Arnold Roger Manvell (10 October 1909 – 30 November 1987)"Manvell, Roger
BFI Film & TV database was the first director of the

British Film Academy 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, ...

(1947–1959) and author of many books on films and film-making. He wrote (sometimes in collaboration with Heinrich Fraenkel) many books on

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, including biographies of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

, Rudolf Hess,

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

, Joseph Goebbels and

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...

. During

World War II 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 opposing ...

, he worked in the Ministry of Information, creating propaganda films for the British government. In his career, he also lectured in universities in as many as forty countries in three continents (America, Europe and the Middle East), and was a broadcaster and screenwriter. He joined the

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

faculty in 1975 teaching film history classes at the College of Communications. Manvell was named University Professor in 1982.

Biography

Manvell recalled his interest in cinema began when he was five years old, specifically due to

film serials A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, ge ...

and

slapstick comedy Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...

. He received his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

from

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

on the verse and critical work of poet W.B. Yeats. In his 1944 book ''Film'', Manvell thanked his parents for teaching him "to go to the pictures," and John Grierson for teaching him "to look at them."

Books

Some books authored or co-authored by Roger Manvell.

Novels

*''The Dreamers'' *''The Passion''

On the arts (film/television/theatre)

*''A Seat at the Cinema'' *''Age of Communication: Press, Books, Films, Radio, TV'' *''Art in Movement: New Directions in Animation'' * ''The Cinema'' (annual Pelican film review) *''Design in motion'' *''Experiment in the Film'' * ''Film'' (1944) *''Film and The Public'' (annual Pelican film review) *''Film and the Second World War'' (1974) *''The German Cinema'' *''History of the British Film'' *''Images of Madness: Portrayal of Insanity in the Feature Film'' *''The International Encyclopedia of Film'' *''Living Screen: Background to the Film and Television'' *''Love Goddesses of the Movies'' *''Masterworks of the German Cinema: The Golem - Nosferatu - M -The Threepenny Opera'' *''New Cinema in Britain'' *''New Cinema in Europe'' *''New cinema in the U.S.A: The feature film since 1946'' *''On the air: A study of broadcasting in sound and television'' *''The Penguin Film Review'' (1946-1949) *''Progress in Television'' * ''Shakespeare and the Film'' (1979) *''Selected Comedies: Elizabeth Inchbald'' *''The Technique of Film Animation'' *''The Technique of Film Music'' *''Theatre and Film: A Comparative Study of the Two Forms of Dramatic Art and of the Problems of Adaptation of Stage Plays into Films'' *''This Age of Communication'' *''Three British screen plays: "Brief Encounter","Odd man out," "Scott of the Antarctic"'' *''What is Film?''

On Nazi Germany

*''The Canaris Conspiracy'' *''The Conspirators'' *''Doctor Goebbels: His Life & Death'' *''Films and the Second World War'' *''Gestapo'' *''Göring'' *''Hess'' *''Heinrich Himmler: The SS, Gestapo, His Life and Career'' *''Heinrich Himmler'' *''Hitler: The Man and The Myth'' *''The Hundred Days to Hitler'' *''Incomparable Crime, The: Mass Extermination in the Twentieth Century'' *''The July Plot'' *''SS & Gestapo: Rule of Terror''

Biography

*''Chaplin'' *''Elizabeth Inchbald: England's Principal Woman Dramatist and Independent Woman of Letters in 18th Century London - A Biographical Study'' *''Ellen Terry'' (1968) *''Ingmar Bergman, an Appreciation'' *''Sarah Siddons'' *''The Trial of Annie Besant and Charles Bradlaugh''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manvell, Roger 1909 births 1987 deaths People educated at The King's School, Peterborough People educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys English male screenwriters 20th-century English screenwriters 20th-century English male writers