Ralph Smart
| Ralph Smart | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1908 London, England |
| Died |
12 February 2001 Bowen, Queensland, Australia |
Ralph Smart (1908 – 12 February 2001) was a film and television producer, director, and writer, born in England to Australian parents. He found work in Britain with Anthony Asquith and later alongside the film director Michael Powell, whom he assisted with "Quota quickies": low-budget B-pictures to meet a legal commitment to the British industry.
During the Second World War Smart joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1942 and served until 1945.[1] Afterwards he worked for the Rank Organisation and Ealing Studios, returning to Australia to direct several films including Bitter Springs (1950), addressing the mistreatment of young Aborigines.
Back again in Britain, he became an influential figure in television, remembered as the creator and producer of Danger Man, also known as Secret Agent in the US. He produced, directed or wrote a number of television series and films, including the 1950s series The Adventures of Robin Hood and The Invisible Man.
In 2000 he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal ″for his services to the development of the Australian film industry″.
He retired to Australia, and died on 12 February 2001, in Bowen, Queensland.[2]
Selected Filmography
- A Cottage on Dartmoor (1929) - uncredited
- The Woodpigeon Patrol (1930) - director and writer
- C.O.D (1932) - co-writer
- His Lordship (1932) - writer, adaption of novel
- Hotel Splendide (1932) - writer
- The Star Reporter (1932) - writer
- Born Lucky (1933) - writer
- Crime Unlimited (1935) - co-writer
- The Night of the Party (1935) - co-writer
- The Phantom Light (1935) - writer, scenario
- Sweet Success (short film; 1936) - director
- Alf's Button Afloat (1938) adaption from the novel Alf's Button (novel)
- Convict 99 (1938) - co-writer
- Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt (1940) - screenplay
- The Good Old Days (film) (1940) - writer
- Island Target (1945) - documentary
- The Overlanders (1946) - associate producer
- Bush Christmas (1947) - director, producer, writer
- Quartet (anthology film, segment The Facts of Life; 1948)
- A Boy, a Girl and a Bike (1949) - director
- Eureka Stockade (film) (1949) - co-writer
- Bitter Springs (1950) - director and writer
- Where No Vultures Fly (1951) - co-writer
- Curtain Up (1952) - director
- Never Take No for an Answer (1952) - director and writer
- Always A Bride (1953) - director and co-writer
- The Flying Scot (1957) - co-writer
- The Adventures of Mr. Pastry (1958) - director
- Koroshi (episode of TV-series and TV film; 1968) - co-writer
- Elephant Boy (TV series) (TV-series, 1973) - writer
- Robin Hood: The Movie (TV film; 1991) - co-director
References
External links
- Ralph Smart at the Internet Movie Database
- Article linking three seminal TV shows
- Ralph Smart & Hannah Weinstein & British TV
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