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Anthony Asquith

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Filmmaker

The Resume

    (November 9, 1902-February 20, 1968)
    Born in London, United Kingdom
    Son of British Prime Minister H.H. Asquith
    Directed the films 'Shooting Stars' (1927), 'A Cottage on Dartmoor' (1929), 'Tell England' (1931), 'Pygmalion' (1938), 'French Without Tears' (1940), 'We Dive at Dawn' (1943), 'Fanny by Gaslight' (1944), 'The Way to the Stars' (1945), 'The Winslow Boy' (1948), 'The Browning Version' (1951), 'The Importance of Being Earnest' (1952), 'The Doctors Dilema' (1958), 'The V.I.P.s' (1963) and 'The Yellow Rolls Royce' (1964)
    President of the Association of Cinematograph and Television Technicians (1937-68)

Why he might be annoying:

    He was nicknamed 'Puffin.'
    He wore a blonde wig to serve as a stunt double for actress Phyllis Nielson-Terry in 'Boadicea.' (1928)
    Wendy Hiller said, 'He dressed like one of the electricians. If anything, he was less well-groomed.'
    He was an alcoholic who sometimes drank so much that he passed out at the dinner table.
    The 'Biographical Directory of Cinema' described him as 'a dull, journeyman supervisor of proven theatrical properties.'
    One of his greatest successes was the film adaptation of Oscar Wilde's 'The Importance of Being Earnest.' Ironically, his father, while serving as Home Secretary, was the man who ordered Wilde's arrest for 'acts of gross indecency.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was a founding member of the London Film Society, along with George Bernard Shaw and H.G. Wells.
    At the end of the silent era, he and Alfred Hitchcock were considered England's two most promising directors.
    He played a key role in convincing the British government to not shut down film production during WWII.
    His RAF drama 'The Way to the Stars' was voted the favorite film of the war years by the British public.
    He joked, 'In England when you make a movie, even the weather is against you. In Hollywood the weatherman gets a shooting schedule from all the major studios and then figures out where he can fit in a little rain without upsetting Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer too much.'
    The BAFTA award for film music is named the Anthony Asquith Award in his honor.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 6 Votes: 83.33% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 17 Votes: 52.94% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 15 Votes: 53.33% Annoying