查尔斯·克莱顿 Charles Crichton

Early Life and Education
Crichton, one of six siblings, was born on 6 August 1910 in Wallasey, Cheshire, England.He was educated at Oxford University

Career
Editing
In 1931, Crichton began his career in the film industry as a film editor.His first credit as editor was Men of Tomorrow (1932).He edited over fifty films, such as Things to Come (1936).Other films he edited included those that were produced by Alexander Korda, such as Cash (1933), The Girl from Maxim's (1933), The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), Sanders of the River (1935), Elephant Boy (1937) and The Thief of Bagdad (1940).Crichton was paid £8 per week for his editing.In 1940, Crichton began his employment at Ealing Studios.There he edited the film, The Big Blockade (1942).Crichton also served as an associate producer of the film, Nine Men (1943), which he also edited.

Directing
Crichton made his directorial debut with For Those in Peril (1944).In 1945, he directed Painted Boats and co-directed a segment in Dead of Night.Crichton then directed Hue and Cry (1947), a film considered to be the first comedy released by Ealing Studios.Crichton later directed Against the Wind (1948) and Dance Hall (1950).Crichton then directed Alec Guinness in The Lavender Hill Mob (1951).This was followed by Hunted (1952), starring Dirk Bogarde.Afterwards, Crichton directed The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953).

Crichton was the original director of Birdman of Alcatraz (1962),but he quit after clashing with Burt Lancaster. Crichton was then replaced by John Frankenheimer.

The Third Secret (1964) and He Who Rides a Tiger (1965), the last two films Crichton directed during the 1960s.
Crichton moved to directing television shows, then corporate videos. The latter were through John Cleese's company Video Arts. This led Cleese to propose Crichton returning to the crime comedy film genre.