

Career

He began to work in the film business in 1926, writing

subtitles Subtitles and captions are lines of dialogue or other text displayed at the bottom of the screen in films, television programs, video games or other visual media. They can be transcriptions of the screenplay, translations of it, or informati ...

for

silent films A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, whe ...

. He began writing his own scenarios for Gaumont British Studios and later

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever s ...

under Sir

Michael Balcon Sir Michael Elias Balcon (19 May 1896 – 17 October 1977) was an English film producer known for his leadership of Ealing Studios in West London from 1938 to 1955. Under his direction, the studio became one of the most important British film ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he made films for the Ministry of Information. MacPhail wrote a number of screenplays for director Alfred Hitchcock. One of the latter's favourite devices for driving the plots of his stories and creating suspense was what he called the MacGuffin. His old friend Ivor Montagu, who worked with Hitchcock on several of his British films, attributes the coining of the term to MacPhail.

Filmography

*'' Balaclava'' (1928) * '' A Light Woman'' (1928) * ''

A South Sea Bubble ''A South Sea Bubble'' is a 1928 British silent comedy adventure film directed by T. Hayes Hunter and starring Ivor Novello, Benita Hume and Alma Taylor. The screenplay concerns a group of adventurers who head to the Pacific Ocean to hunt fo ...

'' (1928) * '' The Return of the Rat'' (1929) * ''

The Crooked Billet ''The Crooked Billet'' is a 1929 British drama film directed by Adrian Brunel and starring Madeleine Carroll, Carlyle Blackwell and Miles Mander. It was released in both silent and sound versions, as its production came as the industry was sh ...

'' (1929) * '' The Wrecker'' (1929) *''

Taxi for Two ''Taxi for Two'' is a 1929 part talkie British romantic comedy film drama directed by Denison Clift and Alexander Esway and starring Mabel Poulton and John Stuart. Produced by Gainsborough Pictures, it was the first sound film made by Gainsbo ...

'' (1929) * ''

City of Play ''City of Play'' is a 1929 British drama film directed by Denison Clift and starring Chili Bouchier, Patrick Aherne and Lawson Butt. It was made by Gainsborough Pictures and produced by Michael Balcon. It was made partly in sound.Low p.205 Ca ...

'' (1929) * ''

Their Son ''Their Son'' (also known as ''Sensation im Wintergarten'') is a 1929 silent film directed by Gennaro Righelli. Synopsis The son of the Countess Mensdorf runs away when he can no longer stand her relationship with the Baron Von Mallock. The son ...

'' (1929) * ''

Symphony in Two Flats ''Symphony in Two Flats'' is a 1930 British drama film directed by Gareth Gundrey and starring Ivor Novello, Benita Hume, Jacqueline Logan and Cyril Ritchard. It was an adaptation of a successful 1929 West End play of the same title written ...

'' (1930) * '' A Warm Corner'' (1930) * '' The Sport of Kings'' (1931) * '' Third Time Lucky'' (1931) * '' The Ringer'' (1931) * ''

A Night in Montmartre ''A Night in Montmartre'' (sometimes written as ''Night in Montmartre'') is a 1931 British mystery film directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and starring Horace Hodges, Franklin Dyall, Hugh Williams, Reginald Purdell and Austin Trevor. It was based on ...

'' (1931) * ''

The Man They Couldn't Arrest ''The Man They Couldn't Arrest'' is a 1931 British crime film directed by T. Hayes Hunter and starring Hugh Wakefield, Gordon Harker, Garry Marsh and Dennis Wyndham. Based on a novel by "Seamark" ( Austin J. Small, it was made by Gainsborough ...

'' (1931) *'' Hindle Wakes'' (1931) *'' The Ghost Train'' (1931) * '' The Calendar'' (1931) * ''

Michael and Mary ''Michael and Mary'' is a 1931 British drama film directed by Victor Saville and starring Elizabeth Allan, Edna Best, Frank Lawton, and Herbert Marshall. This was the first of the Edna Best and Herbert Marshall co-starring talkies. It was based ...

'' (1931) * '' Sunshine Susie'' (1931) * ''

Love on Wheels ''Love on Wheels'' is a 1932 British musical comedy film directed by Victor Saville and starring Jack Hulbert, Gordon Harker, Edmund Gwenn and Leonora Corbett. Plot A daily commuter on a Green Line bus from the suburbs to Central London Fred ...

'' (1932) * '' Marry Me'' (1932) * ''

Lord Babs ''Lord Babs'' is a 1932 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Bobby Howes, Jean Colin and Pat Paterson. It was based on the 1925 play of the same title by Keble Howard. It was once believed to be a lost film, but was redis ...

'' (1932) * '' The Frightened Lady'' (1932) * '' White Face'' (1932) * '' The Faithful Heart'' (1932) * ''

'' (1932) * '' A Cuckoo in the Nest'' (1933) * ''

Channel Crossing ''Channel Crossing'' is a 1933 British crime film directed by Milton Rosmer and starring Matheson Lang, Constance Cummings, Anthony Bushell and Nigel Bruce. It was shot partly on location and at the Lime Grove Studios in Shepherd's Bush.Wood p ...

