 Ian 'Dal' Dalrymple landed his first job in the industry as a film editor in 1927. Eventually, his work on Gainsborough hits such as Victor Saville's Sunshine Susie (1931) and Evergreen (1934) prompted Michael Balcon to bring him to Gaumont-British. By the mid-1930s Dalrymple was concentrating on scriptwriting, particularly literary adaptations. Surprisingly, the shy intellectual thrived alongside flamboyant industry showmen like Alexander Korda, Anatole de Grunwald and Gabriel Pascal, for whom he worked uncredited on the Oscar-winning Pygmalion (d. Anthony Asquith/Leslie Howard, 1938). Of particular note were a series of successful, self-consciously 'English' pictures that Dalrymple made in tandem with Saville, including Dark Journey (1937), Storm in a Teacup (which he co-directed, 1937) and South Riding (1938). On the eve of the Second World War, Dalrymple found himself lured into contributing to Korda's maverick propaganda epic, The Lion Has Wings (d. Adrian Brunel / Brian Desmond Hurst / Michael Powell / Alexander Korda 1939). Famously, Dalrymple dubbed sounds of sheep baaing over footage of a Nuremburg rally. His next project, Old Bill and Son (d. Dalrymple, 1941) put Bruce Bairnsfather's popular cartoon to patriotic use. Although it was not a box-office success, he was swiftly seconded to work under Jack Beddington at the Ministry of Information. Dalrymple was now at the apex of his career. Responsible for overseeing the documentarists of the Crown Film Unit, he played movie midwife to hits like Target for Tonight (d. Harry Watt 1941) and Western Approaches (d. Pat Jackson 1944). While Stephen Tallents, John Grierson and Alberto Cavalcanti had been crucial to establishing the documentary tradition, it took the urbane but commercially-connected Dalrymple to plug the movement into the popular imagination. Ian Dalrymple also played a crucial role in nurturing Humphrey Jennings' sublime talent. Sharing a Cambridge background and similar literary instincts, Jennings came to rely on his judgment, and at one point even moved in with the Dalrymples. Dal's understanding was rewarded by the extraordinary Listen to Britain (1942), Fires Were Started (1943) and A Diary for Timothy (1946). After the war, Dalrymple set up Wessex Films with the intention of filming the novels of Thomas Hardy. However, intriguing projects such as Jennings' take on Far From the Madding Crowd fell through, while the Daumieresque Esther Waters (d. Dalrymple & Peter Proud 1948) gave Dalrymple "my first box office reverse in 21 years" and scared him off "dreary drama". Yet when Once a Jolly Swagman (d. Jack Lee 1948), a spivs and speedway tale starring the young Dirk Bogarde, failed to set audience pulses racing, Dalrymple abandoned the ailing Rank Organisation. Dalrymple's return to London Films bore immediate fruit. Despite a horrendous falling-out with director Jack Lee, Dalrymple saw The Wooden Horse (1950) become his biggest financial success. This was followed by a competent adaptation of Graham Greene's The Heart of the Matter (d. George More O'Ferrall, 1953) and Three Cases of Murder (d. David Eady / George More O'Ferrall / Wendy Toye, 1955). Though his career stretched into the sixties - for example, he wrote the Adam Faith vehicle Mix Me a Person (d. Leslie Norman 1962) - Dalrymple's creative powers had long diminished. Nevertheless, he remained a respected figure, becoming a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a fêted chair of the British Film Academy in 1957/8. Peers, such as Michael Powell, maintained that Dalrymple's movies understated the depth of his influence. Scott Anthony
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FILM & TV CREDITS
