Freddie Francis
| Freddie Francis | |
|---|---|
Historical photo of Freddie Francis
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| Born |
Frederick William Francis 22 December 1917 Islington, London, England |
| Died | 17 March 2007 (aged 89) Isleworth, Middlesex, England |
| Occupation | Cinematographer, film director |
| Years active | 1937–1999 |
| Spouse(s) | Gladys Dorrell (1940–1961) Pamela Mann (1963–2007) |
| Awards |
Best Cinematography 1960 Sons and Lovers 1989 Glory |
Frederick William "Freddie" Francis BSC (22 December 1917 – 17 March 2007) was an English cinematographer and film director.
He achieved his greatest successes as a cinematographer, including winning two Academy Awards, for Sons and Lovers (1960) and Glory (1989). As a director, he has cult status on account of his association with the British production companies Amicus and Hammer in the 1960s and 1970s.
Born in Islington in London, England, Francis was originally on the way to a career in engineering. At school, a piece he wrote about films of the future won him a scholarship to the North West London Polytechnic in Kentish Town. He left school at age 16, becoming an apprentice to a stills photographer by the name of Louis Prothero. Freddie stayed with him for six months. In this time they photographed stills for a Stanley Lupino picture made at Ealing. This led to him successively becoming a clapper boy, camera loader and focus puller. He started his career at B.I.P, then to British and Dominions. His first film as a clapper boy was The Marriage of Corbal.
In 1939, Francis joined the Army, where he would spend the next seven years. Eventually he was assigned as a cameraman and director to the Army Kinematograph Service at Wembley, where he worked on many training films. About this, Francis said, "Most of the time I was with various film units within the service, so I got quite a bit of experience in all sorts of jobs, including being a cameraman and editing and generally being a jack of all trades."
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