Ronald Neame

Neame then moved into directing, and some notable films included, The Man Who Never Was (1956), which chronicled Operation Mincemeat, a British WWII deception operation, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969), starring Maggie Smith in an Academy Award–winning title role, and the action-adventure disaster film The Poseidon Adventure (1972). He also directed I Could Go On Singing (1963), Judy Garland's last film, and Scrooge (1970), starring Albert Finney. For his contributions to the film industry, in 1996 Neame was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and received two BAFTA Awards, including the BAFTA Fellowship, BAFTA's highest honour.

Ronald Neame studied at University College School and Hurstpierpoint College. The recorded working language is English. Work by Ronald Neame is recorded in the collections of Harvard Film Archive. Distinctions recorded are Commander of the Order of the British Empire and BAFTA Fellowship.

• Name — Ronald Neame • Honorific Suffix — CBE BSC • Born — 23 April 1911 • Birthplace — London, England • Died — 16 June 2010 • Place of death — Los Angeles, California, U.S. • Occupation — * Film director • cinematographer • producer • screenwriter • Years Active — 1928–1991 • Education — Hurstpierpoint College • Alma Mater — University College School • Citizenship — United Kingdom • Children — Christopher Neame • Parents — Ivy Close Elwin Neame

Born in Hendon, London, Neame was the son of photographer Elwin Neame and actress Ivy Close. He studied at University College School and Hurstpierpoint College. His father died in 1923, and Neame took a job with the Anglo-Persian Oil Company as an office boy. Later, through his mother's contacts in the British film industry, Neame started at Elstree Studios as a messenger boy. He was fortunate enough to be hired as an assistant cameraman on Blackmail (1929), the first British talkie, directed by a young Alfred Hitchcock. Neame's own career as a cinematographer began with the musical comedy Happy (1933), and he continued to develop his skills in various "quota quickies" films for several years. His credits as cinematographer include Major Barbara (1941), In Which We Serve (1942), and One of Our Aircraft Is Missing. At the 15th Academy Awards, In Which We Serve won an Academy Honorary Award, and Neame was nominated for an Best Special Effects for his camerawork on One of Our Aircraft Is Missing.

Neame made his directorial debut under the Cineguild banner, with Take My Life (1947), which was released by British producer J. Arthur Rank's General Film Distributors in the United Kingdom in 1947 and by Rank's Eagle-Lion Films in the United States in 1949. Neame began a transition to the American film industry at the suggestion of Rank, who asked him to study the Hollywood production system. He worked again with Alec Guinness (whom he had worked with on Great Expectations and Oliver Twist), this time as director, in three films: The Card (1952), The Horse's Mouth (1958), and Tunes of Glory (1960). Neame described Tunes of Glory as "the film I am proudest of". He received two BAFTA Award nominations for Tunes of Glory. Neame and Guinness worked again on the musical Scrooge (1970) with Guinness playing the ghost of Jacob Marley to Albert Finney's Ebenezer Scrooge. Neame also directed I Could Go On Singing (1963), Judy Garland's last film, co-starring Dirk Bogarde; and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969), which won Maggie Smith her first Oscar. Neame was recruited to direct The Poseidon Adventure (1972) after the contracted director left the production. He later characterised The Poseidon Adventure as "my favourite film" because it earned him enough to retire comfortably. He enjoyed a long friendship with Walter Matthau, whom he directed in two later films, Hopscotch (1980) and First Monday in October (1981). Neame's final feature-length film, Foreign Body, a comedy starring Victor Banerjee, was filmed in England and released in 1986.

Neame married Beryl Heanly in 1933. They legally separated in 1971 and divorced in 1992. She died in 1999. The couple had one son, Christopher, a writer/producer who died one year after his father's death. Ronald's only grandson, Gareth Neame, is a successful television producer, who represents the fourth generation of Neames in the film industry. Ronnie Neame's second marriage took place in Santa Barbara on 12 September 1993. His wife, Donna Bernice Friedberg, is also in the business – a film researcher and television producer, who worked on his 1979 movie Meteor. He referred to their meeting as a "coup de foudre". He had homes in Beverly Hills and Santa Barbara, California. In 2003, Neame published an autobiography, Straight from the Horse's Mouth.

Neame died on 16 June 2010 after suffering complications from a broken leg. The break required two surgical procedures from which Neame never recovered. In an interview in 2006, he jokingly stated, "When people ask me about the secret to my longevity, I say the honest answer is two large vodkas at lunchtime and three large scotches in the evening. All my doctors have said to me, 'Ronnie, if you would drink less, you'd live a lot longer.' But, they're all dead, and I'm still here at 95."

• Year — Title — Director — Writer — Producer — Other — Notes • 1944 — This Happy Breed — Associate — Co-writer with David Lean and Anthony Havelock-Allan Also director of photography • 1945 — Brief Encounter — Uncredited — Co-writer with David Lean, Anthony Havelock-Allan and Noël Coward Also production manager and director of addtl. photography • Blithe Spirit — Also director of photography • 1946 — Great Expectations — Co-writer with David Lean and Anthony Havelock-Allan • 1947 — Take My Life — Directorial Debut • 1950 — Golden Salamander — Co-writer with Victor Canning and Lesley Storm • 1952 — The Card • 1953 — The Million Pound Note • 1956 — The Man Who Never Was • 1957 — The Seventh Sin • Windom's Way • 1958 — The Horse's Mouth • 1960 — Tunes of Glory • 1962 — Escape from Zahrain • 1963 — I Could Go On Singing • 1964 — The Chalk Garden • 1965 — Mister Moses • 1966 — A Man Could Get Killed — Replaced Cliff Owen • Gambit • 1968 — Prudence and the Pill — Uncredited — Replaced Fielder Cook • 1969 — The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie • 1970 — Hello-Goodbye — Uncredited — Replaced by Jean Negulesco after a few weeks • Scrooge • 1972 — The Poseidon Adventure • 1974 — The Odessa File • 1979 — Meteor — Also actor; as 'British Representative' • 1980 — Hopscotch • 1981 — First Monday in October — Also actor; as 'PA Speaker' (uncredited) • 1986 — Foreign Body • 1990 — The Magic Balloon — Short film

• Year — Title — Director — Notes • 1948 — Oliver Twist — David Lean • 1949 — The Passionate Friends • 1951 — The Magic Box — John Boulting

Ronald Neame is recorded as having received Commander of the Order of the British Empire and BAFTA Fellowship. Neame received Commander of the Order of the British Empire and BAFTA Fellowship.

In 1996, Neame was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and awarded the BAFTA Fellowship for his contributions to the film industry.

• Institution — Year — Category — Work — Result — Ref. • Academy Awards — 1943 — Best Effects, Special Effects — One of Our Aircraft Is Missing • 1947 — Best Writing, Screenplay — Brief Encounter • 1948 — Great Expectations • British Academy Film Awards — 1961 — Best Film — Tunes of Glory • Outstanding British Film • 2005 — Lifetime Contributions to International Film • Cannes Film Festival — 1956 — Palme d'Or — The Man Who Never Was • 1969 — The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie • Hugo Awards — 1996 — Best Dramatic Presentation — Blithe Spirit • Locarno Film Festival — 1950 — Special Mention — Golden Salamander • Taormina Film Fest — 1962 — Golden Charybdis — Escape from Zahrain • Venice Film Festival — 1958 — Golden Lion — The Horse's Mouth • 1960 — Tunes of Glory