Directing

Compton Bennett

Born January 15, 1900 · Turnbridge Wells, Kent, U.K.

Died August 13, 1974 · aged 74

Herbert William Compton Bennett (15 January 1900 – 11 August 1974), better known as Compton Bennett, was an English film director, writer and producer. He is perhaps best known for directing the 1945 film The Seventh Veil and the 1950 version of the film King Solomon's Mines, an adaptation of an Allan Quatermain story. Bennett was born in Tunbridge Wells, England. At the beginning of his career, …

Known For

King Solomon's Mines

King Solomon's Mines · 1950

King Solomon's Mines

MovieAdventureAction

Fortune hunter Allan Quatermain teams up with a resourceful woman to help her find her missing husband lost in the wilds of 1900s Africa while being pursued by hostile tribes and a rival German explorer.

That Forsyte Woman

That Forsyte Woman · 1949

That Forsyte Woman

MovieDramaRomance

Soames and Irene Forsyte have a marriage of convenience. Young Jolyon Forsyte is a black sheep who ran away with the maid after his wife's death. Teenager June Forsyte has found love with an artist, Phillip Bosinny. The interactions between the Forsytes and the people and society around them is the truss for this love story set in the rigid and strict times of the Victorian age.

Gift Horse

Gift Horse · 1952

MovieAdventureWar

Compton Bennett's war drama The Gift Horse follows the fortunes of ageing destroyer The Ballantrae and her crew from the time they come together in 1940 until the climactic raid on occupied St Nazaire in 1942. Trevor Howard plays Lt Cmdr Hugh Alginon Fraser, the newly appointed captain, back in service after having left the navy following a court martial.

Desperate Moment

Desperate Moment · 1953

Desperate Moment

Story of a Dutchman's flight across post-war Germany trying to locate the man who alone can clear him of a false murder charge. (BFI Website)

The Seventh Veil

The Seventh Veil · 1945

The Seventh Veil

MovieMusicDrama

A concert pianist with amnesia fights to regain her memory.

The Flemish Farm

The Flemish Farm · 1943

The Flemish Farm

Wartime commando story based on fact. Allied airman risks return (on the ground) to occupied France for the honour of his regiment.

So Little Time

So Little Time · 1952

MovieDramaRomance

During World War II, German soldiers occupy the home of a beautiful Belgian girl and her mother.

29 Acacia Avenue

29 Acacia Avenue · 1945

29 Acacia Avenue

MovieComedyDrama

The Robinsons are two respectable middle class parents living with their children in a suburban house in Acacia Avenue. Preferring to holiday every year in Bognor, they are pressed into booking a cruise for their annual vacation and thereby leaving their teenage children free run of their house. As the youngsters enjoy their newfound freedom and discover the angst of teenage life, Mr. and Mrs. Robinson begin to have second thoughts about their cruise and decide to return home early.

Filmography

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King Solomon's Mines

King Solomon's Mines · 1950

King Solomon's Mines

MovieAdventureAction

Fortune hunter Allan Quatermain teams up with a resourceful woman to help her find her missing husband lost in the wilds of 1900s Africa while being pursued by hostile tribes and a rival German explorer.

Director

That Forsyte Woman

That Forsyte Woman · 1949

That Forsyte Woman

MovieDramaRomance

Soames and Irene Forsyte have a marriage of convenience. Young Jolyon Forsyte is a black sheep who ran away with the maid after his wife's death. Teenager June Forsyte has found love with an artist, Phillip Bosinny. The interactions between the Forsytes and the people and society around them is the truss for this love story set in the rigid and strict times of the Victorian age.

Director

Gift Horse

Gift Horse · 1952

MovieAdventureWar

Compton Bennett's war drama The Gift Horse follows the fortunes of ageing destroyer The Ballantrae and her crew from the time they come together in 1940 until the climactic raid on occupied St Nazaire in 1942. Trevor Howard plays Lt Cmdr Hugh Alginon Fraser, the newly appointed captain, back in service after having left the navy following a court martial.

