Alexander Mackendrick (September 8, 1912 – December 22, 1993) was an American-born director and professor, long based in Scotland. He was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts, and later moved to Scotland. He began making television commercials before moving into

post-production Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments. Th ...

editing and directing films, most notably 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 ...

where his films include '' Whisky Galore!'' (1949), '' The Man in the White Suit'' (1951), '' The Maggie'' (1954), and '' The Ladykillers'' (1955). After his first American film '' Sweet Smell of Success'' (1957), his career as a director declined and he became Dean of the CalArts School of Film/Video in California. He was the cousin of Scottish writer

Roger MacDougall Roger MacDougall (2 August 1910, in Glasgow – 27 May 1993) was a Scottish playwright, screenwriter and director. Biography MacDougall began writing the occasional screenplay in the late 30s, working both alone and in collaboration with ot ...

Biography

He was born on 8 September 1912 the only child of Francis and Martha Mackendrick who had emigrated to the United States from

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

in 1911. His father was a ship builder and a civil engineer. When Mackendrick was six, his father died of

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptom ...

as a result of a

pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic disease with a stable number of in ...

that swept the world just after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. His mother, in desperate need of work, decided to be a dress designer. In order to pursue that decision, it was necessary for Martha MacKendrick to hand her only son over to his grandfather, who took young MacKendrick back to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

when he was seven years old. Mackendrick never saw or heard from his mother again. Mackendrick had a sad and lonely childhood. He attended

Hillhead High School Hillhead High School is a day school in Glasgow, Scotland, on Oakfield Avenue, neighbouring the University of Glasgow. Admissions It is one of the largest schools in Glasgow. History Grammar school Until 1972 it was a co-educational selectiv ...

in Glasgow from 1919 to 1926 and then went on to spend three years at the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, an ...

. In the early 1930s, MacKendrick moved to London to work as an art director for the advertising firm J. Walter Thompson. Between 1936 and 1938, Mackendrick scripted five cinema commercials. He later reflected that his work in the advertising industry was invaluable, in spite of his extreme dislike of the industry itself. MacKendrick wrote his first film script with his cousin and close friend,

. It was bought by

Associated British Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), originally British International Pictures (BIP), was a British film production, distribution and exhibition company active from 1927 until 1970 when it was absorbed into EMI. ABPC also owned appro ...

and later released, after script revisions, as '' Midnight Menace'' (1937).

Career

At the start of 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 ...

, Mackendrick was employed by the Minister of Information making British propaganda films. In 1942, he went to

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques d ...

and then to Italy, working with the Psychological Warfare Division. He then shot newsreels, documentaries, made leaflets, and did radio news. In 1943, he became the director of the film unit and approved the production of

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...

's early neorealist film, ''Rome, Open City'' (1945).

Ealing Studios

After the war, Mackendrick and Roger MacDougall set up Merlin Productions, where they produced documentaries for the Ministry of Information. Merlin Productions soon proved financially unviable. In 1946 Mackendrick joined

, originally as a scriptwriter and production designer, where he worked for nine years and directed five films made at Ealing; '' Whisky Galore!'' (US: ''Tight Little Island'', 1949), '' The Man in the White Suit'' (1951), '' Mandy'' (1952), '' The Maggie'' (US: ''High and Dry'', 1954) and '' The Ladykillers'' (1955), the first two and the last being among the best known of Ealing's films.

America

Mackendrick often spoke of his dislike of the film industry and decided to leave the United Kingdom for Hollywood in 1955. When the base of Ealing studios was sold that year, Mackendrick was cut loose to pursue a career as a freelance director, something he was never prepared to do:

At Ealing ... I was tremendously spoiled with all the logistical and financial troubles lifted off my shoulders, even if I had to do the films they told me to do. The reason why I have discovered myself so much happier teaching is that when I arrived here after the collapse of the world I had known as Ealing, I found that in order to make movies in Hollywood, you have to be a great deal-maker ... I have no talent for that ... I realised I was in the wrong business and got out.

The rest of his professional life was spent commuting between London and Los Angeles. His first film after his initial return to the United States was '' Sweet Smell of Success'' (1957), produced by Hecht-Hill-Lancaster Productions (HHL). This was a critically successful film about a press agent ( Tony Curtis) who is wrapped up in a powerful newspaper columnist's (

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor and producer. Initially known for playing tough guys with a tender heart, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-yea ...

