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Nigel Balchin is a Scriptwriter British born on 3 december 1908
Nigel Balchin (3 December 1908 – 17 May 1970) was an English novelist and screenwriter particularly known for his novels written during and immediately after World War II: Darkness Falls From the Air, The Small Back Room (which popularised the terms "boffin" and "backroom boys") and Mine Own Executioner.
Il publia des articles dans le magazine Punch, publia sous le pseudonyme de Mark Spade, et écrivit des romans sous son propre nom. Pendant la seconde guerre mondiale il fut affecté au ministère du Ravitaillement puis devint un conseiller scientifique écouté et fut promu au rang de brigadier.
En 1956, il s'installa à l'étranger afin d'écrire des scénarios pour le cinéma, mais souffrant d'un problème d'alcoolisme de plus en plus sérieux il regagna la Grande-Bretagne en 1962. Il mourut en 1970 dans une clinique de Hampstead où il fut inhumé.
Source : Wikidata
Nigel Balchin
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Nigel Marlin Balchin naquit à Potterne, dans le Wiltshire de William et Ada Balchin. Il fit des études secondaires au lycée de Dauntsey (Dauntsey's School) puis des études supérieures à Peterhouse, Cambridge, où il obtint une bourse et se distingua dans l'étude des sciences naturelles. Il travailla ensuite pour l'Institut national de psychologie industrielle (National Institute of Industrial Psychology) entre 1930 et 1935, appelé notamment comme consultant auprès de l'entreprise Rowntree's où il contribua efficacement à la conception et au marketing des chocolats Black Magic et, selon lui, fut responsable du succès des marques Aero et Kit Kat.Il publia des articles dans le magazine Punch, publia sous le pseudonyme de Mark Spade, et écrivit des romans sous son propre nom. Pendant la seconde guerre mondiale il fut affecté au ministère du Ravitaillement puis devint un conseiller scientifique écouté et fut promu au rang de brigadier.
En 1956, il s'installa à l'étranger afin d'écrire des scénarios pour le cinéma, mais souffrant d'un problème d'alcoolisme de plus en plus sérieux il regagna la Grande-Bretagne en 1962. Il mourut en 1970 dans une clinique de Hampstead où il fut inhumé.
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Filmography of Nigel Balchin (15 films)
Scriptwriter
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Separate Lies (2005)
, 1h25Directed by Julian Fellowes
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Thriller, Romance
Actors Tom Wilkinson, Emily Watson, Rupert Everett, David Harewood, Linda Bassett, Hermione Norris
Roles Novel
Rating63%
"No life is perfect - even if it seems to be," says James Manning, a wealthy London solicitor. When it comes to matters of right and wrong, he likes to think of himself as inflexible. Anne, his much younger wife, is accommodating and dutiful and likes the life they lead, the house in London, the Buckinghamshire hideaway. The couple seems to have it all, yet events soon will prove them wrong.
Barabbas (1961)
, 2h24Directed by Richard Fleischer
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Adventure, Historical, Peplum
Themes Films set in Africa, Seafaring films, Films about religion, Sports films, Transport films, Films based on the Bible, Portrayals of Jesus in film
Actors Anthony Quinn, John Arthur Kennedy, Jack Palance, Silvana Mangano, Harry Andrews, Vittorio Gassman
Roles Writer
Rating68%
Shortly before the crucifixion of Christ, Pontius Pilate offers to release either Jesus Christ or Barabbas in keeping with the local custom. As the Bible story goes, Barabbas is the one the crowd chooses.
The Singer Not the Song (1961)
, 2h12Directed by Roy Ward Baker
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Western
Themes Films about religion, Films about sexuality, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors Dirk Bogarde, John Mills, Mylène Demongeot, Laurence Naismith, John Bentley, Leslie French
Rating62%
A priest, Father Michael Keogh (John Mills), is sent by Rome to Quantana, a remote Mexican town which is under the control of a ruthless bandito, Anacleto Komachi (Dirk Bogarde). Anacleto is educated and intelligent, and has a "down" on the Church, but he finds in Keogh a man he strangely admires and with whom he can have intelligent conversation. However, he does not allow this to distract him from his goal: to expunge the priest from his fiefdom at any cost.
