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Roger Murray-Leach is a Production Design born on 25 june 1943
Roger Murray-Leach (born 25 June 1943) is a British Production Designer, who is probably best known for his work on British television series' Doctor Who and Blake's 7 in the 1970s, although he went on later to work on major feature films.
He trained as an architect and joined the BBC design department in the 1970s, quickly gaining a reputation for great imagination and flair. He began working on Doctor Who when Philip Hinchcliffe took over as producer in late 1974. Hinchcliffe's vision for the series included giving a high priority to set design and he quickly realised that Murray-Leach was one of the most, if not the most, imaginative and resourceful designers on the BBC staff. Murray-Leach designed several Doctor Who serials under Hinchcliffe's reign, many of which remain amongst the most popular serials in the show's history. For the serial Planet of Evil, Murray-Leach designed an alien jungle at Ealing studios that so impressed Hinchcliffe that he wrote to the Head of the BBC design department, suggesting that Murray-Leach should be nominated for a BAFTA or a Royal Television Society Award.
David Maloney, a director who had worked on a number of the Doctor Who serials designed by Murray-Leach, went on to produce Blake's 7 for the BBC and immediately secured the services of Murray-Leach to design the interior of the Liberator spacecraft.
Murray-Leach was eventually nominated for a BAFTA award for his design work on the 1981 series Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years. His talent was finally being recognised and he broke into feature films, working as production designer on Local Hero, Defence of the Realm, Clockwise and A Fish Called Wanda. His movie career extended into the 1990s with The Mighty Quinn, Twenty-One and Fierce Creatures.
In recent years he has appeared in a number of television and DVD documentaries discussing his work on Doctor Who, including A Darker Side, a retrospective feature included in the 2|entertain/BBC DVD release of Planet of Evil, in which he and Hinchcliffe returned to Ealing studios to discuss the story's design and production.
He lives in Wiltshire, England.
(1988)
(Production Design)
(1984)
(Art Direction)
Source : Wikidata
Roger Murray-Leach
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Birth 25 june 1943 (81 years)
He trained as an architect and joined the BBC design department in the 1970s, quickly gaining a reputation for great imagination and flair. He began working on Doctor Who when Philip Hinchcliffe took over as producer in late 1974. Hinchcliffe's vision for the series included giving a high priority to set design and he quickly realised that Murray-Leach was one of the most, if not the most, imaginative and resourceful designers on the BBC staff. Murray-Leach designed several Doctor Who serials under Hinchcliffe's reign, many of which remain amongst the most popular serials in the show's history. For the serial Planet of Evil, Murray-Leach designed an alien jungle at Ealing studios that so impressed Hinchcliffe that he wrote to the Head of the BBC design department, suggesting that Murray-Leach should be nominated for a BAFTA or a Royal Television Society Award.
David Maloney, a director who had worked on a number of the Doctor Who serials designed by Murray-Leach, went on to produce Blake's 7 for the BBC and immediately secured the services of Murray-Leach to design the interior of the Liberator spacecraft.
Murray-Leach was eventually nominated for a BAFTA award for his design work on the 1981 series Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years. His talent was finally being recognised and he broke into feature films, working as production designer on Local Hero, Defence of the Realm, Clockwise and A Fish Called Wanda. His movie career extended into the 1990s with The Mighty Quinn, Twenty-One and Fierce Creatures.
In recent years he has appeared in a number of television and DVD documentaries discussing his work on Doctor Who, including A Darker Side, a retrospective feature included in the 2|entertain/BBC DVD release of Planet of Evil, in which he and Hinchcliffe returned to Ealing studios to discuss the story's design and production.
He lives in Wiltshire, England.
Best films
(1988)(Production Design)
(1984)(Art Direction)
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Filmography of Roger Murray-Leach (7 films)
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Fierce Creatures (1997)
, 1h33Directed by Robert Young, Fred Schepisi, Roger Young
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Comedy, Romance
Themes Films about animals
Actors Jamie Lee Curtis, John Cleese, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin, Robert Lindsay, Ronnie Corbett
Roles Production Design
Rating63%
The film opens with Willa Weston (Jamie Lee Curtis) arriving in Atlanta to take a high ranking position in a company recently acquired by Octopus Inc.'s owner, Rod McCain (Kevin Kline). After meeting his son, vice president of marketing Vince McCain (also played by Kline), and Rod's assistant Neville, Willa is told by McCain that he has already sold the company where she was to work. Now without a job, Willa agrees to run another recent acquisition, Marwood Zoo, in an attempt to create a business model that can be used for multiple zoos in the future.
The Mighty Quinn (1989)
, 1h38Directed by Carl Schenkel
Genres Drama, Thriller, Comedy, Action, Crime
Themes Seafaring films, Transport films, Musical films
Actors Denzel Washington, James Fox, Mimi Rogers, M. Emmet Walsh, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Robert Townsend
Roles Production Design
Rating60%
Xavier Quinn (Denzel Washington) is the chief of police on a small, unnamed Caribbean island (the novel was set on the fictional island of St. Caro). When Donald Pater, the millionaire owner of a luxury resort hotel, is found murdered, everyone assumes that the culprit is Maubee (Robert Townsend), a petty crook who also happens to be Quinn's best friend. Quinn doesn't believe it and clashes with the local bureaucracy: Thomas Elgin (James Fox), an arrogant political fixer, and the island's underqualified governor (Norman Beaton). Quinn's worries over the murder exacerbate his troubles at home; he is estranged from his wife, Lola (Sheryl Lee Ralph), and rarely has time to see his son.
