Sir Arthur Hallam Rice Elton, 10th Baronet (10 February 1906 – 1 January 1973) was a pioneer of the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
documentary film industry.
Educated at
Marlborough College and
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...
, he was a schoolfriend of
John Betjeman. After graduation, he worked as a scriptwriter in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, and in 1931 was recruited into the
Empire Marketing Board Film Unit (later 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 ...
) by
John Grierson. He worked as a director and producer on many films over the next two decades, mainly for the government, though 1932's ''Voice of the World'' was sponsored by
His Master's Voice
His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...
, the first example of industrial sponsorship of a documentary film. During the
Second World War
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 opposi ...
he became supervisor of films at the
Ministry of Information, and afterwards he became an advisor to the
Shell Petroleum Company and production head of Shell Films.
Elton married Margaret Ann Bjornson (d.1995) in 1948. On inheriting the
Elton Baronetcy title and
Clevedon Court
Clevedon Court is a manor house on Court Hill in Clevedon, North Somerset, England, dating from the early 14th century. It is owned by the National Trust and is designated as a Grade I listed building.
The house was built and added to over ma ...
on the death of his father in 1951, Elton restored the building and donated it to the
National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
in lieu of death duties. He took a keen interest in the town of
Clevedon
Clevedon (, ) is an English seaside town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, part of the ceremonial county of Somerset. It recorded a parish population of 21,281 in the United Kingdom Census 2011, estimated at 21,442 ...
, becoming chairman of the printing company which produced the local paper. He was also prominent in the campaign to restore
Clevedon Pier
Clevedon Pier is a seaside pier in the town of Clevedon, Somerset, England on the east shore of the Severn Estuary. It was described by Sir John Betjeman, as "the most beautiful pier in England" and was designated a Grade I listed building in ...
.
On Elton's death, his collection of material relating to British industrial development (valued at over a quarter of a million pounds) was given to the
Ironbridge Museum. He was succeeded by his son Charles, who is a
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 ...
producer.
External links
*
*
See also
*
Edgar Anstey
Edgar Anstey (16 February 1907 in Watford, Hertfordshire, England – 26 September 1987 in London, England), was a leading British documentary film-maker.
Anstey was educated at Watford Grammar School for Boys and Birkbeck College. He spen ...
*
Alberto Cavalcanti
Alberto de Almeida Cavalcanti (February 6, 1897 – August 23, 1982) was a Brazilian-born film director and producer. He was often credited under the single name "Cavalcanti".
Early life
Cavalcanti was born in Rio de Janeiro, the son of a ...
*
John Grierson
*
Humphrey Jennings
*
Paul Rotha
Paul Rotha (3 June 1907 – 7 March 1984) was a British documentary film-maker, film historian and critic.
Early life and education
He was born Paul Thompson in London, and educated at Highgate School and at the Slade School of Fine Art.
Career ...
*
Basil Wright
References
*
Jonathan Dawson Arthur Elton in: Ian Aitken (ed) ''Encyclopedia of the Documentary Film'', NY Routledge, 2006, pp. 56–6
1906 births
1973 deaths
Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge
Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain
English film directors
English male screenwriters
People educated at Marlborough College
British documentary filmmakers
Civil servants in the General Post Office
British documentary film producers
20th-century English screenwriters
20th-century English male writers
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