Articles & Texticles

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 John Howell.

(Click thumbnail images to enlarge)

Fame Is The Spur was Honor Blackman’s first screen appearance.

John Howells started his long cinematic career in the 1930’s. After the second world war he practised as an Art Director up until the early 1970’s, when he switched to sound engineering and dubbing until the early 1990’s.

JOHN HOWELL went to Gainsborough Studios on leaving school in 1932 and got a job as a junior draughtsman and then went through the various stages of set dresser and buyer and at last became assistant to Vetchinsky.

He graduated to his present position with the Boulting Brothers, for whom he has designed the backgrounds to ‘Fame is the Spur’ and ‘Brighton Rock’.
He met the Boulting Brothers at Pinewood during the war when the Army Film Unit and the R.A.F. Film Unit were stationed there, Howell being in charge of art direction for the R.A.F. when they made ‘Journey Together’.

Howell is particularly adept in the use of such special effects as model and trick shots; during the war he had ample opportunity for experimenting and, was afterwards Special Effects Director for Two Cities on ‘School for Secrets’.
He has recently been engaged on the designs for another Boulting Brothers film, ‘The Guinea Pig’.