Balcon, Sir Michael
BALCON, SIR MICHAEL
BALCON, SIR MICHAEL (1896–1977), British film producer. Born in Birmingham, he began filmmaking in 1920 and during the next 40 years was responsible for many outstanding British films which opened new avenues in realism and humor. Among them were The Captive Heart, It Always Rains on Sunday, Passport to Pimlico, Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Lavender Hill Mob, Whisky Galore, The Cruel Sea, Dunkirk, and The Long and the Short and the Tall. His book Michael Balcon Presents … A Lifetime of Films was published in 1969. He was knighted for his services to the industry in 1948. Balcon was born and educated in Birmingham. He founded Gainsborough Pictures Ltd. in 1928, was director of production for Gaumont-British, director and producer at Ealing Studios, and chairman of British Lion Films.
add. bibliography:
odnb online; dbb, i, 110–15.