) plot to end the relationship between his younger sister and a jazz musician. Mackendrick got along poorly with the producers of the film because they felt that he was too much of a perfectionist. After ''Sweet Smell of Success'', he returned to England to make the second HHL film, '' The Devil's Disciple'' (1959), but he was fired a month into production owing to lingering tension from their first project together. Mackendrick was devastated. In the same period, Mackendrick assisted Dutch film maker

Bert Haanstra Albert Haanstra (; 31 May 1916 – 23 October 1997) was a Dutch director of films and documentaries. His documentary ''Glass'' (1958) won the Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject in 1959. His feature film ''Fanfare'' (1958) was the m ...

with the production of the comedy film, ''

Fanfare A fanfare (or fanfarade or flourish) is a short musical flourish which is typically played by trumpets, French horns or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion. It is a "brief improvised introduction to an instrumental perf ...

'' (1958). After his disappointment with HHL, Mackendrick directed several television commercials in Europe for Horlicks. Mackendrick was replaced on '' The Guns of Navarone'' for allegedly being too much of a perfectionist for spending more time than planned on scouting Mediterranean locations and insisting on elements of

ancient Greek literature Ancient Greek literature is literature written in the Ancient Greek language from the earliest texts until the time of the Byzantine Empire. The earliest surviving works of ancient Greek literature, dating back to the early Archaic Greece, Archa ...

in the screenplay.Webster, Jack ''A Final Grain of Truth: My Autobiography'' Black & White Publishing, 24 Oct 2013 He also made a handful of films throughout the Sixties including ''

Sammy Going South ''Sammy Going South'' (retitled ''A Boy Ten Feet Tall'' for its later US release) is a 1963 British adventure film directed by Alexander Mackendrick, photographed by Erwin Hillier and starring Edward G. Robinson, Fergus McClelland and Constanc ...

'' (1963) for former Ealing producer Michael Balcon now with Bryanston Pictures, '' A High Wind in Jamaica'' (1965), and '' Don't Make Waves'' (1967). ''Sammy Going South'' was entered into the 3rd Moscow International Film Festival. A project to film Ionesco's ''

Rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct specie ...

'', which would have starred

Tony Hancock Anthony John Hancock (12 May 1924 – 25 June 1968) was an English comedian and actor. High-profile during the 1950s and early 1960s, he had a major success with his BBC series ''Hancock's Half Hour'', first broadcast on radio from 1954, ...

and

Barbara Windsor Dame Barbara Windsor (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 193710 December 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in the Carry On (franchise), ''Carry On'' films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera, ''EastEnders''.

, fell through at the last minute. In 1969 he returned to the United States after being appointed Dean of the film school of the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

, giving up the position in 1978 to become a professor at the school. Some of Mackendrick's most notable students include David Kirkpatrick, Doug Campbell, Terence Davies, F. X. Feeney, Richard Jefferies,

James Mangold James Allen Mangold (born December 16, 1963) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for the films ''Cop Land'' (1997), '' Girl, Interrupted'' (1999), '' Walk the Line'' (2005), '' 3:10 to Yuma'' (2007), '' The Wolverine'' (2013) and '' Logan' ...

, Stephen Mills,

Thom Mount Thomas Henderson Mount (born 26 May 1948) is a former President of Universal Pictures. Born in Durham, North Carolina, he studied art at Bard College where he received a BA. He received an MFA in Film and Video at the California Institute of ...

Sean Daniel Sean Peter Daniel (born August 15, 1951)
filmreference.com, January 21, 2014 is an American film producer and ...

, Bruce Berman, Gregory Orr, Don Di Pietro, Michael Pressman,

Douglas Rushkoff Douglas Mark Rushkoff (born February 18, 1961) is an American media theorist, writer, columnist, lecturer, graphic novelist, and documentarian. He is best known for his association with the early cyberpunk culture and his advocacy of open sour ...

, Lee Sheldon, David Brisbin, and Henry Golas amongst others. Mackendrick suffered from severe

emphysema Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the alv ...

for many years and as a result, was unable to go home to Europe during much of his time at the college. He stayed with the school until he died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

in 1993, aged 81. His remains are buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.

Filmography

Director

* '' Whisky Galore!'' (1949) * '' The Man in the White Suit'' (1951) * '' Mandy'' (1952) * '' The Maggie'' (1954) * '' The Ladykillers'' (1955) * '' Sweet Smell of Success'' (1957) * ''

'' (1963) * '' A High Wind in Jamaica'' (1965) * '' Don't Make Waves'' (1967)

Writer

* '' Midnight Menace'' (1937) *'' Saraband for Dead Lovers'' (1948) *''

Dance Hall Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub. The majority of towns and cities in ...

'' (1950) * ''Sweet Smell of Success'' (1957) (uncredited)

References

External links

* *
of Cinema'': Alexander Mackendrick
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackendrick, Alexander 1912 births 1993 deaths American expatriates in the United Kingdom American film directors American people of Scottish descent Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art Artists from Boston Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery California Institute of the Arts faculty Civil servants in the Ministry of Information (United Kingdom) Alexander Mackendrick Deaths from emphysema People educated at Hillhead High School Propaganda film directors