Sydney Box: Difference between revisions

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| yearsactive        = 1935–1967
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'''Frank Sydney Box''' (29 April 1907 – 25 May 1983) was a British film producer and screenwriter, and brother of British film producer [[Betty Box]]. In 1940, he founded the documentary film company [[Verity Films]] with [[Jay Lewis]].<ref name="Spicer2006">{{cite book|last=Spicer|first=Andrew|title=Sydney Box|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sY1LGFNtCOEC&pg=PA18|access-date=13 April 2012|series=British Film Makers|year=2006|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-0-7190-5999-5|page=18}}</ref>
'''Frank Sydney Box''' (29 April 1907 – 25 May 1983) was a British film producer and screenwriter, and brother of British film producer [[Betty Box]]. In 1940, he founded the documentary film company [[Verity Films]] with [[Jay Lewis (director)|Jay Lewis]].<ref name="Spicer2006">{{cite book|last=Spicer|first=Andrew|title=Sydney Box|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sY1LGFNtCOEC&pg=PA18|access-date=13 April 2012|series=British Film Makers|year=2006|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-0-7190-5999-5|page=18}}</ref>


He produced and co-wrote the screenplay, with his then wife director [[Muriel Box]], for ''[[The Seventh Veil]]'' (1945), which received the 1946 [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] for best original screenplay.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Morley |first=Carol |date=2023-02-19 |title=Who was Muriel Box, Britain's most prolific female film director? |language=en-GB |work=The Observer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/feb/19/muriel-box-female-film-director-carol-morley-sunday-feature |access-date=2023-02-19 |issn=0029-7712}}</ref>
He produced and co-wrote the screenplay, with his then wife director [[Muriel Box]], for ''[[The Seventh Veil]]'' (1945), which received the 1946 [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] for best original screenplay.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Morley |first=Carol |date=2023-02-19 |title=Who was Muriel Box, Britain's most prolific female film director? |language=en-GB |work=The Observer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/feb/19/muriel-box-female-film-director-carol-morley-sunday-feature |access-date=2023-02-19 |issn=0029-7712}}</ref>
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In the late 1950s Box signed a deal to make nuermous low budget films for the Rank Organisation.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=27 June 2025|access-date=27 June 2025|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|magazine=Filmink|title=Forgotten British Film Studios: The Rank Organisation, 1959|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-british-film-studios-the-rank-organisation-1959/}}</ref> In September 1959 Box announced he was quitting filmmaking due to medical advice.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1959-10-07_216_6/page/11/mode/1up?|date=7 October 1959|title=Lesser reportedly back of winding 'Too Hot' Mansfield British pic}}</ref>
In the late 1950s Box signed a deal to make nuermous low budget films for the Rank Organisation.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=27 June 2025|access-date=27 June 2025|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|magazine=Filmink|title=Forgotten British Film Studios: The Rank Organisation, 1959|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-british-film-studios-the-rank-organisation-1959/}}</ref> In September 1959 Box announced he was quitting filmmaking due to medical advice.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1959-10-07_216_6/page/11/mode/1up?|date=7 October 1959|title=Lesser reportedly back of winding 'Too Hot' Mansfield British pic}}</ref>


In December 1959 Rank announced Sydney Box Associates would make a series of films for the company including ''[[The Night We Got the Bird|Love Birds]]'' starring Brian Rix, ''Not in the Book'' produced by Norman Williams and scripted by Peter Blackmore from Arthur Watkyn’s play, ''No Concern of Mine'' from Jeremy Kingston's play, ''Milk and Honey'' from Philip King’s play: ''[[Watch It, Sailor!]]'' also based on a Philip King play, ''[[Taste of Fear|See No Evil]]'' an original by Jimmy Sangster, and ''[[The Frightened City|Time to Kill]]'' another original by Leigh Vance.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Kinematograph Weekly|page=99|first=Bill|last=Edwards|date=17 December 1959|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_kine-weekly_1959-12-17_511_2724/page/n101/mode/1up|title= A significant year}}</ref> Some of these films would be made by other companies.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1960-04-20_218_8/page/59/mode/1up?|date=20 April 1960|title=Peter Rogers announces top product from the Sydney Box Group of Companies|page=59}}</ref>
In December 1959 Rank announced Sydney Box Associates would make a series of films for the company including ''[[The Night We Got the Bird|Love Birds]]'' starring Brian Rix, ''Not in the Book'' produced by Norman Williams and scripted by Peter Blackmore from Arthur Watkyn’s play, ''No Concern of Mine'' from Jeremy Kingston's play, ''Milk and Honey'' from Philip King’s play: ''[[Watch It, Sailor!]]'' also based on a Philip King play, ''[[Taste of Fear|See No Evil]]'' an original by Jimmy Sangster, and ''[[The Frightened City|Time to Kill]]'' another original by Leigh Vance.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Kinematograph Weekly|page=99|first=Bill|last=Edwards|date=17 December 1959|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_kine-weekly_1959-12-17_511_2724/page/n101/mode/1up|title= A significant year}}</ref> Some of these films would be made by other companies.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1960-04-20_218_8/page/59/mode/1up?|date=20 April 1960|title=Peter Rogers announces top product from the Sydney Box Group of Companies|page=59}}</ref> It has been argued he was allowed to make "far too many movies" for Rank.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-british-film-studios-the-rank-organisation-1960/|magazine=Filmink|date=4 July 2025|access-date=4 July 2025|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|title=Forgotten British Film Studios: The Rank Organisation, 1960}}</ref>


