Sidney Henry Cole (31 October 1908 – 25 January 1998) was a British film and television producer. Earlier in his career he worked as a film editor. Cole was educated at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

(LSE), and entered the film industry as a scenario reader for Stoll Picture Productions, a company founded by Sir

Oswald Stoll Sir Oswald Stoll (20 January 1866 – 9 January 1942) was an Australian-born British theatre manager and the co-founder of the Stoll Moss Group theatre company. He also owned Cricklewood Studios and film production company Stoll Pictures, whi ...

. A longstanding friend of director

Thorold Dickinson Thorold Barron Dickinson (16 November 1903 – 14 April 1984) was a British film director, screenwriter, film editor, film producer, and Britain's first university professor of film. Dickinson's work received much praise, with fellow directo ...

, he edited Dickinson's ''

The High Command ''The High Command'' is a 1937 British drama film directed by Thorold Dickinson and starring Lionel Atwill, Lucie Mannheim and James Mason. It was shot at Ealing Studios and on location on the Gold Coast. The film's sets were designed by the ...

'' (1936) and ''

Gaslight Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, such as hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either direct ...

'' (1940) and

Alberto Cavalcanti Alberto de Almeida Cavalcanti (February 6, 1897 – August 23, 1982) was a Brazilian-born film director and film producer, producer. He was often credited under the single name "Cavalcanti". Early life Cavalcanti was born in Rio de Janeiro, ...

's ''

Went the Day Well? ''Went the Day Well?'' is a 1942 British war film adapted from a story by Graham Greene and directed by Alberto Cavalcanti. It was produced by Michael Balcon of Ealing Studios and served as unofficial propaganda for the war effort. The film shows ...

'' (1942). Cavalcanti was "a joy" to work with and later in his life Cole remained pleased with his work on the film, stating that it was "very tightly edited by me".BECTU interview of Cole conducted by Alan Lawson (1987)
as reproduced on the BFI screenonline website The longest portion of Cole's career though was as a producer, initially credited as an associate producer, for

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever s ...

(where he was employed for eleven years) and the television production company ITC. For ITC he produced ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...

'' (US: ''Secret Agent'', 1964–67) and ''

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 ...

'' (1967–68). Later he supervised ''

The Adventures of Black Beauty ''The Adventures of Black Beauty'' is a British adventure family television series produced by London Weekend Television and shown by ITV in the United Kingdom between 1972 and 1974. It was distributed internationally by London Weekend Internat ...

'' (1972–74) and ''

Dick Turpin Richard Turpin (bapt. 21 September 1705 – 7 April 1739) was an English highwayman whose exploits were romanticised following his execution in York for horse theft. Turpin may have followed his father's trade as a butcher ea ...

'' (1979–82) for

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 unt ...

, the latter via the Gatetarn company he founded with Richard Carpenter and Paul Knight. Sidney Cole was politically engaged through much of his career. He was involved in making documentaries on the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

with DickinsonAnn Ogid
Cole, Sidney (1908-1998)
BFI scereenonline page and employed nearly two-dozen blacklisted American writers on ''

The Adventures of Robin Hood ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Technicolor swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and stars Errol Flynn, Olivia de H ...

'' (1955–60), a series whose executive producer

Hannah Weinstein Hannah Weinstein ( Dorner; June 23, 1911 – March 9, 1984) was an American journalist, publicist and left-wing political activist who moved to Britain and became a television producer. She is best remembered for having produced ''The Adventure ...

had herself chosen exile in London because of

McCarthyism McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. The term origin ...

. With

Peter Proud Peter Proud (born Ralph Priestman Proud, 6 May 1913, Glasgow – 1989, London) was a British film art director. He made a major contribution to wartime camouflage and deception operations in the Western Desert, especially in the siege of Tobru ...

, Cole founded the ACTT union.

Selected filmography

* ''

Midshipman Easy ''Midshipman Easy'' is a 1935 British adventure film directed by Carol Reed and starring Hughie Green, Margaret Lockwood and Harry Tate. The screenplay concerns a young man who runs away from home, joins the navy and goes to sea in the 1790s. He ...

'' (editor, 1935) * ''

The Avenging Hand ''The Avenging Hand'' is a 1936 British crime film directed by Victor Hanbury and Frank Richardson and starring Noah Beery, Louis Borel and Kathleen Kelly.Wood p.93 It was made at Welwyn Studios as a quota quickie. Duncan Sutherland worked ...

'' (editor, 1936) * ''

'' (editor, 1937) * ''

'' (editor, 1940) * ''

Went The Day Well? ''Went the Day Well?'' is a 1942 British war film adapted from a story by Graham Greene and directed by Alberto Cavalcanti. It was produced by Michael Balcon of Ealing Studios and served as unofficial propaganda for the war effort. The film shows ...

'' (editor, 1943) * ''

Scott Of The Antarctic Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra N ...

'' (associate producer, 1948) * '' Secret People'' (producer, 1952) * ''

The Adventures Of Robin Hood ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Technicolor swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and stars Errol Flynn, Olivia de H ...

'' (producer, 1955) * ''

The Adventures Of Sir Lancelot ''The Adventures of Sir Lancelot'' is a British television series first broadcast in 1956, produced by Sapphire Films for ITC Entertainment and screened on the ITV network. The series starred William Russell as the eponymous Sir Lancelot, a Kn ...

'' (producer, 1956) * '' The Buccaneers'' (producer, 1956) * '' Sword Of Sherwood Forest'' (producer, 1960) * ''

'' (producer, US: ''Secret Agent'', 1964–67) * ''

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 ...

'' (producer, 1967) * ''

The Adventures Of Black Beauty ''The Adventures of Black Beauty'' is a British adventure family television series produced by London Weekend Television and shown by ITV in the United Kingdom between 1972 and 1974. It was distributed internationally by London Weekend Internat ...

'' (producer, 1972) * ''

'' (producer, 1979)

References

External links

*
Part 2 of BECTU interview (1987) with Peter Proud conducted by Sid Cole and Alan Lawson
reproduced on the BFI screenonline website 1908 births 1998 deaths Alumni of the London School of Economics British film editors British film producers British television producers {{UK-tv-bio-stub