Alexander Mackendrick
Director · Writer
81 years (Sep 8, 1912 – Dec 22, 1993)Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Alexander Mackendrick was a Scottish-American director born in Boston, Massachusetts, celebrated for sharp, cynical comedies and dramas made primarily at Britain's Ealing Studios. Whisky Galore! and The Man in the White Suit established his gift for gentle but pointed satire of British institutions and class conventions, while The Ladykillers, a darkly comic heist farce starring Alec Guinness, became one of the most beloved Ealing comedies. Sweet Smell of Success, made after he relocated to Hollywood, marked a dramatic tonal shift into caustic, shadow-drenched noir examining the corrupt world of New York gossip columnists, and is now regarded as one of the finest American films of the 1950s. Mackendrick largely left directing in the 1960s to teach filmmaking, but his relatively small body of work, spanning gentle British comedy and savage American cynicism, secured his reputation as one of the more versatile stylists of his era.
Alexander Mackendrick
Director · Writer
Alexander Mackendrick was a Scottish-American director born in Boston, Massachusetts, celebrated for sharp, cynical comedies and dramas made primarily at Britain's Ealing Studios. Whisky Galore! and The Man in the White Suit established his gift for gentle but pointed satire of British institutions and class conventions, while The Ladykillers, a darkly comic heist farce starring Alec Guinness, became one of the most beloved Ealing comedies. Sweet Smell of Success, made after he relocated to Hollywood, marked a dramatic tonal shift into caustic, shadow-drenched noir examining the corrupt world of New York gossip columnists, and is now regarded as one of the finest American films of the 1950s. Mackendrick largely left directing in the 1960s to teach filmmaking, but his relatively small body of work, spanning gentle British comedy and savage American cynicism, secured his reputation as one of the more versatile stylists of his era.
1 TV Shows
Full Filmography
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Alexander Mackendrick still alive?
Alexander Mackendrick passed away on December 22, 1993 at age 81.
What are the most famous roles of Alexander Mackendrick?
Alexander Mackendrick is best known for directing Sweet Smell of Success, The Ladykillers, The Man in the White Suit.
How many movies has Alexander Mackendrick directed?
Over a 56-year career (since 1937), Alexander Mackendrick has directed or written 14 films and worked on 1 TV shows.
What was Alexander Mackendrick's first movie?
The career of Alexander Mackendrick began with Midnight Menace (1937).
What is Alexander Mackendrick's most recent movie or series?
Alexander Mackendrick's most recent release is Mackendrick on Film, which premiered on January 1, 2004.
What TV shows has Alexander Mackendrick created or directed?
On television, Alexander Mackendrick has appeared in The Defenders.
Alexander Mackendrick
1912-09-08 · Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Alexander Mackendrick (September 8, 1912 – December 22, 1993) was an American-born Scottish film director and screenwriter. He directed nine feature films between 1949 and 1967, before retiring from filmmaking to become an influential professor at the California Institute of the Arts.
Born to Scottish immigrant parents in Boston, he was raised in Glasgow from the age of 6. He began making television commercials before moving into post-production editing and directing films, most notably for Ealing Studios where his films include Whisky Galore! (1949), The Man in the White Suit (1951) - which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay, The Maggie (1954), and The Ladykillers (1955).
In 1957, Mackendrick directed his first American film Sweet Smell of Success, which was a critical and commercial success. However, his directing career declined throughout the following decade, and he was fired or replaced from several projects, owing in part to his perfectionist approach to filmmaking.
Mackendrick retired from directing in the late 1960's after completing A High Wind in Jamaica (1965) and Don't Make Waves (1967), becoming the founding Dean (and later a Professor) of the CalArts School of Film/Video.