'' (1933) *''

The Good Companions ''The Good Companions'' is a novel by the English author J. B. Priestley. Written in 1929, it follows the fortunes of a concert party on a tour of England. It is Priestley's most famous novel and established him as a national figure. It won ...

'' (1933) *''

I Was a Spy ''I Was a Spy'' is a 1933 British thriller film directed by Victor Saville and starring Madeleine Carroll, Herbert Marshall, and Conrad Veidt. Based on the 1932 memoir ''I Was a Spy'' by Marthe Cnockaert, the film is about her experiences as a B ...

'' (1933) * ''

A Yank at Oxford ''A Yank at Oxford'' is a 1938 comedy-drama film directed by Jack Conway and starring Robert Taylor, Lionel Barrymore, Maureen O'Sullivan, Vivien Leigh and Edmund Gwenn. The screenplay was written by John Monk Saunders and Leon Gordon. The ...

'' (1938) * '' Kicking the Moon Around'' (1938) * '' Trouble Brewing'' (1939) * '' The Four Just Men'' (1939) * '' Return to Yesterday'' (1940) * ''

Busman's Honeymoon ''Busman's Honeymoon'' is a 1937 novel by Dorothy L. Sayers, her eleventh and last featuring Lord Peter Wimsey, and her fourth and last to feature Harriet Vane. Plot introduction Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane marry and go to spend thei ...

'' (1940) * '' Let George Do It!'' (1940) * ''

Saloon Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

'' (1940) *'' Sailors Three'' (1940) * ''

The Ghost of St. Michael's ''The Ghost of St. Michael's'' is a 1941 British comedy- thriller film, produced by Ealing Studios. Will Hay, the film's star, replaced his sidekicks, Graham Moffatt and Moore Marriott, from his previous film ''Where's That Fire?'' with comedi ...

'' (1941) * ''

The Big Blockade ''The Big Blockade'' is a 1942 British black-and-white war propaganda film in the style of dramatised documentary. It is directed by Charles Frend and stars Will Hay, Leslie Banks, Michael Redgrave and John Mills. It was produced by Michael Bal ...

'' (1942) * '' The Black Sheep of Whitehall'' (1942) * ''

The Next of Kin ''The Next of Kin'', also known as ''Next of Kin'', is a 1942 Second World War propaganda film produced by Ealing Studios. The film was originally commissioned by the British War Office as a training film to promote the government message that ...

'' (1942) * ''

The Foreman Went to France ''The Foreman Went to France'' (released in the USA as ''Somewhere in France'' ) is a 1942 British Second World War war film starring Clifford Evans, Tommy Trinder, Constance Cummings and Gordon Jackson. It was based on the real-life wartime ex ...

'' (1942) * '' The Goose Steps Out'' (1942) * '' Went the Day Well?'' (1942) * ''

Go to Blazes Go, GO, G.O., or Go! may refer to: Arts and entertainment Games and sport * Go (game), a board game for two players * '' Travel Go'' (formerly ''Go – The International Travel Game''), a game based on world travel * Go, the starting position l ...

'' (1942, short) * ''

My Learned Friend ''My Learned Friend'' is a 1943 British, black-and-white, comedy, farce, directed by Basil Dearden with his regular collaborator, Will Hay, as the film's star in the role of William Fitch. The principal supporting roles were taken by Claude Hul ...

'' (1943) * '' Bon Voyage'' (1944, short) * '' Aventure Malgache'' (1944, short) * ''

The Halfway House ''The Halfway House'' is a 1944 British drama film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Mervyn Johns, his daughter Glynis Johns, Tom Walls and Françoise Rosay. The film tells the story of ten people who are drawn to stay in an old Welsh cou ...

'' (1944) * '' Fiddlers Three'' (1944) * '' Champagne Charlie'' (1944) * '' Dead of Night'' (1945) * '' Spellbound'' (1945) * ''

The Captive Heart ''The Captive Heart'' is a 1946 British war drama, directed by Basil Dearden and starring Michael Redgrave. It is about a Czechoslovak Army officer who is captured in the Fall of France and spends five years as a prisoner of war, during which ...

'' (1946) * ''

The Loves of Joanna Godden ''The Loves of Joanna Godden'' is a 1947 British historical drama film directed by Charles Frend and produced by Michael Balcon. The screenplay was written by H. E. Bates and Angus MacPhail from the novel '' Joanna Godden'' (1921) by Sheila Kaye- ...

'' (1947) * '' Frieda'' (1947) * ''

It Always Rains on Sunday ''It Always Rains on Sunday'' is a 1947 British film adaptation of Arthur La Bern's novel by the same name, directed by Robert Hamer. The film has been compared with the poetic realism movement in the French cinema of a few years earlier by the ...

'' (1947) * '' Whisky Galore!'' (1949) * ''

Train of Events ''Train of Events'' is a 1949 British portmanteau film made by Ealing Studios and directed by Sidney Cole, Charles Crichton and Basil Dearden. It begins with a train that is heading for a crash into a stalled petrol tanker at a level crossing an ...

'' (1949) * '' The Wrong Man'' (1956)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Macphail, Angus Roy 1903 births 1962 deaths Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge English male screenwriters Writers from London 20th-century English screenwriters 20th-century English male writers