Robert Fuest (30 September 1927 – 21 March 2012) was an English

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

, screenwriter, and

production designer In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...

who worked mostly in the horror,

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

and suspense

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

Biography

Born in London, Fuest served his national service in post-war Germany with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

, air-lifting coal over the Berlin Wall, after which he attended

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

and Hornsey Schools of Art. For a period, he lectured at Southampton College of Art. Fuest also spent time as a drummer in a warm-up band for

Chris Barber Donald Christopher "Chris" Barber OBE (17 April 1930 – 2 March 2021) was an English jazz musician, best known as a bandleader and trombonist. He helped many musicians with their careers and had a UK top twenty trad jazz hit with "Petite Fle ...

and

George Melly Alan George Heywood Melly (17 August 1926 – 5 July 2007) was an English jazz and blues singer, critic, writer, and lecturer. From 1965 to 1973 he was a film and television critic for ''The Observer''; he also lectured on art history, with an ...

. In the early sixties, he designed sets for television programmes such as ''

ITV Play of the Week ''Play of the Week'' is a 90-minute British television anthology series produced by a variety of companies including Granada Television, Associated-Rediffusion, ATV and Anglia Television. Synopsis From 1955 to 1967 approximately 500 episodes ...

'' and ''

Armchair Theatre ''Armchair Theatre'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968. The Canad ...

''. It was whilst working on the first season of '' The Avengers'' for director Peter Hammond that Fuest developed an enthusiasm for directing. Fuest later admitted (on a DVD commentary for the ''Avengers'' episode "Game") that Hammond's visual style proved a major influence, and opened him up to the stylistic possibilities of film and TV. In 1965, he contributed material to the

Peter Cook Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English actor, comedian, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishme ...

and

Dudley Moore Dudley Stuart John Moore CBE (19 April 193527 March 2002) was an English actor, comedian, musician and composer. Moore first came to prominence in the UK as a leading figure in the British satire boom of the 1960s. He was one of the four writ ...

comedy sketch show '' Not Only... But Also''. His first film was ''

Just Like a Woman "Just Like a Woman" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan first released on his seventh studio album, ''Blonde on Blonde'' on June 20, 1966. It was written by Dylan and produced by Bob Johnston. A shorter edit was released as a sin ...

'' (1967), which he also wrote, starring

Wendy Craig Anne Gwendolyn "Wendy" Craig (born 20 June 1934) is an English actress who is best known for her appearances in the sitcoms ''Not in Front of the Children (TV series), Not in Front of the Children'', ''...And Mother Makes Three'', ''...And M ...

. His work on the film brought him to the attention of ''Avengers'' producer

Albert Fennell Albert Fennell (29 March 1920, in Chiswick – 17 April 1988) was a British film and television producer. Fennell's film career began as a production designer and writer. His work as a film producer included ''Next to No Time'', (1958), ''Peepin ...

, who offered him the chance to direct episodes. He directed seven episodes in total: "My Wildest Dream", "Game", "They Keep Killing Steed", "The Rotters", "Take Me to Your Leader", "Pandora" and "Take Over". When the series was later revived as '' The New Avengers'', Fuest was invited back to direct two more episodes, namely "The Midas Touch" and "The Tale of the Big Why". In further television work, Fuest handled productions on both sides of the Atlantic, including ''

Revenge of the Stepford Wives ''Revenge of the Stepford Wives'' is a 1980 American made-for-television science-fiction thriller film inspired by the Ira Levin novel '' The Stepford Wives''. It was directed by Robert Fuest with a screenplay by David Wiltse and starring Sharon ...

'', ''

ABC Weekend Special ''ABC Weekend Special'' is a weekly 30-minute American television anthology series for children that aired Saturday mornings on ABC from 1977 to 1997, which featured a wide variety of stories that were both live-action and animated. Similar to b ...

'', ''

ABC Afterschool Specials ''ABC Afterschool Special'' is an American television anthology series that aired on ABC from October 4, 1972, to January 23, 1997, usually in the late afternoon on weekdays. Most episodes were dramatically presented situations, often controver ...

'', ''

The Doombolt Chase ''The Doombolt Chase'' is a naval-themed British science fiction/action television series aimed at a teenage audience. It was broadcast between 12 March and 16 April 1978, as a six-episode series. It was also broadcast in Canada on TVOntario in ...

'', '' C.A.T.S. Eyes,'' '' Worlds Beyond'' and ''The Optimist'' Fuest's later films feature strong

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discu ...

elements, include cult favorites '' The Abominable Dr. Phibes'' (1971), '' Dr. Phibes Rises Again'' (1972) (which he co-wrote), and ''

The Final Programme ''The Final Programme'' is a novel by British science fiction and fantasy writer Michael Moorcock. Written in 1965 as the underground culture was beginning to emerge, it was not published for several years. Moorcock has stated that publishers a ...

'' (also known as ''The Last Days of Man on Earth''; 1973). In addition to directing ''The Final Programme'', he also wrote the screenplay and designed the sets. His other films include '' And Soon the Darkness'' (1970), a suspense thriller written by ''Avengers'' writers

Brian Clemens Brian Horace Clemens (30 July 1931 – 10 January 2015) was an English screenwriter and television producer, possibly best known for his work on '' The Avengers'' and '' The Professionals''. Clemens claimed to be related to Mark Twain (Samuel ...

and

Terry Nation Terence Joseph Nation (8 August 19309 March 1997) was a British screenwriter and novelist. Especially known for his work in British television science fiction, he created the Daleks and Davros for ''Doctor Who'', as well as the series '' Surviv ...

, and '' The Devil's Rain'' (1975), a horror film shot in Mexico. The latter movie received such scathing reviews it may have ended his career,Fuest, Robert. ''The Devil's Rain''

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

, Dark Sky, 2006,

audio commentary An audio commentary is an additional audio track, usually digital, consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with a video. Commentaries can be serious or entertaining in nature, and can add informatio ...

. as Fuest immediately thereafter found himself relegated to directing fairly anonymous

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

work. His only subsequent theatrical release was ''

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols inclu ...

'' (1982), a softcore sex movie filmed in Greece. During his retirement, he focused on his passion for painting (he had exhibited at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

since 1951) and also lectured at the

London International Film School 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.

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1967) * ''

Wuthering Heights ''Wuthering Heights'' is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, initially published under her pen name Ellis Bell. It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and their turbulent re ...

'' (1970) * '' And Soon the Darkness'' (1970) * '' The Abominable Dr. Phibes'' (1971) * '' Dr. Phibes Rises Again'' (1972) * ''

'' (1973) * '' The Devil's Rain'' (1975) * ''

Three Dangerous Ladies ''Three Dangerous Ladies'' is a 1977 British-Canadian horror film, horror anthology film composed of three episodes of the six-part ITV Wales & West, Harlech Television and TVOntario, The Ontario Educational Communications Authority co-produced ...

'' (1977) * ''

'' (1980) * ''

'' (1982)

References

Bibliography

* * Humphreys, Justin, with contributions by Mark Ferelli, Sam Irvin, and David Taylor (2018). ''The Dr. Phibes Companion''. Albany, Georgia: BearManor Media. .

External links

*
Robert Fuest in ''Epdlp''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuest, Robert 1927 births 2012 deaths English film directors English screenwriters English male screenwriters Horror film directors Writers from London British production designers Alumni of Wimbledon College of Arts