Leslie Arliss

Leslie Arliss (1901-1987) was an influential English screenwriter and director, best known for his contributions to the Gainsborough melodramas of the 1940s. Born on 6 October 1901 in London to Charles Sawforde Arliss and Annie Eleanor Lilian "Nina" Barnett Hill, he began his professional life as a journalist in South Africa before transitioning to film criticism. Arliss entered the British film industry during the 1920s as a screenwriter, initially doing uncredited work on Alfred Hitchcock's The Farmer's Wife (1928), and soon established himself as a prolific writer of comedies and crime films for studios like Gaumont British and Gainsborough. His South African background helped him land his most prestigious early credit, Rhodes of Africa (1936), starring Walter Huston. During World War II, he wrote several propaganda films, including Pastor Hall (1940) and For Freedom (1940), before transitioning to directing in 1941, inspired by the success of Noël Coward as a writer-director.

As a director, Arliss became synonymous with the Gainsborough melodramas, a series of popular period thrillers that captivated British audiences during the war years. His directorial debut was a remake of The Farmer's Wife (1941), but it was The Man in Grey (1943) that brought him his greatest acclaim, a massive hit that helped establish stars like James Mason, Stewart Granger, Phyllis Calvert, and Margaret Lockwood. Despite his success, Calvert later criticized his directing style, claiming he was "lazy" and that producer Ted Black was the real creative force behind the films. Arliss continued his winning streak with Love Story (1944) and The Wicked Lady (1945), the latter becoming one of the biggest British hits of the era. However, after joining Alexander Korda's studio in 1946, his career faltered with commercial failures like Idol of Paris (1948) and Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948). In his later years, Arliss turned to television, directing series such as The Buccaneers and The Invisible Man, and made short films featuring Peter Sellers. He married Dorothy Gordon Cumming in 1928, and they had a daughter. Arliss died on 30 December 1987 in Jersey, Channel Islands, at the age of 86.