Anthony Pelissier: Movies & Filmography

Harry Anthony Compton Pelissier was born on 27 July 1912 in Barnet, Middlesex, England, into a deeply theatrical family that would profoundly shape his career. His mother was the celebrated actress Fay Compton, while his father was the renowned theatre producer H. G. Pelissier, famous for presenting the variety show Pelissier's Follies. His uncle was the celebrated author Compton MacKenzie, best known for the novel Whisky Galore. Tragedy struck early when his father died before Anthony was even a year old, leaving his widowed nineteen-year-old mother to pursue her acting career while young Anthony was largely raised by his grandmother Virginia Compton and a succession of nannies. This background of a neglected young boy yearning for his mother's affection would later inform one of his most successful directorial efforts, the film The Rocking-Horse Winner. Pelissier began his acting career in the 1930s, notably appearing in Noël Coward's play cycle Tonight at 8.30 in both Britain and on Broadway in 1935 and 1936, and later in Coward's Set to Music in 1939. That same year, he collaborated with his close friend, the actor John Mills, to stage a West End revival of The Follies, the Edwardian musical revue company originally founded by his late father.

Pelissier transitioned into writing in 1937 and made his directorial debut in 1949, establishing himself as a multifaceted talent in the British film industry. He wrote and directed four notable films: The History of Mr Polly (1949), The Rocking Horse Winner (1950), Night Without Stars (1951), and Personal Affair starring Gene Tierney and penned by Lesley Storm. He also directed the Winter Cruise segment of the anthology film Encore (1951) and helmed Ealing's satirical take on television, Meet Mr Lucifer (1953). Beyond film, Pelissier later headed the experimental production unit at the BBC. Throughout his life, he was married four times, first to Penelope Dudley-Ward in 1939 (divorced 1944), with whom he had a daughter, the actress Tracy Reed. His subsequent marriages included Margaret A Hyde, actress Monica Grey, and finally actress Ursula Howells in 1968, with whom he remained until his death. He fathered four children in total. Anthony Pelissier passed away on 2 April 1988 in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, at the age of 75, survived by his wife Ursula and his four children.