The Canterbury Christ Church University library archive has recently taken possession of materials relating to acclaimed British filmmaker Michael Powell. These items are now being catalogued.

Powell’s life and career

Michael Latham Powell was born In Bekesbourne, Kent in 1905, and subsequently attended The King’s School, Canterbury. He entered the film industry in 1925 working as a general hand at a studio in France, before returning to Britain and progressing through a range of studio roles including story analyst and stills photographer. In the early 1930’s, he began scriptwriting and directing. Many of these early films were ‘quota quickies’, an hour long, on which he learned his craft.

Powell’s first truly personal film was 1937’s The Edge of the World: a fictional retelling of the depopulation of the Scottish islands. The film impressed producer Alexander Korda who hired Powell to direct the wartime thriller The Spy in Black (1939), on which he first met the Hungarian-British screenwriter Emeric Pressburger (1902-1988) who was soon to become his production partner.

Together, under the production banner of The Archers, Powell and Pressburger made the well-known British films 49th Parallel (1941), One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942), The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), A Canterbury Tale (1944), I Know Where I’m Going! (1945), A Matter of Life and Death (1946), Black Narcissus (1947), The Red Shoes (1948), The Small Back Room (1949), The Elusive Pimpernel (1950), and Gone to Earth (1950). This hitherto highly successful partnership ended in the early 1950’s when box office success began to elude them, though Powell and Pressburger remained close friends.

You can watch A Canterbury Tale on Box of Broadcasts.

In 1960, Powell directed Peeping Tom (1960), which although criticised at the time for its sexual and violent content, has since been recognised by many filmmakers and critics as a masterwork.

In later life, Powell undertook a consultancy role with Francis Coppola’s American Zoetrope studio in Los Angles. In 1981, he and Pressburger were made fellows of BAFTA: its highest honour. It was followed two years later by a fellowship of the British Film Institute.

A widower in 1983, after a forty year marriage to his second wife Frankie, he then married film editor Thelma Schoonmaker (1940 -) in 1984, known particularly for her five-decade-long collaboration with Martin Scorsese. Powell died in 1990 aged 84. Further information about Michael Powell’s career is available here.

The Archive gift

The materials in the archive have been generously donated by Thelma Schoonmaker Powell, John Sweet, Paul Tritton and Eddie McMillan, Senior Lecturer in Film Production at Canterbury Christ Church University. The materials comprise papers and audio-visual materials relating to Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s film A Canterbury Tale as well as subsequent academic conferences, lectures, exhibitions and activities relating to the work and life of Powell, including the making of the documentary film, The Pilgrim’s Return (2001).

The materials have been catalogued by Dr Daniela Gonzalez (Archives and Records Management Professional), Michelle Crowther and Nick Berbiers from the Canterbury Christ Church University library, and student volunteers Hannah Laws, Marek Masojada, Cam Matthews, Yosselin Claudio Montanto, Holly Myers and Evie Loos-Page. You can read more about the collection here.

Powell Archive highlights

The full Powell Archive catalogue will be available soon. Some highlights include:

· A note from director Martin Scorsese celebrating Powell’s work

· A note from cinematographer Jack Cardiff celebrating Powell’s work.

· A scrapbook of Powell related material

· Pre-edit documentary footage of interviews with the stars of A Canterbury Tale

· Pre-edit documentary footage of Thelma Schoonmaker interview

· The full transcript of an interview with Sir Christopher Lee

For any questions about the archive, or for viewing requests, please contact Michelle Crowther, Learning & Research Librarian at Canterbury Christ Church University Library michelle.crowther1@canterbury.ac.uk

This article was written by Nick Berbiers, Library & Information Advisor.

Biographical Sources:

Adrian Danks, ‘Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’, Senses of Cinema.

James Howard, ‘Michael Powell’, Brit Movie, 2012.

Kim Newman, ‘Michael Powell (1905-1990)’, British Film Institute, 2014.