Extracted from the educational project MACKENDRICK ON FILM (edited by Paul Cronin).
Originally conceived and produced for classroom use.
An internationally respected film director, Mackendrick made five films at London's Ealing Studios between 1949 and 1955, including Whisky Galore!, The Man in the White Suit (starring Alec Guinness) and The Ladykillers. Three of his films appear on the British Film Institute's list of the greatest British films of the twentieth century, though Mackendrick is probably best known for his 1957 Hollywood feature Sweet Smell of Success. In 1969 he became founding dean of the film school at the California Institute of the Arts, where he taught until his death in 1993. His posthumously published book ON FILM-MAKING: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE CRAFT OF THE DIRECTOR (Faber, 2004) is a collection of his notes written for his CalArts students.
www.alexandermackendrick.com