Circle of Deception (1960)
, 1h40Directed by Jack Lee
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, War
Themes Spy films, Political films
Actors Bradford Dillman, Suzy Parker, Harry Andrews, Robert Stephens, Paul Rogers, John Welch (Welsh)
Rating65%
A Canadian officer (Bradford Dillman) is sent on a secret and dangerous mission during the Second World War with false information in an attempt to mislead the Germans about the Normandy Landings of 1944.
Suspect (1960)
, 1h21Directed by John Boulting, Roy Boulting
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Thriller
Actors Tony Britton, Virginia Maskell, Ian Bannen, Kenneth Griffith, Peter Cushing, Thorley Walters
Roles Créateur de nouvelle
Rating61%
The Blue Angel (1959)
, 1h47Directed by Edward Dmytryk
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Romance
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films
Actors Curd Jürgens, Stella Stevens, May Britt, Theodore Bikel, John Banner, Ludwig Stössel
Roles Writer
Rating61%
Professor Immanuel Rath (Curt Jurgens) is shocked to discover a number of his students have been frequenting a nightspot called the Blue Angel, where a scandalous entertainer named Lola (May Britt) performs. Rath attends the show one night in order to catch some of his boys in this den of wickedness, but he is soon drawn into Lola's sensual spell, and in time becomes involved in an obsessive romance with her that costs him his job, his savings and his dignity.
The Barbarian and the Geisha (1958)
, 1h45Directed by John Huston
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Action, Adventure, Melodrama, Romance
Themes Seafaring films, Films about music and musicians, Transport films, Musiques du monde, Musical films, Children's films
Actors John Wayne, Eiko Ando, Sam Jaffe, Sō Yamamura
Rating57%
In 1856, Townsend Harris (John Wayne) is sent by President Pierce to serve as the first U.S. Consul-General to Japan, following the treaty written by Commodore Matthew Perry. Accompanied only by his translator-secretary, Huesken (Jaffe), comes ashore at the town of Shimoda, as specified in the treaty as the location for an American consulate.
The Man Who Never Was (1956)
, 1h43Directed by Ronald Neame
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, War, Thriller, Historical
Themes Spy films, Seafaring films, Transport films, Political films, Children's films
Actors Clifton Webb, Gloria Grahame, Stephen Boyd, Laurence Naismith, Cyril Cusack, Michael Hordern
Rating73%
In 1943, Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander Ewen Montagu (Clifton Webb) comes up with a scheme to deceive the Nazis about the impending invasion of southern Europe. It entails releasing a body just off the coast of Spain, where strong currents will almost certainly cause it to drift ashore in an area where a skilled German secret agent is known to operate. The corpse will appear to be the victim of an airplane crash, the non-existent Royal Marine Major William Martin, who is carrying letters that describe a forthcoming Allied invasion of Greece, rather than the obvious target of Sicily. Time is short, but the impatient Montagu is finally given approval to carry out the mission.
23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)
, 1h43Directed by Henry Hathaway
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Crime
Themes Medical-themed films, Films about disabilities, La cécité, Children's films
Actors Van Johnson, Vera Miles, Cecil Parker, Isobel Elsom, Estelle Winwood, Patricia Laffan
Rating68%
Le dramaturge à succès Hanon s'est installé à Londres, fuyant les États-Unis et la femme qu'il aime depuis qu'il est devenu subitement aveugle. Or, sa fiancée le relance et entend renouer. Il tente de l'écarter en lui expliquant qu'il s'est refait une vie, secondé par un secrétaire, qui lui fait également office de valet de chambre, ayant même appris à se déplacer sans aide jusqu'au pub du coin. Un jour que, dans cet établissement, il est attablé, seul, il entend une conversation où il est question de kidnapping et de meurtre. Il alerte la police qui n'est guère convaincue par sa déposition, même s'il a enregistré de mémoire, l'échange entendu dès son retour à l'appartement.