A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
, 1h48Directed by John Cleese, Charles Crichton
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Comedy, Comedy thriller, Crime
Themes Films about animals, Mise en scène d'un poisson, Heist films, Gangster films, Escroquerie
Actors John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin, Maria Aitken, Tom Georgeson
Roles Production Design
Rating74%
London-based gangster George Thomason and his right-hand man, Ken Pile, an animal lover with a bad stutter, plan a jewel heist. They bring in two Americans to help: con artist Wanda Gershwitz and "weapons man" Otto West, a loud-mouthed Anglophobe who fancies himself an intellectual and hates being (correctly) called stupid. Wanda and Otto are lovers, but they hide this from George and Ken, pretending to be brother and sister, so Wanda can work her charms on them. The robbery goes well, and the thieves get away with a large sum in diamonds. However, they are briefly spotted during their getaway by Mrs. Coady, an elderly lady walking her three dogs. The group then hide the loot in a safe in an old workshop. Soon after, Wanda and Otto betray George to the police and he is arrested. They return to collect the loot, with Wanda planning to double-cross Otto as well, only to find that George has moved it. Wanda decides to seduce George's barrister, Archie Leach, so that he can persuade George to plead guilty and give up the location of the diamonds. Unhappily married, Leach is brow-beaten by his vindictive wife, Wendy, and spoiled daughter, Portia, and he quickly comes under the spell of Wanda's charms.
Hearts of Fire (1987)
, 1h35Directed by Richard Marquand
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Musical, Romance
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films
Actors Bob Dylan, Rupert Everett, Maury Chaykin, Suzanne Bertish, Julian Glover, Mark Rylance
Roles Production Design
Rating44%
Defence of the Realm (1986)
, 1h36Origin United-kingdom
Genres Thriller, Action
Themes Political films
Actors Gabriel Byrne, Greta Scacchi, Denholm Elliott, Ian Bannen, Fulton Mackay, Bill Paterson
Roles Production Design
Rating64%
Following a crash of a nuclear bomber at an American Air Force base in the English countryside, Dennis Markham (Ian Bannen), a prominent Member of Parliament and opponent of the American nuclear presence in the United Kingdom, is reported by a London paper to have been seen leaving a woman's home. When the woman is found to also be familiar with a dignitary from East Germany, Markham's loyalty to his country is questioned. He is hounded by the media and is forced to resign.
The Killing Fields (1984)
, 2h18Directed by Roland Joffé
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, War, Biography, Historical
Themes Films about writers, Films about journalists, Politique, Political films
Actors Sam Waterston, John Malkovich, Haing S. Ngor, Julian Sands, Craig T. Nelson, Spalding Gray
Roles Art Direction
Rating77%
In the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh during May 1973, the Cambodian national army is fighting a civil war with the Khmer Rouge, a result of the Vietnam War overspilling that country’s borders. Dith Pran, a Cambodian journalist and interpreter for The New York Times, awaits the arrival of reporter Sydney Schanberg at the city's airport but leaves suddenly. Schanberg takes a cab to his hotel where he meets up with Al Rockoff (John Malkovich). Pran meets Schanberg later and tells him that an incident has occurred in a town, Neak Leung; allegedly, an American B-52 has bombed the town.
A Christmas Carol (1984)
, 1h40Directed by Clive Donner
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Comedy, Fantasy
Themes Christmas films, Time travel films, Ghost films
Actors George C. Scott, Frank Finlay, David Warner, Susannah York, Angela Pleasence, Edward Woodward
Roles Production Design
Rating77%
The film opens with a funeral procession, presumably that of Jacob Marley, as his death is mentioned by the narrator (Roger Rees). The scene then changes to seven years later, on Christmas Eve in 1843 within the business establishment of Scrooge and Marley. Bob Cratchit (David Warner), a clerk employed by Scrooge, comments that Marley has been dead for seven years, but is gruffly ordered to return to work by Marley's surviving partner, Ebenezer Scrooge (George C. Scott). Bob then attempts to add some coal to an almost nonexistent fire, but is stopped by Scrooge, who gives him a curt and cutting lecture on clothing as protection against the cold, and that "coal burns; coal is fleeting, and coal is costly". Scrooge then declares that there will be no more coal burned in the office that day, and orders Cratchit to return to work lest he be fired.
Local Hero (1983)
, 1h50Directed by Bill Forsyth
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama
Actors Peter Riegert, Burt Lancaster, Denis Lawson, Fulton Mackay, Peter Capaldi, Rikki Fulton
Roles Production Design
Rating72%
"Mac" MacIntyre (Peter Riegert) is a typical 1980s hot-shot executive working for Knox Oil and Gas in Houston, Texas. The eccentric chief of the company, Felix Happer (Burt Lancaster), chooses to send him (largely because his surname sounds Scottish) to Scotland to acquire the village of Ferness to make way for a refinery. Mac (who is actually of Hungarian extraction) is a little apprehensive about his assignment, complaining to a co-worker that he would much rather take care of business over the phone and via telex machines. Happer, an avid astronomy buff, tells Mac to watch the sky, especially around the constellation Virgo, and to notify him immediately if he sees anything unusual.