John Glen (born 15 May 1932) is a retired English film director and editor. He is best known for his work on the ''James Bond'' series, firstly by editing a number of earlier James Bond films and then later moving on to direct a further five Bond films in the franchise.

Life and career

Glen had his start in the film-making industry as a messenger boy in 1945. By the late 1940s, he was working in the visual and sound editorial departments of

Shepperton Studios Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not to be confused w ...

for films produced by

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)The Third Man ''The Third Man'' is a 1949 British film noir directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene and starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. Set in postwar Vienna, the film centres on American Holly Martins (Cotten), ...

'' (1949) and ''

The Wooden Horse ''The Wooden Horse'' is a 1950 British Second World War war film directed by Jack Lee and starring Leo Genn, David Tomlinson and Anthony Steel. It is based on the book of the same name by Eric Williams, who also wrote the screenplay. The f ...

'' (1950). Moving up the ranks, Glen made his picture editorial debut on a documentary series titled ''Chemistry for Six Forms'' in 1961, and his directorial debut on the TV series ''

Man in a Suitcase ''Man in a Suitcase'' is a British television private eye thriller series produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment. It originally aired in the United Kingdom on ITV from 27 September 1967 to 17 April 1968. ABC broadcast episodes of ''Man in a ...

'' in 1968 (directing the episode "Somebody Loses, Somebody ... Wins?"). During the 1960s and 1970s, Glen served as a film editor and

second unit Second unit is a discrete team of filmmakers tasked with filming shots or sequences of a production, separate from the main or "first" unit. The second unit will often shoot simultaneously with the other unit or units, allowing the filming stag ...

director, working on such films as ''

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

'' (1978) and ''

The Wild Geese ''The Wild Geese'' is a 1978 war film directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and starring Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris, and Hardy Krüger. The screenplay concerns a group of mercenaries in Africa. It was the result of a long-held ambit ...

'' (1978); he also contributed to three ''

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

'' films: '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (1969), '' The Spy Who Loved Me'' (1977) and '' Moonraker'' (1979). Following the release of ''Moonraker'', Glen was promoted to the rank of official director of the series; he went on to direct all five ''Bond'' films of the 1980s. He holds the record for directing the most number of films in the series to date, just one film more than

Guy Hamilton Mervyn Ian Guy Hamilton, DSC (16 September 1922 – 20 April 2016) was an English film director. He directed 22 films from the 1950s to the 1980s, including four James Bond films. Early life Hamilton was born in Paris on 16 September 1922, wh ...

. The films are: *'' For Your Eyes Only'' (1981) *''

Octopussy ''Octopussy'' is a 1983 spy film and the thirteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It is the sixth to star Roger Moore as the MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by John Glen and the screenplay was written by G ...

'' (1983) *''

A View to a Kill ''A View to a Kill'' is a 1985 spy film and the fourteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and is the seventh and final appearance of Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted ...

'' (1985) *''

The Living Daylights ''The Living Daylights'' is a 1987 spy film, the fifteenth entry in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first of two to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by John Glen, the film's ...

'' (1987) *''

Licence to Kill ''Licence to Kill'' is a 1989 spy film, the sixteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the second and final film to star Timothy Dalton as the MI6 agent James Bond. It sees Bond suspended from MI6 as he pursues t ...

'' (1989) After ''Bond'', Glen continued to direct, with credits including '' Christopher Columbus: The Discovery'' (1992) and ''

The Point Men ''The Point Men'' is a 2001 action crime thriller film by John Glen, the director of all the James Bond films in the 1980s. He cast Maryam d'Abo, the leading Bond girl from his film ''The Living Daylights'' (1987), in a small role in this film ...

'' (2001). He also directed episodes of the science-fiction television series ''

Space Precinct ''Space Precinct'' is a British television series that was first broadcast from 1994 to 1995 on Sky One and later on BBC Two from 1995 to 1996 in the UK, and in first-run syndication in the United States. Many US stations scheduled the show in ...

'' (1994–95). In 2001, he published his memoir, ''For My Eyes Only''.

Directorial style

Glen's films contain a recurring motif in the form of a startled

pigeon Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

that makes the actor (as well as the audience) jump; it is especially noticeable in his five ''James Bond'' films. Variations exist; in some cases, the animal is a cat (''

'') or a monkey (''

''). As editor of '' Moonraker'', Glen was responsible for creating the "double-taking pigeon", an editing trick that makes it appear as if a bird in St Mark's Square in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

cannot believe its eyes when Bond's (

Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the third actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in seven feature films between 19 ...

)

gondola The gondola (, ; vec, góndoła ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull ...

transforms into a hovercraft. In addition, all of Glen's ''Bond'' films feature a character who dies by falling from a height, in a sequence commonly accompanied by the same "male scream" sound effect. Glen often re-used actors in his films. In his autobiography, he states that he wanted to cast

Timothy Dalton Timothy Leonard Dalton Leggett (; born 21 March 1946) is a British actor. Beginning his career on stage, he made his film debut as Philip II of France in the 1968 historical drama ''The Lion in Winter''. He gained international prominence as ...

in '' Christopher Columbus: The Discovery'' but that Dalton left the project before shooting commenced; Glen wonders whetherfollowing an argument at the end of shooting on ''

''Dalton did not wish to appear in any more of his films. Several other cast members from the Glen ''Bond'' films appear in ''Christopher Columbus: the Discovery''; among them are

Robert Davi Robert John Davi (born 1953) is an American actor, singer and filmmaker. Over the course of his acting career, Davi has performed in more than 130 films. Among his most known roles are opera-singing heavy Jake Fratelli in ''The Goonies'' (1985), ...

(who played Franz Sanchez in ''Licence to Kill''),

Benicio del Toro Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez (born February 19, 1967) is a Puerto Rican actor and producer. He has garnered critical acclaim and numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Screen A ...

(who played Dario in ''Licence to Kill''), and

Michael Gothard Michael Alan Gothard (24 June 19392 December 1992) was an English actor, who portrayed Kai in the television series '' Arthur of the Britons'' and the mysterious villain Emile Leopold Locque in the 1981 James Bond film '' For Your Eyes Only''. ...

(who played Emile Leopold Locque in ''For Your Eyes Only''). By far his most frequent acting collaborator was Roger Moore, who worked with Glen on eleven films.

Filmography

References

External links

*
John Glen Biography
on the "007 James" website (Retrieved 27 August 2012)
John Glen Biography
on the "MI6 The Home of James Bond 007" website (Retrieved 27 August 2012)
You Only Live Splice: The Editing of John Glen
documentary on John Glen's editing style on the "James Bond Radio" website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Glen, John 1932 births Living people Action film directors English film directors English film editors English-language film directors English male non-fiction writers English memoirists English television directors English television editors People from Sunbury-on-Thames