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Robert James Leslie Halliwell (23 February 1929 – 21 January 1989) was a British
film critic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outlets ...
, encyclopaedist and television rights buyer for ITV, the British commercial network, and
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
. He is best known for his reference guides, '' Filmgoer's Companion'' (1965), a single volume film-related encyclopaedia featuring biographies (with credits) and technical terms, and the eponymous ''Halliwell's Film Guide'' (1977), which is dedicated to individual films. For some years, his books were the most accessible source for movie information, and his name became synonymous with film knowledge and research.
Anthony Quinton Anthony Meredith Quinton, Baron Quinton, FBA (25 March 192519 June 2010) was a British political and moral philosopher, metaphysician, and materialist philosopher of mind. He served as President of Trinity College, Oxford from 1978 to 1987; a ...
wrote in the ''
Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to '' The Times'' but became a separate publication ...
'' in 1977:
Immersed in the enjoyment of these fine books, one should look up for a moment to admire the quite astonishing combination of industry and authority in one man which has brought them into existence.
Halliwell's promotion of the cinema through his books and seasons of 'golden oldies' on
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
won him awards from the London Film Critics' Circle, the
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
and a posthumous BAFTA.''Broadcast'' magazine, 28 June 1985.


Early life

Born in
Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...
,
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...
in 1929, Halliwell enjoyed films from an early age. He grew up during the Golden Age of Hollywood, a period when film production was at its peak, with new releases debuting in cinemas with great regularity. Halliwell went almost nightly to the cinema with his mother, Lily, which provided an escape from the at times tough reality of their
mill town A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories, usually cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe Italy * '' Crespi d'Adda'', UNESCO World ...
. In 1939, Halliwell won a scholarship to
Bolton School Bolton School is an independent day school in Bolton, Greater Manchester. It comprises a co-educational nursery, co-educational infant school (ages 3–7), single sex junior schools (ages 7–11) and single sex senior schools including sixth fo ...
. After
national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...
, he went on to study
English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...
at
St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The college is located in the historic city-centre of Cam ...
.


The Rex Cinema, Cambridge

After graduating with a 2:1
honours degree Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, or ...
from St Catharine's, Halliwell worked briefly for '' Picturegoer'' magazine in London, before returning to Cambridge to manage the Rex Cinema from 1952 to 1956. Under his management, the cinema became extremely popular with the Cambridge undergraduate community, showing classic films such as '' The Blue Angel'', ''
Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...
'' and '' Destry Rides Again''. The ''
Cambridge Evening News The ''Cambridge News'' (formerly the ''Cambridge Evening News'') is a British daily newspaper. Published each weekday and on Saturdays, it is distributed from its Waterbeach base. In the period December 2010 – June 2011 it had an average dai ...
'' reported that "students felt their periods at Cambridge were incomplete without the weekly visit to the Rex." In 1955, after the British Censor had banned the
Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...
film '' The Wild One'', Halliwell arranged for Cambridge magistrates to assess the picture. They subsequently granted him a special licence, and so the Rex became the only cinema in Britain to show the film.


