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Michael Powell
Director 1905 - 1990

Michael Powell

Bekesbourne, Kent, England

Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was a renowned English film director, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. They worked together under the name of "The Archers" and produced a series of classic British films, notably The Thief of... Read full bio →

Directed Films

Every film this person directed

26 titles
The Boy Who Turned Yellow

The Boy Who Turned Yellow

Michael Powell 1972 55m 8.0

John and his class visit the Tower of London, where he loses his pet mouse. He falls asleep during a lesson on electricity, but with Nick's help, he learns about it, invades the Tower, and saves his pet mouse.

Age of Consent

Age of Consent

Michael Powell 1969 1h 48m 6.0

An elderly artist thinks he has become too stale and is past his prime. His friend (and agent) persuades him to go to an offshore island to try once more. On the island he re-discovers his muse in the form of a young girl.

They're a Weird Mob

They're a Weird Mob

Michael Powell 1966 1h 48m 6.0

Nino Culotta is an Italian immigrant, newly arrived in Australia. Much of the story is taken up with Nino's attempts to understand the aspirational values and social rituals of everyday urban Australians of the 1950's and 60's, and assimilate.

Peeping Tom

Peeping Tom

Michael Powell 1960 1h 41m 8.6

A young man murders women, using a movie camera to film their dying expressions of terror.

Ill Met by Moonlight

Ill Met by Moonlight

Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger 1957 1h 44m 6.7

Led by British officers, partisans on Crete plan to kidnap the island's German commander and smuggle him to Cairo to embarrass the occupiers.

The Battle of the River Plate

The Battle of the River Plate

Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger 1956 1h 59m 7.3

A true WW2 story: the British Navy must find and destroy a powerful German warship.

The Tales of Hoffmann

The Tales of Hoffmann

Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger 1951 2h 7m 8.5

A melancholy poet reflects on three women he loved and lost in the past: a mechanical performing doll, a Venetian courtesan, and the consumptive daughter of a celebrated composer.

The Elusive Pimpernel

The Elusive Pimpernel

Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger 1950 1h 49m

Foppish Sir Percy Blakeney, who secretly leads a double life as the daring rescuer of French aristocrats from the guillotine during the French Revolution, fights to save his brother-in-law while his wife is manipulated by the villainous Chauvelin into helping capture him, unaware of her husband's true identity.

Gone to Earth

Gone to Earth

Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger 1950 1h 51m 8.5

Jennifer Jones plays Hazel Woods, a beautiful young English Gypsey girl who loves animals and in particular her pet fox. She is hotly desired by Jack Reddin (David farrar) a fox hunting squire who vies for her affection and pursues her even after her marriage to the local pastor.

The Small Back Room

The Small Back Room

Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger 1949 1h 46m 8.0

As the Germans drop explosive booby-traps on 1943 Britain, the embittered expert who'll have to disarm them fights a private battle with alcohol.

The Red Shoes

The Red Shoes

Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger 1948 2h 13m 8.5

A fledgling ballerina falls in love with a brilliant composer, but the jealous head of the ballet company plots to drive them apart.

Black Narcissus

Black Narcissus

Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger 1947 1h 40m 8.0

based on the novel of the same name by Rumer Godden. It is a psychological drama about the emotional tensions within a convent of nuns in an isolated Himalayan valley

A Matter of Life and Death

A Matter of Life and Death

Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger 1946 1h 44m 8.7

When a young airman miraculously survives bailing out of his aeroplane without a parachute, he falls in love with an American radio operator. But the officials in the other world realise their mistake, and despatch an angel to collect him.

'I Know Where I'm Going!'

'I Know Where I'm Going!'

Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger 1945 1h 31m 8.0

A 33-year-old Englishwoman goes to the Hebrides to marry her older, wealthier fiancé, but when the weather keeps them apart from each other on separate islands, she begins to have second thoughts.

A Canterbury Tale

A Canterbury Tale

Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger 1944 2h 5m 8.0

Three modern-day pilgrims investigate a bizarre crime in a small town while on their way to Canterbury.

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger 1943 2h 43m 8.7

General Candy, who's overseeing an English squad in 1943, is a veteran leader who doesn't have the respect of the men he's training and is considered out-of-touch with what's needed to win the war. But it wasn't always this way.

One of Our Aircraft Is Missing

One of Our Aircraft Is Missing

Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger 1942 1h 42m

On its way back from a raid on the city of Stuttgart, Germany, a British bomber is shot down over Nazi-held Holland. Parachuting into Dutch farmlands under cover of darkness, the six-member crew connects with members of the local resistance, who shelter the Brits from their Nazi inquisitors as they make their way towards freedom.

49th Parallel

49th Parallel

Michael Powell 1941 2h 3m 7.8

In the early days of World War II, a German U-boat is sunk in Canada's Hudson Bay. Hoping to evade capture, a small band of German soldiers led by commanding officer Lieutenant Hirth attempts to cross the border into the United States, which has not yet entered the war and is officially neutral.

The Thief of Bagdad

The Thief of Bagdad

Michael Powell, Tim Whelan 1940 1h 47m 8.5

When Prince Ahmad is blinded and cast out of Bagdad by the nefarious Jaffar, he joins forces with the scrappy thief Abu to win back his royal place, as well as the heart of a beautiful princess.

Contraband

Contraband

Michael Powell 1940 1h 31m

During early World War II, a Danish sea captain, delayed in a British port, tangles with German spies.

The Spy in Black

The Spy in Black

Michael Powell 1939 1h 22m 8.0

A German submarine is sent to the Orkney Isles in 1917 to sink the British fleet.

The Lion Has Wings

The Lion Has Wings

Michael Powell, Brian Desmond Hurst 1939 1h 16m

This early, influential propaganda film blends documentary and studio footage to show the valiant efforts of the Royal Air Force to defend the British people against the Nazis.

The Edge of the World

The Edge of the World

Michael Powell 1937 1h 15m 8.5

A way of life is dying on a Shetland island fishing port, but some of the inhabitants resist evacuating to the mainland.

The Phantom Light

The Phantom Light

Michael Powell 1935 1h 15m 8.0

A series of mysterious deaths in a Welsh lighthouse lead locals to believe it is haunted. But the new keeper is sceptical.

The Fire Raisers

The Fire Raisers

Michael Powell 1934 1h 17m 6.5

Jim Bronton is an insurance investigator, but he's unhappy with his work and gets involved with a gang of arsonists. His conscience is troubling him ...

Red Ensign

Red Ensign

Michael Powell 1934 1h 9m 7.0

David Barr is the manager and chief designer of a British shipyard in decline. The shipyard is in financial trouble but Barr has a design for a new ship that will save them all. Can he get the ship built in spite of the opposition from his own bankers as well as the rival shipbuilders and their infiltrated militants.

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