William Gerald Douglas (17 April 1934 – 18 June 1991) was a Scottish film director best known for the trilogy of films about his early life.

Biography

Born in

Newcraighall Newcraighall ( sco, Newcraighauch, gd, Talla na Creige Nuadh) is a South-Eastern suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland. A former mining village, its prosperity was based on the Midlothian coalfields. The Newcraighall pit was known as 'Klondyke' and c ...

on the outskirts of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, he was brought up initially by his maternal grandmother, Jean Beveridge; following her death, he lived with his father and paternal grandmother. He undertook his National Service in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, where he met his lifelong friend, Peter Jewell. On returning to Britain, Douglas moved to London and began a career of acting and writing. After spending some time with

Joan Littlewood Joan Maud Littlewood (6 October 1914 – 20 September 2002) was an English theatre director who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and is best known for her work in developing the Theatre Workshop. She has been called "The Mother of M ...

's '

Theatre Workshop Theatre Workshop is a theatre group whose long-serving director was Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company, many of its productions were transferred to theatres in the West En ...

' company at the

Theatre Royal Stratford East The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with director Joan Littlewood, whose ...

, he was cast in the Granada television series, ''The Younger Generation'' in 1961 and had a musical, ''Solo'', produced in 1962 at

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

Filmmaking career

Having been interested in film-making all his life, in 1969 Douglas enrolled at the

London School of Film Technique London Film School (LFS) is a film school in London and is situated in a converted brewery in Covent Garden, London, neighbouring Soho, a hub of the UK film industry. It is the oldest film school in the UK.

, where he wrote the screenplay for a short autobiographical film called ''Jamie''. After initial difficulties in finding support for the project, he eventually found a champion at 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, ...

in the newly appointed head of Production,

Mamoun Hassan Mamoun Hassan (12 December 1937 – 29 July 2022) was a Saudi-born British screenwriter, director, editor, producer and teacher of film who held prominent positions in British cinema during the 1970s and 1980s, frequently backing experimental work. ...

, who secured funding on the basis that ''Jamie'' should form part one of a trilogy – echoing the great childhood trilogies of

Ray Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (g ...

and Gorky. The film was renamed ''My Childhood'', and its success on the international festival circuit paved the way for the second and third instalments of the trilogy of Douglas's formative years: ''My Ain Folk'' (1973) and ''My Way Home'' (1978). The ''Bill Douglas Trilogy'' recounts the harrowing experiences of a young boy, Jamie, growing up in material and emotional poverty with his brother and grandmother; followed by incarceration in a children's home, and then living in a hostel for down-and-outs. Eventually the call-up for national service allows Jamie to find freedom through his friendship with Robert, a young middle class Englishman who introduces him to books and the possibility of a more optimistic and fulfilling future. The austere black and white images of the films embody a stillness and intensity reminiscent of silent cinema and this visual style is augmented by the equally spare and precise use of sound. Just as the stillness of the image forces the audience to look, so the relative silence encourages greater attention to specific sounds – boots scraping on asphalt, the chirping of birds and the timbre of voices – granting an emotional power that many considered lost in the aural bombardment characterising much contemporary cinema. The ''Trilogy'' gained a wealth of critical plaudits but Douglas struggled to raise financing for his next project, and was forced to find other ways of earning a living.

, the former head of BFI Production, invited him to teach at the National Film and Television School from 1978 and he proved to be an inspiring presence. Hassan was also able, in his role as director of the National Film Finance Corporation to help realise the project of ''

Comrades The term ''comrade'' (russian: товарищ, tovarisch) generally means 'mate', 'colleague', or 'ally', and derives from the Spanish and Portuguese, term , literally meaning 'chamber mate', from Latin , meaning 'chamber' or 'room'. It may also ...

'', Douglas's film about the '

Tolpuddle Martyrs The Tolpuddle Martyrs were six agricultural labourers from the village of Tolpuddle in Dorset, England, who, in 1834, were convicted of swearing a secret oath as members of the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers. They were arrested on ...

', six

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

farm labourers who in 1834 were arrested and tried for forming a trade union and subsequently transported to Australia. Even so, the film did not appear until 1986, six years after the screenplay had been completed. Dubbed a 'poor man's epic', ''Comrades'' continues Douglas's interest in the perseverance of the human spirit in the face of material adversity. It also brings to the fore his fascination with the world of optics and image-making, through a number of references to various forms of Victorian optical entertainments such as the

magic lantern The magic lantern, also known by its Latin name , is an early type of image projector that used pictures—paintings, prints, or photographs—on transparent plates (usually made of glass), one or more lenses, and a light source. Because a si ...

, the

zoetrope A zoetrope is one of several pre-film animation devices that produce the illusion of motion by displaying a sequence of drawings or photographs showing progressive phases of that motion. It was basically a cylindrical variation of the phénak ...

, the

peep show A peep show or peepshow is a presentation of a live sex show or pornographic film which is viewed through a viewing slot. Several historical media provided voyeuristic entertainment through hidden erotic imagery. Before the development of the ci ...

and the

camera obscura A camera obscura (; ) is a darkened room with a aperture, small hole or lens at one side through which an image is 3D projection, projected onto a wall or table opposite the hole. ''Camera obscura'' can also refer to analogous constructions su ...

