Monja Danischewsky

Last updated

Monja Danischewsky
Born
Monja Danischewsky

28 April 1911
Died16 October 1994(1994-10-16) (aged 83)
OccupationFilm producer

Monja Danischewsky (28 April 1911 – 16 October 1994) was a British producer and writer, born in Archangel into a Russian-Jewish family who left Russia for England in 1919 and who produced and wrote the films Topkapi and Rockets Galore! (1957) [1] and others.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Monja Danischewsky's family left Russia for Great Britain in 1919.

Career

He started out with various publicity jobs, then to Ealing Studios as publicity director in 1938 and occasional writer. Switched to producer 1949; became independent producer The Galloping Major (1951); returned as producer/writer in mid-1950s and continued briefly after Ealing ended; Rockets Galore (1958) and The Battle of the Sexes (1959). Autobiography, 'White Russian, Red Face', 1966.

Filmography

As writer

As producer

Published works

Related Research Articles

<i>Topkapi</i> (film) 1964 American film directed by Jules Dassin

Topkapi is a 1964 Technicolor heist film produced by Filmways Pictures and distributed by United Artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Greenwood</span> British actress

Joan Mary Waller Greenwood was an English actress. Her husky voice, coupled with her slow, precise elocution, was her trademark. She played Sibella in the 1949 film Kind Hearts and Coronets, and also appeared in The Man in the White Suit (1951), Young Wives' Tale (1951), The Importance of Being Earnest (1952), Stage Struck (1958), Tom Jones (1963) and Little Dorrit (1987).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Finch</span> English-Australian actor (1916–1977)

Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch was an English-born Australian actor. He is best remembered for his role as crazed television anchorman Howard Beale in the 1976 film Network, which earned him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor, his fifth Best Actor award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and a Best Actor award from the Golden Globes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ealing comedies</span> Ealing Studios films, 1947 to 1957

The Ealing comedies is an informal name for a series of comedy films produced by the London-based Ealing Studios during a ten-year period from 1947 to 1957. Often considered to reflect Britain's post-war spirit, the most celebrated films in the sequence include Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), Whisky Galore! (1949), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), The Man in the White Suit (1951) and The Ladykillers (1955). Hue and Cry (1947) is generally considered to be the earliest of the cycle, and Barnacle Bill (1957) the last, although some sources list Davy (1958) as the final Ealing comedy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Balcon</span> English film producer

Sir Michael Elias Balcon was an English film producer known for his leadership of Ealing Studios in West London from 1938 to 1955. Under his direction, the studio became the one of the most important British film studios of the day. In an industry short of Hollywood-style moguls, Balcon emerged as a key figure, and an obdurately British one too, in his benevolent, somewhat headmasterly approach to the running of a creative organization. He is known for his leadership, and his guidance of young Alfred Hitchcock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Crichton</span> English film director, film editor, screenwriter and film producer (1910–1999)

Charles Ainslie Crichton was an English film director and editor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon Jackson (actor)</span> Scottish actor

Gordon Cameron Jackson, was a Scottish actor best remembered for his roles as the butler Angus Hudson in Upstairs, Downstairs and as George Cowley, the head of CI5, in The Professionals. He also portrayed Capt Jimmy Cairns in Tunes of Glory, and Flt. Lt. Andrew MacDonald, "Intelligence", in The Great Escape.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Gregson</span> English actor (1919–1975)

Harold Thomas Gregson, known professionally as John Gregson, was an English actor of stage, television and film, with 40 credited film roles. He was best known for his crime drama and comedy roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seth Holt</span>

Seth Holt was a Palestinian-born British film director, producer and editor. His films are characterized by their tense atmosphere and suspense, as well as their striking visual style. In the 1960s, Movie magazine championed Holt as one of the finest talents working in the British film industry, although his output was notably sparse.

Sir John Woolf and his brother James Woolf were British film producers. John and James founded the production companies Romulus Films and Remus Films, which were active during the 1950s and 1960s, and the distribution company Independent Film Distributors, which was active 1950–59 and handled the UK distribution of films such as The African Queen and Gift Horse, as well as several films made by their two production companies.

<i>The Shiralee</i> (1957 film) 1957 British film

The Shiralee is a 1957 British film in the Australian Western genre. It was made by Ealing Studios, starring Peter Finch, directed by Leslie Norman and based on the 1955 novel by D'Arcy Niland. Although all exterior scenes were filmed in Sydney, Scone and Binnaway, New South Wales and Australian actors Charles Tingwell, Bill Kerr and Ed Devereaux played in supporting roles, the film is really a British film made in Australia, rather than an Australian film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basil Dearden</span> English film director

Basil Dearden was an English film director.

Harry Anthony Compton Pelissier was an English actor, screenwriter, producer and director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Relph</span>

Michael Leighton George Relph was an English film producer, art director, screenwriter and film director. He was the son of actor George Relph.

Barnett Freedman CBE RDI was a British painter, commercial designer, book illustrator, typographer, and lithographer.

<i>Whisky Galore!</i> (1949 film) 1949 film by Alexander Mackendrick

Whisky Galore! is a 1949 British comedy film produced by Ealing Studios, starring Basil Radford, Bruce Seton, Joan Greenwood and Gordon Jackson. It was the directorial debut of Alexander Mackendrick; the screenplay was by Compton Mackenzie, an adaptation of his 1947 novel Whisky Galore, and Angus MacPhail. The story—based on a true event—concerns a shipwreck off a fictional Scottish island, the inhabitants of which have run out of whisky because of wartime rationing. The islanders find out the ship is carrying 50,000 cases of whisky, some of which they salvage, against the opposition of the local Customs and Excise men.

<i>The Battle of the Sexes</i> (1959 film) 1959 film

The Battle of the Sexes is a 1959 British black and white comedy film starring Peter Sellers, Robert Morley, and Constance Cummings, and directed by Charles Crichton. Based on the short story "The Catbird Seat" by James Thurber, it was adapted by Monja Danischewsky. A timid accountant in a Scottish Tweed weaving company cleverly bests a brash modern American efficiency expert whose ideas threaten his way of life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jameson Clark</span>

Jameson Clark was a Scottish character actor who appeared in 22 films and made many appearances on television.

<i>The Galloping Major</i> (film) 1951 film by Henry Cornelius

The Galloping Major is a 1951 British comedy sports film, starring Basil Radford, Jimmy Hanley and Janette Scott. It also featured Sid James, Charles Hawtrey and Joyce Grenfell in supporting roles. It was directed by Henry Cornelius and made at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith. The film's sets were designed by Norman Arnold.

Anthony Veiller was an American screenwriter and film producer. He wrote for 41 films between 1934 and 1964.

References

  1. Watts, Stephen (13 March 1960). "Busy Finch -- Sturdy 'Seat' -- Current Projects -- Hands Across the Sea". New York Times. p. X9.
  2. "THE SCREEN IN REVIEW; 'The Galloping Major,' a British Comedy About Horse Racing, at 60th St. Trans-Lux". New York Times. 17 December 1951. p. 40.
  3. Watts, Stephen (13 March 1960). "Busy Finch -- Sturdy 'Seat' -- Current Projects -- Hands Across the Sea". New York Times. p. X9.
  4. Weiler, A.H. (19 April 1960). "Screen: Thurber Tale; Battle of the Sexes' Is British Import". New York Times. p. 40.
  5. Crowther, Bosley (18 September 1964). "The Screen: Recruiting Jewel Thieves; ' Topkapi,' by Dassin, Opens at 2 Theaters". New York Times. p. 25.