Thomas Bentley (director)

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Thomas Bentley
Born23 February 1884
St George Hanover Square, London, England
Died23 December 1966 (aged 82)
Bournemouth, Dorset, England
OccupationFilm director
Years active1912–1951

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

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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

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References

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  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.
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