According to Sue Harper and Vincent Porter:
According to Sue Harper and Vincent Porter:
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*''[[Operation Cupid]]'' (1960)
*''[[Operation Cupid]]'' (1960)
===Welbeck Film Distributors===
===Welbeck Film Distributors===
*''[[To Dorothy a Son]] (1954)
*''[[To Dorothy a Son]]'' (1954)
*''[[Too Young to Love (film)|Too Young to Love]]'' (1959)
*''[[Too Young to Love (film)|Too Young to Love]]'' (1959)
*''[[The Night We Dropped a Clanger]]'' (1959)
*''[[The Night We Dropped a Clanger]]'' (1959)

Latest revision as of 16:27, 18 September 2025

Template:Short description Script error: No such module "For". Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Check for clobbered parameters".Template:Wikidata image Frank Sydney Box (29 April 1907 – 25 May 1983) was a British film producer and screenwriter, and brother of British film producer Betty Box. In 1940, he founded the documentary film company Verity Films with Jay Lewis.[1]

He produced and co-wrote the screenplay, with his then wife director Muriel Box, for The Seventh Veil (1945), which received the 1946 Oscar for best original screenplay.[2]

Sydney and Muriel married in 1935, had a daughter Leonora the following year, and divorced in 1969.[3]

Gainsborough Studios

The couple were hired after the war by the Rank Organisation to run Gainsborough Studios. They disapproved of the Gainsborough melodramas which had been the studio's major successes for several years, and switched production to a broader range of more "realistic" films with mixed results. Box made 36 films at Gainsborough, which was merged into the Rank Organization in 1949. It has been argued Box's overexpansion "killed" Gainsborough.[4]

In 1951 Box founded his own production company London Independent Producers with William MacQuitty.

Box was part of a consortium that launched the ITV franchise, Tyne Tees Television in 1959.

In the late 1950s Box signed a deal to make nuermous low budget films for the Rank Organisation.[5] In September 1959 Box announced he was quitting filmmaking due to medical advice.[6]

In December 1959 Rank announced Sydney Box Associates would make a series of films for the company including Love Birds starring Brian Rix, Not in the Book produced by Norman Williams and scripted by Peter Blackmore from Arthur Watkyn’s play, No Concern of Mine from Jeremy Kingston's play, Milk and Honey from Philip King’s play: Watch It, Sailor! also based on a Philip King play, See No Evil an original by Jimmy Sangster, and Time to Kill another original by Leigh Vance.[7] Some of these films would be made by other companies.[8] It has been argued he was allowed to make "far too many movies" for Rank.[9]

According to Sue Harper and Vincent Porter:

Box was a skilled entrepreneur who was able to raise regular loans from the NFFC and to encourage others' talents. According to his assistant David Deutsch, he provided, more effectively than anyone he had ever known, 'the right environment for creative people to work, welcoming, encouraging and subtly influencing'. Box’s position as an outsider—a socialist of sorts, a realist by instinct, and a feminist by default—meant that he became increasingly excluded from the meritocracy. He lacked a strong visual sense, but this was supplied by Muriel Box, whose lively inventiveness was accompanied by an uncompromising sexual radicalism, which pleased her but not the distributors or the audiences.[10]

Selected filmography

Screenwriter and producer

London Independent Producers

Producer

Rank Organisation Film Productions

Orbit Films

Beaconsfield

Sydney Box Associates

Alliance Film Distributors

Welbeck Film Distributors

Films as Head of Gainsborough

Selected plays

References

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  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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External links

Template:AcademyAwardBestOriginalScreenplay 1940-1960

Template:Authority control

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