Continuing a series about Art Directors in the British film industry up to 1948, when the book containing these articles was published.
This chapter deals with Maurice Carter.
His work on colour films also showed him that colour gave him ‘an extension of the designer’s normal descriptive power - a sort of fourth dimension that could claim even more in the way of emotional reactions’.
(Please click on the small pictures to enlarge them.)
Jassy, 1947 Pen & watercolour
Jassy, 1947 Pen & watercolour
Snowbound, 1948 Pen & watercolour
Good Time Girl, 1948 Pen & watercolour
(The inscription on the left is the location: The hall at the Rawling’s house.)
Incidentally, this film featured one of Diana Dors’ early appearances on screen.
The text from the book follows below the fold -
Maurice Carter is one of the youngest designers. His training as a commercial artist and a designer to the interior decoration department of two well-known Knightsbridge stores, stood him very well when he joined Gainsborough Pictures in 1936, as assistant Art Director to Alec Vetchinsky on Carol Reed’s ‘Bank Holiday’.
He remained an assistant on four more Carol Reed pictures, a very useful experience since Vetchinsky and the new young director proved so often that they knew how to make really good films.
In 1943 he became an art director and subsequently designed the settings for the following films: ‘The Man in Grey‘ (Director Leslie Arliss); ‘Miss London Ltd‘ (Val Guest); ‘Dear Octopus‘ (Harold French); ‘Bees in Paradise‘ (Val Guest); ‘Give Us the Moon‘ (Val Guest); ‘Root of All Evil‘ (Brock Williams); ‘Jassy‘ (Bernard Knowles); ‘Good Time Girl‘ (Dave MacDonald); ‘Snowbound‘ (Dave MacDonald).
He is a an artist in the old sense and a believer in what he calls ‘planned emotionalism…. The sort of thing that made Chaplin pictures so brilliant. The pre-calculated balance of humour and tragedy rising and falling with varying modulations…. The settings, photography and shooting angles all calculated with this one idea in mind’.
His work on colour films also showed him that colour gave him ‘an extension of the designer’s normal descriptive power - a sort of fourth dimension that could claim even more in the way of emotional reactions’.
Carter has a great appreciation and understanding of art and this and his pen and watercolour technique should take him a long way.
Table of contents for Art & Design in The British Film
- Art & Design in The British Film # 1: W.C.Andrews
- Art & Design in The British Film # 2: Andre Andrejew
- Art & Design in The British Film # 3: Norman Arnold
- Art & Design in The British Film # 4: Wilfred Arnold
- Art & Design in The British Film # 5: Ferdinand Bellan
- Art & Design in The British Film # 6: Ralph Brinton
- Art & Design in The British Film # 7: John Bryan
- Art & Design in The British Film # 8 Edward Carrick
- Art & Design in The British Film # 9 Maurice Carter
- Art & Design in The British Film # 10: Douglas Daniels
- Art & Design in The British Film # 11: Cedric Dawe
- Art & Design in The British Film # 12: Roger Furse
- Art & Design in The British Film # 13: Hein Heckroth
- Art & Design in The British Film # 14: John Howell
- Art & Design in The British Film # 15: Laurence Irving
- Art & Design in The British Film # 16: Alfred Junge
- Art & Design in The British Film # 17 Vincent Korda
- Art & Design in The British Film # 18 Oliver Messel
- Art & Design in The British Film #19 Tom Morahan
