Arthur B. Woods
| Arthur B. Woods | |
|---|---|
| Born |
17 August 1904 Liverpool, England |
| Died | 8 February 1944 (aged 39) Emsworth, Hampshire, England |
| Occupation | Film director |
| Years active | 1933–1940 |
Arthur Bickerstaffe Woods (17 August 1904 – 8 February 1944) was an English film director with 27 credits between 1933 and 1940. Woods' films were mainly quota quickies but were diverse in style, from light comedy and musicals to dark crime thrillers. His most acclaimed film is 1938's They Drive by Night. By the end of the 1930s Woods was gaining a reputation as one of Britain's most promising and versatile young directors, but put his career on hold to volunteer for war service in the Royal Air Force, the only British film director to do so. He was killed while on active service in February 1944, leaving his potential largely unfulfilled.
Born into a wealthy shipping family in Liverpool, Woods was educated at the exclusive Downside School in Somerset before enrolling to study medicine at Christ's College, Cambridge at the behest of his father. Before completing his studies however, he dropped out to join a travelling repertory company. Aged 22, he obtained employment with a documentary film unit and gained experience over the following few years. In 1929 he picked up his only screen acting credit in the film Lost Patrol. On 27 August 1932 at the Brooklands School of Flying he was awarded the Royal Aero Club aviator certificate #10735.
In 1933, Woods joined British International Pictures, becoming the company's youngest director. His first solo assignment On Secret Service was well received. This was a thriller, but Woods spent the next four years making comedies and musical films (including three with popular singer Keith Falkner which represented Falkner's entire screen output) before starting also to take on crime films, starting with The Dark Stairway, made in 1937 and released in early 1938. Many of his films involved collaborations with producer Irving Asher, cinematographer Basil Emmott and screenwriter Brock Williams, while another frequent association was with actress Chili Bouchier. As was the case with many non-prestige British films of the 1930s, little attention or care was given to Woods' films after their original cinema run, and most of his films from the mid-1930s are now considered lost.
...
Wikipedia