Compton Bennett

'Compton Bennett' (qv) started out as a bandleader and then became a commercial artist. He turned out a few amateur films that caught the attention of producer 'Alexander Korda' (qv)'s London Films, and they hired him in 1932 as a film editor. During World War II he directed a few instructional films for the British military and some propaganda shorts for the general public. His feature debut as a director was _The Seventh Veil (1945)_ (qv), which was a big success. MGM took note, and he was brought to Hollywood to make films for them. The films he made there weren't particularly well-received--his most successful, _King Solomon's Mines (1950)_ (qv), was lauded mainly for its impressive action scenes, which were in fact directed not by Bennett but by 'Andrew Marton' (qv), who received co-director credit--and he returned to Britain a few years later. While there he divided his time between films and television, with an occasional foray into directing theatrical productions. In 1957 he turned out two well-received films, _After the Ball (1957)_ (qv) and _The Mailbag Robbery (1957)_ (qv). He made his last feature in 1960 and, apart from an occasional foray into television, retired. He died in London in 1974.::[email protected]