Television career

After leaving The Rex, Halliwell joined the
Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distribut ...
in 1956 on a three-year trainee course. He was then employed as a film publicist for the company. In 1958, he joined
Southern Television Southern Television was the ITV broadcasting licence holder for the South and South-East of England from 30 August 1958 to 31 December 1981. The company was launched as 'Southern Television Limited' and the title 'Southern Television' was co ...
, and was seconded to
Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was its ...
a year later, where he remained for the next thirty years, at their offices in London's
Golden Square Golden Square, in Soho, the City of Westminster, London, is a mainly hardscaped garden square planted with a few mature trees and raised borders in Central London flanked by classical office buildings. Its four approach ways are north and sou ...
. He married Ruth Porter in 1959 and they had one son. Initially appointed as Cecil Bernstein's assistant, Halliwell gained the role of Film Adviser to
Granada Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...
's show ''Cinema'', which was the most popular arts programme on television during the 1960s. Halliwell was given responsibility for buying TV shows and in 1968 became the chief film buyer for the ITV network, a role he maintained throughout the 1970s and most of the 1980s. Travelling to Hollywood twice a year to view the latest TV pilots and film offerings and to trade fairs in
Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The ...
and
Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...
, Halliwell became a major player in the television industry. In his capacity as chief buyer for the ITV network, he was responsible for bringing to
British television Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection ...
screens some of the highest rated shows of the 1970s and 1980s, including ''
The Six Million Dollar Man ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' is an American science fiction and action television series, running from 1973 to 1978, about a former astronaut, USAF Colonel Steve Austin, portrayed by Lee Majors. After a NASA test flight accident, Austin ...
'', ''
Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, producing five seasons and 115 episodes. The series was created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and was produced by ...
'', '' The Incredible Hulk'', and ''
The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American action-adventure television series that ran on NBC from January 1983 to March 1987 about former members of a fictitious United States Army Special Forces unit. The four members of the team were tried by court ma ...
'', as well as the James Bond film series, ''
Jaws Jaws or Jaw may refer to: Anatomy * Jaw, an opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth ** Mandible, the lower jaw Arts, entertainment, and media * Jaws (James Bond), a character in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''Moonraker'' * ...
'', and ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...
''. In 1982, at the invitation of
Jeremy Isaacs Sir Jeremy Israel Isaacs (born 28 September 1932) is a Scottish television producer and executive, opera manager, and a recipient of many British Academy Television Awards and International Emmy Awards. He won the British Film Institute Fellow ...
, he became buyer and scheduler of US films for
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
. In keeping with the channel's intention to appeal to specialist audiences, Halliwell focused primarily on films from the 1930s and '40s. Over the next few years, the channel showed hundreds of vintage movies in seasons, with many titles introduced by filmmakers such as Samuel Goldwyn Jnr,
Frank Launder Frank Launder (28 January 1906 – 23 February 1997) was a British writer, film director and producer, who made more than 40 films, many of them in collaboration with Sidney Gilliat. Early life and career He was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire ...
and
Sidney Gilliat Sidney Gilliat (15 February 1908 – 31 May 1994) was an English film director, producer and writer. He was the son of George Gilliat, editor of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1928 to 1933. Sidney was born in the district of Edgeley in Sto ...
. Isaacs later wrote that Halliwell had made an "unsurpassed contribution" to the channel's success. The
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
gave Halliwell an award in 1985 'for the selection and acquisition of films with a view to creative scheduling.' Author and film historian
Jeffrey Richards Jeffrey Richards (born c.1945)Chris Arno"Fast Forward: Jeffrey Richards" ''The Guardian'', 11 January 2005 is a British historian. Educated at Jesus College, Cambridge, he is Professor of Cultural History at Lancaster University. A leading cul ...
wrote:
For lovers of the golden age of the cinema like myself, Channel 4 became a source of unalloyed delight as time and again one encountered films one had only ever read about and never expected to see.
During this period, Halliwell also presented two television series celebrating the British wartime documentary movement: ''Home Front'', for Granada in 1982 and ''The British at War'' for Channel 4 two years later. Both featured Ministry of Information productions such as '' Listen to Britain'', '' Desert Victory'' and ''
The True Glory ''The True Glory'' (1945) is a co-production of the US Office of War Information and the British Ministry of Information, documenting the victory on the Western Front, from Normandy to the collapse of the Third Reich. Although many individuals ...
''.


Encyclopaedias


''The Filmgoer's Companion''

First published in 1965, ''
The Filmgoer's Companion The Filmgoer's Companion, now published as ''Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies'', is an encyclopedic reference of film actors, film technicians (cameramen, editors, score composers, and the many other specialist required to make a movie), direct ...
'' sold ten thousand copies on its first run, including four thousand in the United States. In all, Halliwell edited nine editions of the ''Companion'', which is now known as ''Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies''. The book was highly influential and critically acclaimed, with TV presenter
Denis Norden Denis Mostyn Norden (6 February 1922 – 19 September 2018) was an English comedy writer and television presenter. After an early career working in cinemas, he began scriptwriting during the Second World War. From 1948 to 1959, he co-wrote the ...
comparing the companion to the ''
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...
''.
Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the '' Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his ...
wrote in 1975:
There is a well-developed consensus among film scribes that Leslie Halliwell's ''The Filmgoer's Companion'' is the single most valuable reference book on film."
Others were less enthusiastic, criticising Halliwell's subjectivity and occasionally reactionary opinions on the films included, as well as the bias towards older films.
Charles Champlin Charles Davenport Champlin (March 23, 1926 – November 16, 2014) was an American film critic and writer. Life and career Champlin was born in Hammondsport, New York. He attended high school in Camden, New York, working as a columnist for the ...
of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' wrote in 1979 that "the referrer needs an iron will to look up only one fact," in reference to the perceived density of the book.


