- Born
- Died
- Birth nameMichael Joseph Anderson
- London-born Michael Anderson began his career in films as an office boy at Elstree studios. By 1938, he had progressed up the ladder to become assistant director for distinguished film makers Noël Coward, David Lean and Anthony Asquith. Shortly after, during wartime with the Royal Signals Corps (Army Kinematograph Service), Anderson made the acquaintance of Peter Ustinov. Upon demobilisation, the 24-year old up-and-coming director secured the release from the military of his 'favourite corporal' and mentor to work as first assistant on Secret Flight (1946) and Vice Versa (1948). For Ustinov's third venture, Private Angelo (1949), Anderson both co-directed and co-wrote the screenplay, but the picture that first put him on the map was to be the patriotic wartime drama The Dam Busters (1955), based on true events. Britain's most successful film of 1955, in turn, led to Anderson being hired by Mike Todd to direct the all-star blockbuster Around the World in 80 Days (1956). A hugely popular box-office hit and winner of five Academy Awards, it elevated Anderson into the realm of more ambitious international productions.
His strong visual style -- in no small way complemented by a fruitful and long-standing collaboration with the cinematographer Erwin Hillier -- became ideally suited for suspenseful thrillers and action subjects like Chase a Crooked Shadow (1958), the sub-Hitchcockian psychological whodunnit The Naked Edge (1961) or the underrated maritime drama The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959) (based on a novel by Hammond Innes and originally intended for Alfred Hitchcock who went on to do North by Northwest (1959) instead). Another little gem is the intricately plotted spy thriller The Quiller Memorandum (1966), tautly directed and noteworthy for supremely well captured Berlin exteriors (a familiarity which stemmed from Anderson having spent some of his early childhood in Berlin and Hillier having worked at Ufa in the 20s before collaborating on Fritz Lang's classic thriller M (1931)). According to Hillier, Anderson also had a reputation for being "superb at handling actors". This is reflected in his films which have often featured big name stars like Gary Cooper, Charlton Heston, Laurence Olivier or Alec Guinness.
Moving into science fiction, Anderson made style triumph over content with his (for the time) expensively made dystopian thriller Logan's Run (1976). Though not a big success with critics, the picture won at the box office and helped MGM out of its financial doldrums. Also in this genre, but with less distinction, Anderson directed Millennium (1989) and a miniseries, The Martian Chronicles (1980). A foray into the world of comic strip heroes, Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze (1975), proved to be one of his rare failures. His more recent work of note has included the Gemini Award-winning TV movie Young Catherine (1991), based on the early life of Russia's Catherine the Great. Vanessa Redgrave, who played Empress Elizabeth, was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy in the Supporting Actress category.
In 1957, Anderson received the Silver Medallion for outstanding work from the Screen Director's Guild of America and was in 2012 also honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of Canada. A Canadian resident since the 1970s, Anderson passed away at his home on the Canadian Sunshine Coast in British Columbia on April 25 2018 at the age of 98.- IMDb Mini Biography By: I.S.Mowis
- SpousesAdrianne Ellis(May 25, 1977 - April 25, 2018) (his death)Vera Anderson(September 28, 1970 - May 1975) (divorced)Eileen Betty Leslie(1940 - ?) (divorced, 2 children)
- Children
- Parents
- Is fluent in French, Italian and German
- His great aunt, actress Mary Anderson of Louisville, was the one of the first US Shakespearean actresses, and the Mary Anderson Theater in Louisville is dedicated to her.
- The August 28, 1985, issue of Variety, in the Production Pulse section announced that the film "The Conspiracy" began filming August 26, 1985, in Yugoslavia. Director was Michael Anderson with stars Christopher Walken, Robert Mitchum, Paul Scofield, Alice Krige, and others. No evidence the film was ever completed or released.
- Served in the British Army during WW2 with The Royal Signal Corps.
- At the time he died, Anderson was the oldest living nominee for an Academy Award for Best Director, and the only surviving director whose film won a Best Picture award in the 1950s.
- [on directing science-fiction films] I'm totally fascinated by it and whenever I'm asked to do science-fiction I jump at it because it's something I really enjoy. You can use your own imagination more. It opens up visual aspects that are taboo or you don't get the opportunity to do in normal films. Where do you get the opportunity of doing a time tank? Or a holograph? Or somebody walking from the past into the future or the present? It's a fascinating spirit--something we all dream about.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content