 John Krish is a filmmaker of considerable interest as both a 'case study' of
aspects of the postwar British film industry, and as a unique talent in his own
right.
Born in 1923 in London, he worked as a director, and often also a writer, in
a huge variety of genres: fiction feature films (the science fiction film
Unearthly Stranger (1963) was arguably the best); television programmes (he
directed the famously stylish opening credits for The Avengers, ITV, 1961-69);
and numerous advertisements and public safety 'fillers'. However, much of his
most distinctive work was in documentary, and his career yields fascinating
insights into the process by which most film documentary of the time made its
way to the screen: to convey a message for its sponsors, whether official,
commercial or independent.
Krish's roots in British documentary certainly ran deep: he was assistant
editor at the Crown Film Unit - working with such talents as Humphrey Jennings
and editor Stewart McAllister, for instance as uncredited assistant on Listen to
Britain (1942) - and later worked with Richard Massingham. Then as a
writer-director from 1948 to 1985, Krish directed shorts for a large number of
the organisations involved in film sponsorship. Examples include British
Transport Films (This Year - London, 1951); the National Coal Board (several
Mining Review stories); the General Post Office (Counterpoint, 1959); the
National Union of Teachers (Our School, 1962); various charities (They Took Us
To The Sea, 1961, for the NSPCC); and the Central Office of Information, on
behalf of several government departments (H.M.P., 1977).
Characteristic of Krish was his attitude to the 'briefs' given to him by
sponsors. He frequently reinterpreted them - not to subvert their messages but
to strengthen their impact on audiences. This sometimes brought him into
conflict with his employers. Most famously, The Elephant Will Never Forget
(1953), perhaps his best-loved film, was reputedly made in direct contravention
of orders by Edgar Anstey, head of British Transport Films.
Krish's period working under the sympathetic producer Leon Clore was
particularly fruitful. Though Clore also provided opportunities for
contemporaries such as Lindsay Anderson and Karel Reisz, Krish's style was largely at odds with the rhetoric of Free Cinema. Though a deep and sympathetic humanism was one of the threads running through the director's diverse output,
another was his compulsive desire to stretch the boundaries of the 'message'
documentary, frequently by crossing arbitrary borders between fiction and
non-fiction. In the case of films like Drive Carefully, Darling (1975) and The
Finishing Line (1977), Krish conveyed a public safety message through bizarrely
surreal narrative settings and shocking imagery.
At their best, Krish's films transcended their highly specific origins, and
remain fresh, moving and - all too often - socially relevant today.
Patrick Russell
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FILM & TV CREDITS
