Anthony Simmons

Age: N/A | From: West Ham, London, England, UK

TV
Involvement

Movie
Involvement

Person Details

Birthday:

Aliases: No known aliases

Gender: Male

Place of birth: West Ham, London, England, UK

Homepage:

Movie Involvements: 27

TV Involvements: 2

Most Famous Work

Biography

Anthony Simmons (16 December 1922 – 22 January 2016) was a British writer and film director. He was associated with, though separate from, the Free Cinema movement; he said he was greatly influenced by Humphrey Jennings and by Michelangelo Antonioni’s movie Il Grido (1957). Simmons was born in West Ham, then in Essex, now part of the London Borough of Newham, the fourth of five children – three boys and two girls – to parents of Polish-Jewish extraction, Miriam (née Corb) and Joseph Simmons (originally Anzulowsky), from a family of market traders. He was named Isidore but adopted the forename Anthony in his teens. After attending West Ham Grammar School, Simmons gained a law degree from the London School of Economics, where his course was interrupted by wartime service. Simmons asserted: "I wasn’t aiming to be a film director. I was a lawyer aiming to be a writer. But I felt that if I wrote films it was more immediate. It’s quicker. You haven’t got to spell out the words, you just make the image and tell the story." His documentary Sunday by the Sea (1951) won the Grand Prix at the Venice Film Festival. Four in the Morning (1965), his second feature film as director, did not gain a circuit release although it won awards at several international film festivals, and a BAFTA for Judi Dench as the 'Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles'. For several years Simmons worked in radio and made television commercials until his next feature The Optimists of Nine Elms (1973) starring Peter Sellers. His feature movie Black Joy (1977) was entered into the Cannes Film Festival. His television drama On Giant's Shoulders (1979) about Terry Wiles won an Emmy Award. He also directed episodes of British television series including The Professionals, Supergran, Inspector Morse, Van Der Valk, A Touch of Frost and C.A.T.S. Eyes.

Most Famous Work

Average

Acting

Year	Character	Movie/Tv
1973	Self	The Big Screen 1973-02-20 Movie
Year	Character	Movie/Tv

Writing

Year	Role	Movie/Tv
1992	Writer	A Touch of Frost 1992-12-06 TV Show
1981	Screenplay	Green Ice 1981-05-01 Movie
1979	Adaptation	On Giant's Shoulders 1979-03-28 Movie
1977	Writer	Black Joy 1977-11-06 Movie
1973	Novel	The Optimists 1973-10-17 Movie
1965	Screenplay	Four in the Morning 1965-12-16 Movie
	Story	Four in the Morning 1965-12-16 Movie
1962	Writer	From First to Last 1962-01-02 Movie
1960	Writer	Dispute 1960-01-01 Movie
1954	Original Story	The Passing Stranger 1954-11-30 Movie
	Writer	Bow Bells 1954-09-01 Movie
1953	Writer	Sunday by the Sea 1953-01-02 Movie
Year	Role	Movie/Tv

Directing

Year	Role	Movie/Tv
1989	Director	Little Sweetheart 1989-10-19 Movie
1986	Director	The Day After the Fair 1986-01-01 Movie
1982	Director	Life After Death 1982-02-02 Movie
1981	Director	Stainless Steel and the Star Spies 1981-01-01 Movie
1979	Director	On Giant's Shoulders 1979-03-28 Movie
1977	Director	The Professionals 1977-12-30 TV Show
	Director	Black Joy 1977-11-06 Movie
1973	Director	The Optimists 1973-10-17 Movie
1965	Director	Four in the Morning 1965-12-16 Movie
1964	Director	No Short Cut 1964-01-01 Movie
1962	Director	From First to Last 1962-01-02 Movie
1960	Director	Your Money or Your Wife 1960-03-01 Movie
1954	Director	Bow Bells 1954-09-01 Movie
1953	Director	Sunday by the Sea 1953-01-02 Movie
Year	Role	Movie/Tv