. The story itself is mediated by the character of an itinerant magic lanternist who reappears in a number of roles. ''Comrades'' was to be Bill Douglas's last film. He died of cancer and is buried in the churchyard of

Bishop's Tawton Bishop's Tawton is a village and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. It is in the valley of the River Taw, about three miles south of Barnstaple. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,176. Des ...

in Devon. He left behind him two unmade screenplays: ''Justified Sinner'', an adaptation of

James Hogg James Hogg (1770 – 21 November 1835) was a Scottish poet, novelist and essayist who wrote in both Scots and English. As a young man he worked as a shepherd and farmhand, and was largely self-educated through reading. He was a friend of many ...

's celebrated novel ''

The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner ''The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner: Written by Himself: With a detail of curious traditionary facts and other evidence by the editor'' is a novel by the Scottish author James Hogg, published anonymously in 1824. The p ...

'', and ''Flying Horse'', based on the life of pre-cinema pioneer

Eadweard Muybridge Eadweard Muybridge (; 9 April 1830 – 8 May 1904, born Edward James Muggeridge) was an English photographer known for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion, and early work in motion-picture projection. He adopted the first ...

. Another posthumous script, ''Ring of Truth'', written during a fellowship to

Strathclyde University The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

in 1990, was produced by

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Ireland. I ...

in 1996.

Legacy

Douglas's legacy was not confined to his films. Along with Peter Jewell (on whom Robert of the ''Trilogy'' was based), he was a voracious collector of books, memorabilia, and artefacts relating to the history and prehistory of cinema. This core collection formed the basis o
The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum
formerly The Bill Douglas Centre for the History of Cinema and Popular Culture housed at the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a public university , public research university in Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Min ...

, when it opened six years after his death. The

Bill Douglas Cinema Museum The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum (formally the Bill Douglas Centre for the History of Cinema and Popular Culture) is a public museum and an academic research facility on the Streatham Campus of the University of Exeter in England. Founded in 1994 an ...

contains an exhibition on Bill Douglas's life and work and holds his working papers, which can be accessed by researchers. In 2012, the Glasgow Short Film Festival announced the inaugural ''Bill Douglas Award'' for their International Short Film Competition, named in his honour.

Filmography

As director

Student films (London Film School)

*''Charlie Chaplin's London'' (1969) *''Striptease'' (1969) *''Globe'' (1969/70) *''Come Dancing'' (1970)

Feature films

*The Bill Douglas Trilogy: **''My Childhood'' (1972) **''My Ain Folk'' (1973) **''My Way Home'' (1978) *''

'' (1986)

As writer

As Co-Writer: *''Home and Away'' (A BFI Production, directed by Michael Alexander, 1974) Unproduced scripts: *''Confessions of a Justified Sinner'' (1988), based on

's 1824 novel, ''

'' *''Flying Horse'' (1990), based on the life of English photographer

*''The Ring of Truth'' (1990) (Produced by BBC Scotland in 1996)

Documentaries about Bill Douglas

*''Arena'' (1979) BBC TV documentary on Douglas after he had completed the Trilogy *''Bill Douglas: On Stony Ground'' (1992) BBC Scotland documentary *''Bill Douglas: Intent on Getting the Image'' (2006) Documentary on Douglas's life and work by 400Blows Productions/Andy Kimpton-Nye *''Visions of: COMRADES'' (2009) by 400Blows Productions/Andy Kimpton-Nye *''Lanterna Magicka: Bill Douglas & the Secret History of Cinema'' (2009) Documentary on Douglas's fascination with pre-cinema optical devices, and how he integrated them into Comrades. By Sean Martin and Louise Milne *'' Peter Jewell Remembers Bill Douglas'' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcV7QKPpSuQ). A documentary short on Bill Douglas, the man and his films, as remembered by his longtime friend Peter Jewell. Made in 2013 by Andy Kimpton-Nye/400Blows Productions. *'' Pre-Cinema in COMRADES'' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLEgNiGAizM). Peter Jewell, Bill douglas's longtime friend, on the importance of pre-cinema artefacts in COMRADES. Made in 2014 by Andy Kimpton-Nye/400blows Productions. *'' The Lanternist's Account'' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP9Ug9W-omQ). A documentary short: Alex Norton recalls playing 13 different roles in COMRADES. Made in 2014 by Andy Kimpton-Nye/400Blows Productions. *'' Mamoun Hassan on the Bill Douglas Trilogy'' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0MtElXPnk0). A documentary short: former Head of the BFI Production Board, Mamoun Hassan, discusses Douglas's masterpiece, The Trilogy. Made in 2013 by Andy Kimpton-Nye/400Blows Productions.

Bill Douglas on DVD

*''The Bill Douglas Trilogy'' (BFI, 2008, Blu-ray: 2009; in the US the trilogy was released on DVD by Facets) – Also includes Douglas's graduation film, ''Come Dancing'', a brief 1980 interview with Douglas, and Andy Kimpton-Nye's documentary. *''Comrades'' (BFI, also Blu-ray, 2009) – Also includes ''Home and Away'', Martin/Milne's ''Lanterna Magicka'', and interviews with Bill Douglas from 1978 and the ''Comrades'' shoot.

References

External links

Bill Douglas Museum
*

at

Screenonline Screenonline is a website about the history of British film, television and social history as documented by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute and funded by a £1.2 million grant from the National Lot ...

Honor for forgotten star"Glasgow Short Film Festival 2012 award winners announced (13/02/2012)"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Bill 1934 births 1991 deaths Scottish film directors Film people from Edinburgh Alumni of the London Film School