Clifford Fanshawe Pember (1881–1955) was a British
art director notable for his set designs in British cinema and theatre. Pember worked on films during the late
silent and early
sound era
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed befor ...
s. Pember originally trained as an architect. In 1928 he designed the sets for
Alfred Hitchcock's film ''
Easy Virtue'', adapted from the play by
Noël Coward. Along with
Walter Murton
Walter Murton was a British art director, who worked from the 1920s until the 1940s. During his early career in the 1920s Murton was the regular set designer on the silent film series ''The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' and '' The Myst ...
, Pember has been identified as belonging to the "old school" of British set designers who resisted changes brought by new
modernist
Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
influences (particularly by German immigrants).
BFI: Clifford Pember profile
/ref>
Selected filmography
* ''Dawn
Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's hori ...
'' (1928)
* '' Easy Virtue'' (1928)
* ''The Vortex
''The Vortex'' is a play in three acts by the English writer and actor Noël Coward. The play depicts the sexual vanity of a rich, ageing beauty, her troubled relationship with her adult son, and drug abuse in British society circles after the ...
'' (1928)
* '' The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel'' (1928)
* '' The Woman in White'' (1929)
* '' Escape'' (1930)
* ''Birds of Prey
Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predat ...
'' (1930)
* ''Captain's Orders
''Captain's Orders'' is a 1937 British drama film directed by Ivar Campbell and starring Henry Edwards, Jane Carr, Marie La Varre, Wally Patch and Basil Radford. The film's sets were designed by Clifford Pember, in his final production.
Cast
...
'' (1937)
References
Bibliography
* Bergfelder, Tim & Cargnelli, Christian. ''Destination London: German-speaking emigrés and British cinema, 1925-1950''. Berghahn Books, 2008.
External links
*
1881 births
1955 deaths
British art directors
People from Kingston upon Thames
{{UK-film-bio-stub