- Born
- Died
- Birth nameHarold Arthur George French
- Height5′ 11½″ (1.82 m)
- London-born Harold French made his name on the stage, both as an actor and director. He crossed over to films, making his acting debut in 1920. He became a director shortly before the beginning of World War II, debuting with The Cavalier of the Streets (1937), and made a well-received adaptation of A.E.W. Mason's thriller, Secret Mission (1942). He didn't score again until 1948, with My Brother Jonathan (1948). Known more for his romantic dramas and comedies, French switched to a period action piece, Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue (1953). He directed his last film, The Man Who Loved Redheads (1955) in 1955 and went back to writing. Toward the end of his career he returned to directing in the theatre. While he may not have been classified among the top-ranked British directors, he nevertheless turned out many well-made, entertaining films over his 20-year-plus career.
- IMDb mini biography by: frankfob2@yahoo.com
- SpousePhyllis(? - 1941) (her death)
- Wife, Phyllis, was killed in a bomb raid in 1941.
- On stage from 1912, he eventually moved into routine films as an actor, but found his true calling as a director. Later he concentrated on stage directing.
- [on his uncredited contributions to Major Barbara (1940), officially directed by Gabriel Pascal] I co-directed quite a lot of that with David Lean. Pascal knew nothing at all about directing and in the end he paid me quite a lot of money not to have my name [listed] as a director of it. Gabby hadn't the slightest idea--I mean, sometimes he would look through a view-finder the wrong way around! But he had the money, and he had the ear of George Bernard Shaw, which he got for £1! I think Shaw was amused--and bemused--by Pascal.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
