Charles Crichton Dies

Charles Crichton, one of Britain's more prolific directors, died yesterday at his Kensington home after a short illness. He was 89. Crichton began working in films during the 1930's when he was employed by Alexander Korda in the great director's cutting rooms. During the war he served Her Majesty's Government by making propaganda films, which led to his first feature, For Those in Peril - a Merchant Navy yarn - in 1944. In the fifties he directed a brace of classic Ealing comedies, including The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) and The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953). He later worked in television, directing cult sixties series The Avengers and the television adaptation of Anna Sewell's beloved equine tale, Black Beauty, in the early seventies. He continued directing for television after moving to America in the seventies (helming a few episodes of Space 1999) before retiring. But Crichton's career was not quite finished. Approached by John Cleese in the mid-eighties, he came out of retirement to direct the hit comedy A Fish Called Wanda, released in 1988. After his final triumph, he again retired - this time for good - and spent his final years fishing.