Maxim Anderson (25 April 1914 in London, England – 10 July 1959) was a British director and producer of documentaries. He worked with the

GPO Film Unit The GPO Film Unit was a subdivision of the UK General Post Office. The unit was established in 1933, taking on responsibilities of the Empire Marketing Board Film Unit. Headed by John Grierson, it was set up to produce sponsored documentary films ...

from 1936 onwards, and later changed to

Crown Film Unit The Crown Film Unit was an organisation within the British Government's Ministry of Information during the Second World War. Formerly the GPO Film Unit it became the Crown Film Unit in 1940. Its remit was to make films for the general public in ...

. He directed documentaries such as ''

The Harvest Shall Come ''The Harvest Shall Come'' is a 1942 British documentary film about agricultural work between 1900 and World War II, using the story of a farm laborer to illustrate the importance of agriculture, and the importance of supporting workers in this o ...

'' (1942) and '' Four Men in Prison'' (1950).

Biography

Max Anderson was born on 25 April 1914, the son of artist

Stanley Anderson Stanley Anderson (October 23, 1939 – June 24, 2018) was an American character actor who played Drew Carey's father on ''The Drew Carey Show''. Early years Born in Billings, Montana, Anderson attended Garfield Elementary School, Lincoln Junior ...

and Lillian Phelps.Stanley Anderson (1884 − 1966).
Tom Overton, 2009.

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

. British Pavilion in Venice, 2013. He was educated at

Sloane School Sloane may refer to: Names * Sloane (surname) * Sloane Crosley, American writer and publicist * Sloane Stephens, American professional tennis player Places * Sloane, New South Wales * Sloane Square, a location in London, named after Hans S ...

and

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

He joined the

in 1936 at age 22, and became a director. Soon after the start of

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 ...

the GPO Film Unit became the

(CFU) under the Ministry of Information. In 1940, Anderson joined the Realist Film Unit (RFU). He directed ''Out of the Night'' for the RFU in 1941. The film documents the training of blind people so they can follow interesting and useful careers. Anderson's 1942 documentary for

Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. It was formed by the merger of four leading British chemical companies in 1926. Its headquarters were at M ...

, ''

'' gave a history of post-Victorian farmers, discussed the effect of the change from an agricultural economy to one based on industry, and gave a cautiously optimistic view of post-war agriculture. The 35-minute documentary, with music by

William Alwyn William Alwyn (born William Alwyn Smith; 7 November 1905 – 11 September 1985), was an English composer, conductor, and music teacher. Life and music William Alwyn was born William Alwyn Smith in Northampton, the son of Ada Tyler (Tompkins ...

, was sponsored by the Ministry of Information. ''The Harvest Shall Come'' was entirely filmed on location, including the interior scenes. It was named "Documentary of the Month" by ''

Documentary News Letter ''Documentary News Letter'' was a magazine about documentary film founded by filmmaker John Grierson. The publication was developed as the wartime successor to ''World Film News'', which ceased publication in 1938, and sought to promote a "docum ...

'', which called it "the first genuine story film made with the documentary purpose and by documentary method." It has been called "a far-sighted educational treatment of a major social problem." In 1943 Anderson directed the 20-minute ''Words and Actions'' for the RFU. ''Words and Actions'', produced by John Taylor, was made for the British Commercial Gas Association. It stressed the need for total co-operation in war time. The CFU produced the first six issues of ''Mining Review'' for the

National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "v ...

in 1947. Anderson directed several of the ''Mining Review'' stories in October–December 1947. In 1949 Anderson produced ''

Daybreak in Udi ''Daybreak in Udi'' is a 1949 British documentary film directed by Terry Bishop about cultural changes in Udi, Enugu. It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1950. Synopsis It is 1949, and colonial Nigeria is undergoing an iden ...

'' for the Crown Film Unit, directed by

Terry Bishop Terry Bishop (21 October 1912 – 30 October 1981) was a British screenwriter, and television and film director. During the 1950s and 60s he worked extensively in British TV, directing episodes of series such as ''The Adventures of William Tell'' ...

. The film documented the construction of a maternity hospital in a village in Eastern Nigeria. The 40-minute film, again with music by William Alwyn, was a 1948 Academy Award Winner. ''Savage World'' (1954), directed by Terry Bishop, is a two part 64-minute film. The first part deals with efforts to conserve wildlife in Africa against the opposition of local poachers, and the second part uses most of the material from ''Daybreak in Udi''. In 1950 Anderson directed '' Four Men in Prison'', one of three feature-length documentaries produced that year by

John Grierson John Grierson (26 April 1898 – 19 February 1972) was a pioneering Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. In 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" in a review of Robert J. Fla ...

for the CFU. Another was ''The Dancing Fleece'' directed by Frederick Wilson. ''Four Men in Prison'' and ''The Dancing Fleece'' caused widespread controversy. Anderson's film "disappeared under a ban of official disapproval." Anderson directed the cartoon documentary ''Every Five Minutes'' in 1951, covering fire prevention. He directed ''Treasure at the Mill'' in 1957 for the Children's Film Foundation. This was an action adventure film for children. Anderson died on 10 July 1959, aged 45. A tribute ceremony was held in his honour on 31 January 1960 at the

National Film Theatre BFI Southbank (from 1951 to 2007, known as the National Film Theatre) is the leading repertory cinema in the UK, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films. It is operated by the British Film Institute. Hist ...

. ''Caught in the Net'', written by Max Anderson, was released in 1960. It is a children's film based on Sutherland Ross's novel ''The Lazy Salmon Mystery''.

Filmography

As director

*''Out of the Night'' (1941) *''

'' (1942) *'' Words and Actions'' (1943) *''Mining Review'' series (October – December 1947): **Bestwood Training Centre (October 1947) **Open Cast Mining (October 1947) **Workington Football (October 1947) **Welsh Debate (October 1947) **Swadlincote (November 1947) **The Forrest of Dean (December 1947) **Shepherds from the mine (December 1947) ** Denby Washery (December 1947) *'' Four Men in Prison'' (1950) 40 minutes. *'' Every Five Minutes'' (1951) *'' Treasure at the Mill'' (1957)

As producer

*''

'' (1949) *'' Savage World'' (1954)

As writer

*'' Caught in the Net'' (1960)

References

Notes Citations Sources * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Max 1914 births 1959 deaths Film directors from London British documentary film directors Civil servants in the General Post Office British documentary film producers Alumni of the University of Cambridge