Arthur Watkins (1907–1965) was a British

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, ...

and

public official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their s ...

who served as Secretary of the

British Board of Film Censors The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organization, non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national clas ...

from 1948 to 1956, succeeding Joseph Brooke Wilkinson in the post, having previously worked at the Home Office. Writing under the name Arthur Watkyn he was also a successful

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

. A number of his works have been adapted for film and television including his West End hit comedy '' For Better, for Worse'' and his 1952 costume play ''

The Moonraker ''The Moonraker'' is a British swashbuckler film made in 1957 and released in 1958 and set in the English Civil War. It was directed by David MacDonald and starred George Baker, Sylvia Syms, Marius Goring, Gary Raymond, Peter Arne, John Le M ...

'' set during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

. He also enjoyed success with his 1958 comedy ''

Not in the Book ''Not in the Book'' is a comedy thriller play by the British writer Arthur Watkyn. It was first performed at the Theatre Royal in Brighton before transferring to the Criterion Theatre in London's West End where it ran for 487 performances betwee ...

''. His play ''

Out of Bounds In sports, out of bounds (or out-of-bounds) refers to being outside the playing boundaries of the field. Due to the chaotic nature of play, it is normal in many sports for players and/or the ball to go out of bounds frequently during a game. T ...

'' ran for 31 weeks at

Wyndham's Theatre Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by actor/manager Charles Wyndham (the other is the Criterion Theatre). Located on Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, it was designed c.1898 by W. G. R. Sprague, the archit ...

in 1962 before being adapted into the West German film ''

A Mission for Mr. Dodd ''A Mission for Mr. Dodd'' (german: Vorsicht Mister Dodd) is a 1964 West German comedy film directed by and starring Heinz Rühmann, Maria Sebaldt and Robert Graf.Bock & Bergfelder p.5 It was shot at the Bavaria Studios in Munich. The film's set ...

'' in 1964. As a censor he was known for his more liberal treatment of film scripts than his predecessor, and introduced the

X certificate An X rating is a rating used in various countries to classify films that have content deemed suitable only for adults. It is used when the violent or sexual content of a film is considered to be potentially disturbing to general audiences. Aust ...

in 1951 to allow films of a more adult nature to be screened. He left his post as censor in 1956 to take over as Vice President of the

British Film Producers' Association British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

.Harper & Porter p.231-32

References

Bibliography

* Harper, Sue & Porter, Vincent. ''British Cinema of the 1950s: The Decline of Deference''. Oxford University Press, 2007. * Lachman, Marvin. ''The Villainous Stage: Crime Plays on Broadway and in the West End''. McFarland, 2014. * Mackillop, Ian & Sinyard, Neil. ''British Cinema of the 1950s: A Celebration''. Manchester University Press, 2018. * Wearing, J.P. ''The London Stage 1950–1959: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2014.

External links

* 1907 births 1965 deaths People from Aberystwyth British writers Film censorship in the United Kingdom {{UK-film-bio-stub