''Halliwell's Film Guide''

First published in 1977 and regularly updated, ''Halliwell's Film Guide'' originally incorporated capsule reviews and information on over 8,000 English-speaking titles. By the time of Halliwell's death in 1989, the ''Film Guide'' had doubled in size. He acknowledged his predecessors in the introduction to the first edition,
I salute especially the work of
Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fi ...
, James Robert Parish, Denis Gifford, Douglas Eames and the unsung anonymous heroes who compiled the reviews of the
BFI The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
's ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' during the fifties and sixties.
This second work also came in for as much criticism as it did praise. Halliwell came under fire from journalists and critics for the brevity of his assessments, and his dismissive stance on more modern films. His devotion to the Golden Age of Hollywood left him increasingly out of touch with modern attitudes. ''
Observer An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment. Observer may also refer to: Computer science and information theory * In information theory, any system which receives information from an object * State observer in co ...
'' film critic
Philip French Philip Neville French OBE (28 August 1933 – 27 October 2015) was an English film critic and radio producer. French began his career in journalism in the late 1950s, before eventually becoming a BBC Radio producer, and later a film crit ...
wrote that Halliwell "isn't a scholar, critic or cineaste, but rather a movie buff, a man who knows the credits of everything but the value of very little". Jim Emerson of the ''
Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digital Fiest/Media News subsidiaries. ...
'' called Halliwell "something of a grumpy old English fuddy-duddy horarely has anything good to say about any movie made after 1960".


''Halliwell's Television Companion''

Halliwell's third encyclopaedic work began life as the ''Teleguide'' in 1979. Disappointed with the first edition, he joined with ''
Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', ...
'' critic Philip Purser to produce ''Halliwell's Television Companion'', which ran for a further two editions in 1982 and 1986. The third edition, published by Grafton in 1986, included over 12,000 entries.


Retirement and death

Halliwell retired from the television industry in 1986 but continued to edit his film guides. He wrote a regular TV article for the ''
Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...
'' beginning in 1987, and published a number of historical and critical works about the cinema. He also published three volumes of ghost stories inspired by M. R. James. Halliwell died of
esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include difficulty in swallowing and weight loss. Other symptoms may include pain when swallowing, a hoarse voi ...
at the Princess Alice
Hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life b ...
in
Esher Esher ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole. Esher is an outlying suburb of London near the London-Surrey Border, and with Esher Commons at its southern end, the town marks one limit of the Greater London Built-Up ...
,
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...
, a month before his 60th birthday.Death certificate: Jan/Feb/Mar 1989, Vol 17, Page 295, Reg no. 189, Surrey Northern.


Halliwell's favourite films

This list of Leslie Halliwell's favourite films was originally published in the fifth edition of the ''Film Guide''. * ''
Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...
'' (1941) * '' Trouble in Paradise'' (1932) * ''
Bride of Frankenstein ''Bride of Frankenstein'' is a 1935 American science fiction horror film, and the first sequel to Universal Pictures' 1931 film ''Frankenstein''. As with the first film, ''Bride of Frankenstein'' was directed by James Whale starring Boris Kar ...
'' (1935) * ''
Le Million ''Le Million'' is a 1931 French musical comedy film directed by René Clair. The story was adapted by Clair from a play by Georges Berr and Marcel Guillemand. Plot Michel, a debt-ridden artist, is interrupted several times while romancing Van ...
'' (1931) * '' A Matter of Life and Death'' (1946) * ''
Lost Horizon ''Lost Horizon'' is a 1933 novel by English writer James Hilton. The book was turned into a film, also called '' Lost Horizon'', in 1937 by director Frank Capra. It is best remembered as the origin of Shangri-La, a fictional utopian lamaser ...
'' (1937) * ''
Sons of the Desert A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current ...
'' (1933) * '' The Philadelphia Story'' (1940) * '' The Maltese Falcon'' (1941) * '' The Lady Vanishes'' (1938)


Biography

A biography, ''Halliwell's Horizon'', written by Michael Binder, was published in 2011.Halliwell's Horizon
/ref>


Bibliography

* 1965 – ''The Filmgoer's Companion''. – (editions 1–9 by Halliwell) * 1973 – ''The Filmgoer's Book of Quotes''. – * 1975 – ''The Clapperboard Book of the Cinema''. – with Graham Murray, * 1976 – ''Mountain of Dreams: the Golden Years of Paramount''. – * 1977 – ''Halliwell's Movie Quiz''. – * 1977 – ''Halliwell's Film Guide''. – (editions 1–7 by Halliwell) * 1979 – ''Halliwell's Television Companion''. – * 1982 – ''Halliwell's Hundred''. – * 1984 – ''The Ghost of Sherlock Holmes: Seventeen Supernatural Stories''. – * 1985 – ''Seats in All Parts: Half a Lifetime at the Movies''. – * 1986 – ''Halliwell's Harvest''. – * 1986 – ''The Dead that Walk''. – * 1987 – ''A Demon Close Behind''. – * 1987 – ''Double Take and Fade Away''. – * 1987 – ''Return to Shangri-La''. – * 1988 – ''A Demon on the Stair''. –


References


External links


Website celebrating Halliwell and his ''Film Guide''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Halliwell, Leslie 1929 births 1989 deaths Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge Deaths from cancer in England Daily Mail journalists Deaths from esophageal cancer English film critics English writers British film historians People educated at Bolton School People from Bolton British encyclopedists 20th-century British historians