Charles Herbert Frend (21 November 1909, Pulborough, Sussex – 8 January 1977, London)
Biography
Frend was born in
Pulborough, Sussex, on 21 November 1909 to Edward Charles and Bertha Maud Frend.
He was educated at The King's School, Canterbury and at Oxford University, where he was the film critic of
The Isis Magazine.
Editor
He began his career in the film industry at British International Pictures in 1931. He worked as an editor on
Arms and the Man (1932)
Frend moved to Gaumont British Pictures, where he worked under producer Michael Balcon. He edited Alfred Hitchcock's Waltzes from Vienna (1934), then My Song for You (1934), Oh, Daddy! (1934), Tom Walls' Fighting Stock (1935), The Tunnel (1935), and Car of Dreams (1935).
Frend was reunited with Hitchcock for Secret Agent (1936) and Sabotage (1936); in between he did East Meets West (1936).
Frend was borrowed by Alexander Korda for Conquest of the Air (1936). He returned to Gaumont British to edit The Great Barrier (1936) and Hitchcock's Young and Innocent (1937).
MGM-British
When Michael Balcon went over to work for MGM British at Denham Film Studios, he brought Frend with him. While there, Frend edited
A Yank at Oxford (1938),
The Citadel (1938) and
Goodbye Mr. Chips (1939).
Korda used him again for The Lion Has Wings (1939). He was hired by Gabriel Pascal for Major Barbara (1941). By now he was established as one of the leading editors in Britain but he wanted to direct.
Director
Michael Balcon had taken over
Ealing Studios and he gave Frend the chance to direct his first feature, the semi-documentary
The Big Blockade (1942), which Frend also co-wrote. Frend developed as one of Ealing's key directors, along with
Charles Crichton, Alexander Mackendrick and
Robert Hamer.
["The Studio": SIR MICHAEL BALCON AND EALING
Koval, Francis. Sight and Sound, suppl. Supplement; London Vol. 19, Iss. 10, (Mar 1, 1951): 8.][TIGHT LITTLE STUDIO
Tynan, Kenneth. Harper's Magazine; New York, N.Y. Vol. 211, Iss. 1263, (Aug 1, 1955): 52.]
Frend followed his first feature with The Foreman Went to France (1943) and San Demetrio London (1943); Robert Hamer finished the latter after Frend fell ill. He did a short subject, The Return of the Vikings (1943), then Johnny Frenchman (1945).["Miss Bergman Leaves Field to Aino Taube", Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr 1943: 14.]
Post-war films
Frend's first non-war film was a melodrama,
The Loves of Joanna Godden (1947), adapted from the novel
Joanna Godden (1921) by Sheila Kaye-Smith. He followed it with
Scott of the Antarctic (1948), a biopic that was hugely successful at the British box office.
Frend shifted into comedy, making A Run for Your Money (1949) and The Magnet (1950). He returned to war films with The Cruel Sea (1953), the most successful film at the British box office in 1953.[BY WAY OF REPORT: "All-Male 'Caine Mutiny Looms -- Other Items" By A. H. WEILER. New York Times, 19 Oct 1952: X5.]
Frend did a drama with Robert Donat, Lease of Life (1954). His film The Long Arm (1956) won the Silver Bear award at the 6th Berlin International Film Festival.
Frend directed Alec Guinness in Barnacle Bill (1957), the penultimate Ealing comedy. The studio would soon be sold.
Television
Frend moved into television, directing episodes of
Interpol Calling,
Schilling Playhouse and
Danger Man. He returned to films with
Cone of Silence (1960) for Balcon's new Bryanston Films, and
Girl on Approval (1961).
[CURRENT FILM ACTIVITIES ALONG THE THAMES: New Independents Swing Into Action -- Work in Progress -- Critics' Vote New York Times 6 Dec 1959: X9.]
Frend then did some more TV - Man of the World, The Sentimental Agent, Zero One - then another feature, Torpedo Bay (1963) with James Mason.
Final productions
His last credit as principal director was
The Sky Bike (1967) for the Children's Film Foundation. He did episodes of
Man in a Suitcase, and did second unit directing on
Guns in the Heather and
David Lean's
Ryan's Daughter (1970).
Frend died in a hospital in London on 8 January 1977, aged 67, after a long illness.
Selected filmography
Film
|
| 1942 | The Big Blockade | | |
| 1943 | The Foreman Went to France | | |
| The Saving Grave (short) | | |
| San Demetrio London | | |
| 1944 | The Return of the Vikings | | |
| 1945 | Johnny Frenchman | | |
| 1947 | The Loves of Joanna Godden | | |
| 1948 | Scott of the Antarctic | | |
| 1949 | A Run for Your Money | | |
| 1950 | The Magnet | | |
| 1953 | The Cruel Sea | | |
| 1954 | Lease of Life | | |
| 1956 | The Long Arm | | |
| 1957 | Barnacle Bill | | |
| 1960 | Cone of Silence | | |
| 1961 | Girl on Approval | | |
| 1963 | Torpedo Bay | | |
| 1967 | The Sky Bike | | |
Editor
-
Arms and the Man (1932)
-
Waltzes from Vienna (1934)
-
My Song for You (1934)
-
Oh, Daddy! (1935)
-
Fighting Stock (1935)
-
The Tunnel (1935)
-
Car of Dreams (1935)
-
Secret Agent (1936)
-
East Meets West (1936)
-
Sabotage (1936)
-
The Conquest of the Air (1936) (Also narrator)
-
The Great Barrier (1937)
-
Young and Innocent (1937)
-
A Yank at Oxford (1938)
-
The Citadel (1938)
-
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)
-
The Lion Has Wings (1939)
-
Major Barbara (1941)
2nd unit director
-
Guns in the Heather (1969)
-
Ryan's Daughter (1970)
Television
-
Interpol Calling (1959–60)
-
Danger Man (1960–61)
-
Rendezvous (1959–61)
-
Man of the World (1962)
-
Zero One (1963)
-
The Sentimental Agent (1963)
-
Man in a Suitcase (1968)
Personal life
In his entry in
Who's Who, Frend listed 'the cinema' as his recreation.
In 1940, Frend married Sonja Petra Baade Thorburn.
Frend was a life-long friend of producer Sir
Michael Balcon.
After his death in 1977, Balcon wrote that "this broadminded, liberal man Frend without any trace of chauvinism in his outlook nevertheless had a proper pride in Britain and the British people and it is this characteristic which emerges so strongly in all his work."
External links
