Roy Ward Baker
Photo from TMDB

Person

Roy Ward Baker

Known for
Directing
Born
December 19, 1916
Died
October 5, 2010
Place of birth
London, England
Also known as
Roy Baker

IMDb

Biography

Roy Ward Baker was an English film director born in London on 19 December 1916. His best known film is A Night to Remember which won a Golden Globe for best foreign English language film in 1959. His later career was varied, and included many horror films and television shows.

Baker's early career, from 1934 to 1939, was spent working for Gainsborough Pictures, a British film production company based in Islington, North London, famous for its prestige productions. His first jobs were menial - making tea for crew members, for example - but by 1938 he had risen through the ranks to work as assistant director on Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes.

He served in the army during World War II, until transferring to the Army Kinematograph Unit in 1943 in order to make better use of skills developed in his pre-war career producing documentaries and teaching materials for troops. One of his superiors at the time was novelist Eric Ambler. It was he who gave Baker his first big break directing The October Man, from an Ambler screenplay, in 1947. Ambler also adapted Walter Lord's A Night to Remember for Baker's 1958 screen version.

During the early 1950s, Baker worked for three years in Hollywood where he directed Marilyn Monroe in Don't Bother to Knock (1952) and Robert Ryan in 3D film noir Inferno (1953). He returned to the UK for the latter part of the decade, but defected to television in the early 1960s.

He directed episodes of The Avengers, The Saint and The Champions - all adventure series created with an eye on the American market. The low-budget ethic of television production made him well-suited to his next career move into cheaply produced but lavish-looking British horror films. He directed, amongst others, Quatermass and the Pit (1967) The Vampire Lovers (1970) and Scars of Dracula (1970) for Hammer, and Asylum (1972) for Amicus.

In the latter part of the 1970s he returned to television, and throughout the 1980s continued to work in Television.  He retired in 1992.

Biography from TMDB, which often draws on Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source · CC BY-SA 4.0

In Catlg

1 Work in the catalog credit them.

Directing (1)

Filmography

  • A History of HorrorTV · 2010 · as Self · 3 episodes
  • Sodankylä ForeverTV · 2010 · as Self · 4 episodes
  • Hammer Horror: A Fan's GuideFilm · 2008 · as Self
  • The Saint Steps In... To TelevisionFilm · 2008 · as Himself
  • Inside the Fear FactoryFilm · 2003 · as Himself
  • Von WerraFilm · 2002 · as Self
  • A Profile of Hitchcock: The Early YearsFilm · 2000 · as Self
  • Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of HorrorFilm · 1994 · as Self
  • Hitchcock: Alfred the GreatFilm · 1994 · as Self
  • SaracenTV · 1989 · Director · 1 episode
  • Fairly Secret ArmyTV · 1984 · Director · 7 episodes
  • The Masks of DeathFilm · 1984 · Director
  • The Irish R.M.TV · 1983 · Director · 8 episodes
  • Q.E.D.TV · 1982 · Director · 1 episode
  • The Flame Trees of ThikaTV · 1981 · Director · 7 episodes
  • The Monster ClubFilm · 1981 · Director
  • Danger UXBTV · 1979 · Director · 3 episodes
  • Death Becomes MeFilm · 1979 · Director
  • MinderTV · 1979 · Director · 12 episodes
  • Return of the SaintTV · 1978 · Director · 2 episodes
  • The SwitchFilm · 1976 · Director
  • Fists of FireFilm · 1975 · as Self
  • Mission: Monte CarloFilm · 1974 · Director
  • The Legend of the 7 Golden VampiresFilm · 1974 · Director
  • And Now the Screaming Starts!Film · 1973 · Director
  • The Vault of HorrorFilm · 1973 · Director
  • AsylumFilm · 1972 · Director
  • The ProtectorsTV · 1972 · Director · 1 episode
  • Dr. Jekyll & Sister HydeFilm · 1971 · Director
  • Jason KingTV · 1971 · Director · 3 episodes
  • The Persuaders!TV · 1971 · Director · 4 episodes
  • Foreign ExchangeFilm · 1970 · Director
  • Scars of DraculaFilm · 1970 · Director
  • The Vampire LoversFilm · 1970 · Director
  • Department STV · 1969 · Director · 1 episode
  • Moon Zero TwoFilm · 1969 · Director
  • Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)TV · 1969 · Director · 2 episodes
  • The Spy KillerFilm · 1969 · Director
  • Journey to the UnknownTV · 1968 · Director · 1 episode
  • The AnniversaryFilm · 1968 · Director
  • The ChampionsTV · 1968 · Director · 2 episodes
  • The Fiction MakersFilm · 1968 · Director
  • Quatermass and the PitFilm · 1967 · Director
  • The BaronTV · 1966 · Director · 4 episodes
  • Gideon's WayTV · 1965 · Director · 3 episodes
  • The Human JungleTV · 1963 · Director · 8 episodes
  • Two Left FeetFilm · 1963 · Director
  • Two Left FeetFilm · 1963 · Screenplay
  • The SaintTV · 1962 · Director · 18 episodes
  • The ValiantFilm · 1962 · Director
  • Flame in the StreetsFilm · 1961 · Director
  • Flame in the StreetsFilm · 1961 · Producer
  • The AvengersTV · 1961 · Director · 8 episodes
  • The Singer Not the SongFilm · 1961 · Director
  • The Singer Not the SongFilm · 1961 · Producer
  • A Night to RememberFilm · 1958 · Director
  • The One That Got AwayFilm · 1957 · Director
  • JacquelineFilm · 1956 · Director
  • Tiger in the SmokeFilm · 1956 · Director
  • Passage HomeFilm · 1955 · Director
  • InfernoFilm · 1953 · Director
  • Don't Bother to KnockFilm · 1952 · Director
  • Night Without SleepFilm · 1952 · Director
  • The House in the SquareFilm · 1951 · Director
  • Highly DangerousFilm · 1950 · Director
  • Morning DepartureFilm · 1950 · Director
  • Paper OrchidFilm · 1949 · Director
  • The Weaker SexFilm · 1948 · Director
  • The October ManFilm · 1947 · Director
  • Read All About ItFilm · 1945 · Director
  • What's the Next Job?Film · 1945 · Director

Filmography from TMDB. This product uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.

Sources