J. Lee Thompson

Before his 20th birthday, Thompson was an established actor and playwright. His first involvement with film was as an actor in 1934. Five years later he started to work as a scriptwriter for British International Pictures. Around that time, he also worked with Alfred Hitchcock during the making of Jamaica Inn (1939) as a dialogue coach. His directorial debut was with Murder Without Crime (1950), but it was with his second film, The Yellow Balloon (1951), that he really started to be known. During the next ten years he continued his work as a director in England, where he made several films in which he experimented with many styles and themes. In 1961, with The Guns of Navarone, a World War II epic nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Director, he gained international fame. Briefly afterward, he started to direct in Hollywood, where he remained for most of the rest of his life, directing films with great success. After Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects (1989) he retired from direction, but remained active as a producer. He died at age 88, while on vacation.

Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia