Edward Black (producer)
| Edward Black | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Edward Black 18 August 1900 Birmingham |
| Died | 30 November 1948 (aged 48) London |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | Film producer |
| Years active | 1935 - 1948 |
| Notable work | The Lady Varnishes |
Edward Black (18 August 1900, Birmingham - 30 November 1948, London) was an English film producer, best known for being head of production at Gainsborough Studios in the late 1930s and early 1940s, during which time he oversaw production of the Gainsborough melodramas. He also produced such classic films as The Lady Vanishes (1938). Black has been called "one of the unsung heroes of the British film industry."
Black was the third son of George Black, a property master at the Theatre Royal, Birmingham, who became a cinema owner. George Black died in 1910 and his sons Ted, George and Alfred built up the cinema to a circuit.
Gaumont British took over the cinemas and Black went to work for them. In 1928 he became a studio manager for Gainsborough Pictures. In 1930 he moved into production, and became an assistant production manager at Shepherd’s Bush and then studio manager at Islington.
In December 1936, Michael Balcon left Gaumont-British for MGM. In March 1937 Shepherd’s Bush studios and Gaumont-British Distributors were closed. However Gainsborough continued as a production center thanks to a deal with C.M. Woolf and J. Arthur Rank’s General Film Distributors. Black was in charge along with Maurice Ostrer. They made movies for Gainsborough and 20th Century Fox.
Black specialized in making comedies, thrillers and low-budget musicals. He had a lot of success making comedy vehicles for stars such as Will Hay and Arthur Askey. He also produced early films from Carol Reed and Alfred Hitchcock and was an early supporter of writer directors Sidney Gilliat and Frank Laundner.
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