Director

Desperate Moment

Desperate Moment · 1953

Desperate Moment

Story of a Dutchman's flight across post-war Germany trying to locate the man who alone can clear him of a false murder charge. (BFI Website)

Director

The Seventh Veil

The Seventh Veil · 1945

The Seventh Veil

MovieMusicDrama

A concert pianist with amnesia fights to regain her memory.

Director

The Flemish Farm

The Flemish Farm · 1943

The Flemish Farm

Wartime commando story based on fact. Allied airman risks return (on the ground) to occupied France for the honour of his regiment.

Editor

So Little Time

So Little Time · 1952

MovieDramaRomance

During World War II, German soldiers occupy the home of a beautiful Belgian girl and her mother.

Director

29 Acacia Avenue

29 Acacia Avenue · 1945

29 Acacia Avenue

MovieComedyDrama

The Robinsons are two respectable middle class parents living with their children in a suburban house in Acacia Avenue. Preferring to holiday every year in Bognor, they are pressed into booking a cruise for their annual vacation and thereby leaving their teenage children free run of their house. As the youngsters enjoy their newfound freedom and discover the angst of teenage life, Mr. and Mrs. Robinson begin to have second thoughts about their cruise and decide to return home early.

Associate Producer

How to Undress in Public Without Undue Embarrassment

How to Undress in Public Without Undue Embarrassment · 1965

How to Undress in Public Without Undue Embarrassment

Comic survey of methods of undressing through the ages, from Victorian modesty to modern strip clubs.

Director

It Started in Paradise

It Started in Paradise · 1952

It Started in Paradise

A talented dress designer, who lets nothing get in the way of her success, rises in the fashion world then loses contact with her own humanity. She also forgets that you meet the same people on the way up as on the way down.

Director

The Flying Scot

The Flying Scot · 1957

The Flying Scot

MovieCrimeDrama

A gang of four would-be robbers plans to steal a fortune in currency hidden aboard the "Flying Scotsman" in a railroad stateroom by cutting through the wall of the adjacent stateroom, but find themselves up against numerous unexpected drawbacks, including interference by their fellow passengers.

Director

My Own True Love

My Own True Love · 1948

My Own True Love

MovieDramaRomance

Following World War II, a woman tries to help her fiance understand his son's traumatic experience as a G.I., during which he lost a leg and was imprisoned in a Japanese POW camp.

Director

Daybreak

Daybreak · 1948

MovieCrimeDrama

A mysterious barber hides a secret identity that eventually leads to tragedy.

Director

That Woman Opposite

That Woman Opposite · 1957

That Woman Opposite

MovieCrimeDrama

In a French coastal town, Det. Dermot Kinross is inspecting the murder of antiques dealer Maurice Lawes, and the evidence points to Lawes's son, Toby -- and especially to Toby's bride-to-be, Eve Atwood. Eve's ex-husband, Ned, had his eyes set on something Lawes possessed.

Director

After the Ball

After the Ball · 1957

MovieMusicHistory

The life and loves of Music hall singer Vesta Tilley, who married into the nobility

Director

The Big Blockade

The Big Blockade · 1942

The Big Blockade

Wartime propaganda piece reporting on the success of the economic blockade of Germany in the early years of the war.

Editor

The Years Between

The Years Between · 1946

The Years Between

MovieDramaRomance

After hearing news that her officer husband has been killed in battle, Diana Wentworth forges a new life for herself, becoming an MP and learning to love again. Then, out of the blue comes the shattering news that her husband is not dead after all.

Director

Beyond the Curtain

Beyond the Curtain · 1960

Beyond the Curtain

A British flight officer plans to rescue an airline stewardess who is trapped in East Germany.

Director

The Adventures of Robin Hood

The Adventures of Robin Hood · 1955

The Adventures of Robin Hood

SeriesAction & AdventureFamily

The legendary character Robin Hood and his band of merry men in Sherwood Forest and the surrounding vicinity. While some episodes dramatised the traditional Robin Hood tales, most episodes were original dramas created by the show's writers and producers.

Director