Josephine and Men (1955)
Directed by John Boulting, Roy Boulting
Genres Comedy
Actors Peter Finch, Glynis Johns, Jack Buchanan, Donald Sinden, Heather Thatcher, Ronald Squire
Rating56%
Josephine's (Glynis Johns) story is told in flashback by her suave bachelor uncle (Jack Buchanan). We hear how she rejects her wealthy fiancé Alan (Donald Sinden) for his friend David (Peter Finch), an unsuccessful playwright. But when their situations are reversed, Josephine's interest in David starts to wane. She is a woman we hear, always drawn to underdogs.
Malta Story (1953)
, 1h43Directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, George Pollock
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, War, Historical, Romance
Themes Seafaring films, Transport films, Aviation films, Political films
Actors Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Anthony Steel, Muriel Pavlow, Renée Asherson, Hugh Burden
Rating64%
In 1942 Britain is trying hard to hold on to Malta while invasion seems imminent; Italians and Germans are regularly bombing the airfields and towns. The RAF fight to survive against the odds using the few fighter aircraft remaining on the island. Flight Lieutenant Peter Ross (Alec Guinness), an archaeologist in civilian life, is on his way to an RAF posting in Egypt but is stranded in Malta due to the air attacks. He is assigned to the RAF squadron there, being an experienced photo reconnaissance pilot.
Mandy (1952)
, 1h33Directed by Alexander Mackendrick, Jim O'Connolly
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama
Themes Films about disabilities
Actors Phyllis Calvert, Jack Hawkins, Mandy Miller, Terence Morgan, Godfrey Tearle, Nancy Price
Roles Writer
Rating73%
Harry and Christine Garland have a deaf daughter, Mandy. As they realise their daughter's situation, the parents enrol Mandy in special education classes to try to get her to speak. They quarrel in the process and their marriage comes under strain. There are also hints of a possible affair between Christine and Dick Searle, the headmaster of the school for the deaf where Mandy is enrolled. Eventually, the training succeeds to the point where Mandy says her own name for the first time. Mandy's speech was achieved by using a balloon. She was able to feel the vibrations of sound onto the balloon and knew she had made a sound.
The Small Back Room (1949)
, 1h46Directed by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, War, Thriller, Romance
Themes Political films
Actors David Farrar, Kathleen Byron, Jack Hawkins, Leslie Banks, Michael Gough, Cyril Cusack
Roles Novel
Rating70%
Sammy Rice (David Farrar) is a British scientist working with a specialist "back room" team in London during World War II. Rice is embittered because he feels military scientific research is being incompetently managed. He is also enduring unremitting pain from his artificial foot. The painkillers he has been prescribed are ineffective, and his use of alcohol as an analgesic has led to his alcoholism. His girlfriend Susan (Kathleen Byron) puts up with his self-pitying, self-destructive behaviour as long as she can, but finally breaks up with him, telling him that he lacks the ambition to better himself.
Fame Is the Spur (1947)
, 1h56Directed by John Boulting, Roy Boulting
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama
Themes Political films
Actors Michael Redgrave, Rosamund John, Bernard Miles, David Tomlinson, Carla Lehmann, Hugh Burden
Rating66%
When a young man from a North country mill town (Michael Redgrave) commits to help the poverty stricken workers in his area, he takes as his Excalibur a sword passed down to him by his grandfather from the Battle of Peterloo, where it had been used against workers. As an idealistic champion of the oppressed, he rises to power as a Labour M.P., but is seduced by the trappings of power, and finds himself the type of politician he originally despised.
Mine Own Executioner (1947)
, 1h48Directed by Anthony Kimmins
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Thriller
Themes Medical-themed films
Actors Burgess Meredith, Dulcie Gray, Michael Shepley, Christine Norden, Kieron Moore, Walter Fitzgerald
Roles Créateur de nouvelle
Rating66%
Felix Milne (Meredith) is an overworked psychologist with psychological problems of his own. Molly Lucian has a husband traumatized from having been in a Japanese POW camp, and she needs Milne's help in treating her husband, Adam. Adam is about to become severely schizophrenic. To make matters worse, Felix finds his own home life deteriorating.