Catacombs Reference Library
Space 1999 - SERIES ONE

The Directors

Top directors, with experience both of feature films and television films, share the responsibilities of the various segments in "SPACE 1999"

Charles Crichton is one of the "regulars". Formerly one of Britain's leading movie editors, Crichton made his mark as a director under the Ealing Studios banner, notably with the chilling "Dead of Night", then "Hue and Cry" which set the pace for the famous Eating comedies, and among others to stand out have been "The Titfield Thunderbolt" and one-of the greatest of the Alec Guinness successes, "The Lavender Hill Mob".

The many TV series for which he has directed segments include "Danger Man" ("Secret Agent"), "The Avengers", "Man In a Suitcase", "Strange Report", "The Protectors" and "Black Beauty".

Another is Ray Austin, formerly one of Britain's ace movie stuntmen. His switch to directing came by degrees when he directed action sequences for several TV films and he was then given the opportunity to direct one of the segments of "The Saint". He did so well that he was given another episode to direct and from this directed two of the "Department S" segments and was then one of the team of regular directors on the "Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)" series (retitled "My Partner - the Ghost" in America), followed by "Shirley's World" with Shirley MacLaine, and others.

He has also directed feature films, including "Oh, What a Lovely Way to Go", "The Virgin Witches" and "Fun and Games"; several documentaries, one: of which, "The Perpetual Garden" , won an Outstanding Film Award at the London Film Festival; and segments of such series as "The Ugliest Girl in Town" and "Journey Into the Unknown". He has also written several screenplays.

During his years as a stuntman, the London-born Ray spent two years in the United States, taking part in such productions as "Sparticus", "Operation Petticoat", "Have Gun Will Travel" and "Johnny Staccato".

Lee Katzin , noted American director of such movies as "The Salzburg Connection", "Le Mans" and other major screen hits, has directed the opening episode and one further story in the series.

Episodes have also been directed by:-

David Tomblin, who for many years, was closely associated with Patrick McGoohan on the "Danger Man" ("Secret Agent") series and as producer of the controversial "The Prisoner" series.

He has since worked as Stanley Kubrick's assistant and has also directed a variety of contemporary dramas.

Born in Jersey, Channel Islands, he has spent the whole of his working life in films, starting as a production office runner. Before long, he was on the floor as a third assistant and rapidly rose to first assistant. He switched from feature movies to television films as soon as the latter went into production in England, working for Douglas Fairbanks Jnr. and then on such series as "Scarlet Pimpernel", "Charlie Chan", "William Tell", "Danger Man", "Invisible Man", "One Step Beyond", then the one-hour "Danger Man" stories, a trip to Canada for "Last of the Mohicans" and then joining Pat McGoohan again.

Bob Kellett, who makes one of his very rare incursions into drama from his more familiar ground as a director of such film comedies as "Up The Chastity Belt", "The Garnett Saga", "Up The Front" and "Our Miss Fred". After entering the film industry as a writer in 1950, when in his early twenties, he became producer and director of documentaries, and then produced a number of feature films, among them "A Home of Your Own", "San Ferry Ann" and "Just Like a Woman", later forming his own company to make documentaries and features and both producing and directing films like "Grounds for Suspicion" and "Futtcocks End".