Anthony Asquith (9 November 1902 – 20 February 1968) was a leading English film director.

Born in London, he was the son of Herbert Henry Asquith, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the First World War, and Margot Asquith. Within his family he was known as 'Puffin'. He was educated at Winchester College and Balliol College, Oxford.

His first successful film was Pygmalion (1938) based on the George Bernard Shaw play. It featured Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller. His later films included The Winslow Boy (1948), The Browning Version (1951), and The Importance of Being Earnest (1952). The last two starred Michael Redgrave. All three were remade in subsequent years.

Asquith, a charming, gentle man and a closeted homosexual who never married, died from lymphoma at the age of 65.

At the height of the Profumo scandal, Asquith is widely believed to have been the 'man in the mask' at an orgy attended by Stephen Ward, Christine Keeler, Mandy Rice-Davies and a host of top establishment figures. This person's theatrical display of masochism was regarded as symptomatic of the British establishment in decline and decay.

Filmography

Feature films

• Shooting Stars (1927)
• Underground (1928)
• A Cottage on Dartmoor (1929)
• The Runaway Princess (1929)
• Tell England (1931)
• The Lucky Number (1932)
• Dance Pretty Lady (1932)
• Unfinished Symphony (1934)
• Moscow Nights (1935)
• Pygmalion (1938)
• French Without Tears (1940)
• Freedom Radio (1941)
• Quiet Wedding (1941)
• Cottage to Let (1941)
• Uncensored (1942)
• We Dive at Dawn (1943)
• The Demi-Paradise (1943)
• Two Fathers (1944)
• Fanny by Gaslight (1944)
• The Way to the Stars (1945)
• While the Sun Shines (1947)
• The Winslow Boy (1948)
• The Woman in Question (1950)
• The Browning Version (1951)
• The Importance of Being Earnest (1952)
• The Final Test (1953)
• The Net (1953)
• The Young Lovers (1954)
• Carrington V.C. (1955)
• On Such a Night (1956)
• Orders to Kill (1958)
• The Doctor's Dilemma (1958)
• Libel (1959)
• The Millionairess (1960)
• Two Living, One Dead (1961)
• Guns of Darkness (1962)
• The V.I.P.s (1963)
• The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964)

Short films

• The Story of Papworth (1938)
• Channel Incident (1940)
• Rush Hour (1941)

References

External links

• Anthony Asquith biography at BFI Screenonline