Ronald Elwin Neame CBE BSC (23 April 1911 – 16 June 2010) was an English film cinematographer, producer, screenwriter and director. As cinematographer for the British war film One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1943), he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Special Effects. During a partnership with director David Lean, he produced Brief Encounter (1945), Great Expectations (1946), and Oliver Twist (1948), receiving two Academy Award nominations for writing.Neame then moved into directing, and some notable films included, I Could Go On Singing (1963), Judy Garland's last film, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969), which won Maggie Smith her first Oscar, Scrooge (1970), starring Alec Guinness, and the action-adventure disaster film The Poseidon Adventure (1972).For his contributions to the film industry, Neame was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Elizabeth II, and received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, the highest award the British Film Academy can give a filmmaker.
[on British quota quickies] Many were made in a week... one take for each scene. The cinemas ran them in the mornings to fulfill the requirement. What killed them off? Well, the Dominions started making them even cheaper, and the government simply gave up.
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I was never comfortable in the limelight. I am the first to admit some of my recent films have been among my weakest, but that is the fault of changes in the industry. It wasn't in my temperament to retire as David Lean did for such a lengthy period. I remain the determined optimist, hopeful that my brand of small, character study portraits will eventually come back into favor.
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I consider myself a good craftsman. I know my job. I was brought up in a school to make films a certain way. The most important thing you learn as a director is not to direct too much. You must force the audience to work too.
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David Lean and I are fighting a rear guard action. We want movies to return to greatness. If that's being old-fashioned, then I stand condemned.
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[About Alexander Korda] I once had a meeting with him. I remember thinking, Korda can make you think black is white, or white is black that he would say at a meeting, "Well, you see, black is white, Ronnie." And you'd say, "Yes, yes." And then halfway up Brook Street after you'd left, you'd say, "Well, no. That's not so. Black isn't white."
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[About the early 40s] At that time everybody was asking why it was that America could shoot 20 setups a day and in England we seemed to only manage about nine? It was partly union problems - too many cups of tea in the afternoon - but it was also equipment. We were very, very short of cameras.
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[About his working relationship with J. Arthur Rank] I always remember him as a rather big man, but that may be because I was a very slim, young man at the time. He wasn't fat. I remember a mustache, a good-natured face. You know when you met him that this was a good man. And so we started to choose subjects, prepare scripts, and knew that we had a lovely studio to shoot them in. And we knew nobody was going to say, "This won't go in America," or "This doesn't seem too good," or "This costs too much." None of that. We didn't make films with an American market in mind, which quite frankly would have been fatal. Even today I think that if Britain tries to make a film that will go well in America, it's a mistake. They are making films in England, and they should make the film they believe in.
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[on working with Judy Garland in I Could Go on Singing (1963)] Suddenly, Judy had become the real Judy. It was no longer acting and it was absolutely wonderful.
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[on David Lean] "If he heard his best friend was dying while he was on the set, I doubt if he'd take it in. Once he's started a film, there's really nothing else in his life."
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Fact
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Son of Elwin Neame and Ivy Close.
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After Neame was fired from "The Seventh Sin" and replaced with Vincente Minelli, he received a sympathetic call from George Cukor, assuring him he would bounce back.
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When Neame's boss, Claude Friese-Greene, collapsed on the set in an alcoholic stupor, young assistant cameraman Neame finished the picture, a quota quickie entitled "Drake of England," as well as the next scheduled title, "Invitation to the Waltz".
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Neame's first big break came on "Major Barbara"Z when producer Gabriel Pascal quarreled with cinematographer Freddie Young, who was replaced by Neame, who had made some very successful tests with star Wendy Hiller.
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Father of Christopher Neame.
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Neame's father, Edwin Neame, was himself a director and cinematographer of beautiful silent screen actress Ivy Close, who eventually married the senior Neame.
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Release of his autobiography, "Straight from the Horse's Mouth". [2003]
Member of the jury at the Venice Film Festival in 1962.
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Financial difficulties arose for the family after the death of his father, Elwin Neame, in 1923. As a result, he was forced to leave public school to look for a job. He found one at the newly opened Elstree Studios. This started him on his way to being a film director.
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He represented the second of four generations in the genre of cinema and television. He was the elder son of the photographer Elwin Neame and the actress Ivy Close. His brother Derek Neame scripted several films. He led a distinguished career as a cinematographer, screenwriter, producer and director. His son Christopher Neame and grandson Gareth Neame have carved successful careers as producers.
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He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1996 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to the film industry.
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Educated at the University College School and Hurstpierpoint College.
$3 Million
