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Thomas Bentley (director)

Thomas Bentley (23 February 1884 – 23 December 1966) was a British film director. He directed 68 films between 1912 and 1941. He directed three films in the early DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process, The Man in the Street (1926), The Antidote (1927), and Acci-Dental Treatment (1928).

Bentley was born in St George Hanover Square, London and originally trained as an engineer but went on to become a vaudeville performer well known for impersonating the characters from the novels of Charles Dickens on stage, touring Britain and Australia.[1][2] His directing career in silent films began in 1910 after he was signed by Cecil Hepworth to write and direct five adaptations of Dickens' novels.[2] He would go on to direct more Dickens adaptations throughout his career. After his retirement from directing in 1941 he became technical advisor to the British Film Council.

In her typescript-cum-memoir, Mabel Poulton named Bentley as the film director-rapist of a young British starlet who then becomes an alcoholic as a result.[3][4] Poulton starred in two films directed by him: The Old Curiosity Shop (1921) and Not Quite a Lady (1928).

Legacy

Bentley directed nearly 60 films and many shorts during his career. Despite Bentley's long tenure in the British film industry, his work remains comparatively neglected within academic film circles.[5] His modern reputation is also viewed unfavorably, with film historian Rachael Low describing Bentley as a "hum-drum director".[5]

Selected filmography

References

  1. ^ Pointer, Michael (1996). Charles Dickens on the Screen. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. p. 31; ISBN 0-8108-2960-6.
  2. ^ a b McFarlane, Brian (28 February 2014). The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition. Oxford University Press. p. 66-67; ISBN 9781526111968
  3. ^ Sweet, Matthew (2005). Shepperton Babylon. Faber & Faber. p. 65-67. ISBN 0-571-21297-2.
  4. ^ Shepperton Babylon (documentary). BBC Four. 2005.
  5. ^ a b Murphy, Robert (2019). Directors in British and Irish Cinema: A Reference Companion. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 44–45. ISBN 978-1-83871-533-5.