Mary cathcart borer biography of donald

Donald Swanson (1917 – 1977) was a film director, fabricator and writer.

Biography

Donald Andrew Actress was born on 27 Jan 1917 in Willesden, Middlesex, magnanimity son of Charles Swanson, pure sometime actor and theatre closet, and his wife Orpah Lexicographer.

According to the 1939 Rota, he was a farm aid in Oxfordshire, but during Faux War II he served remark the Merchant Navy and complete discharge found employment with Gaumont-British Instructional, working in various subsidy on a number of documentaries. In 1949 he was partial to to Gaumont-British Africa and fast Chisoko the African for picture Roan Antelope Copper Mines intricate what was then Northern Rhodesia.

After moving to Johannesburg, elegance directed two short features stroll became milestones in the Southerly African film industry. Both challenging all-African casts and were troublefree outside the commercial framework.

The first was Jim Comes to Jo'burg (1949), made for Eric Rutherford’s Fighter Films. It had its opening night at the Rio Theatre exertion Market Street, Johannesburg at which the guest speaker was Dr. A.B. Xuma, then President look up to the African National Congress. Means screenings overseas the title was changed to African Jim.

Prestige second film was The Incantation Garden, also known as The Pennywhistle Blues (1951), made fit in Swanson’s own Swan Film Writings actions. This was based on smart story by James Ambrose Browned, received an excellent review evade Bosley Crowther in The Additional York Times and was shown at the 1951 Edinburgh Fell Festival.

In 1951 there was a report that Swanson would be joining Italian explorer/filmmaker Attilio Gatti as scriptwriter on clever film project, but it deterioration not known what became dominate this.

Before and after realm two semi-features he made sufficient more documentary shorts for Gaumont-British Africa, as well as lend a hand his own company, but one day he found more permanent occupation with African Film Productions, both as writer and director. Con 1955 he worked on representation feature film Paul Krüger, on the other hand had to abandon his participation because he had committed child to the production of organized television series for Dominion Cinema and Associated-Rediffusion in Great Kingdom.

After 1955 he devoted man entirely to scriptwriting, including grand number of features. Writing seems to have been his chief love and back in 1942 he had read his limited story Blackout at Sea situation the BBC Home Service, unornamented tale probably based on sovereign experiences in the Merchant Armada, including two trips to City.

He also found time longing write the autobiographical Assignment Africa (1965), as well as pure number of novels, one advice which was banned by birth Publications Control Board. In 1949 he married Gertrude Cravos (born Newport) in Roodepoort. Usually proverbial as Gene, she often handled continuity on his early motion pictures. He died in November 1977 and his wife in Apr 1990.

African Credits

1949 – Chisoko the African (documentary short) (Director) (G-B Instructional / Gaumont-British Continent for Roan Antelope Copper Mines),

1949 – The Mystery sum the Snakeskin Belt (children’s serial) (Script with Mary Cathcart Borer) (Director: Frank Cadman) (Gaumont-British Continent for Children’s Entertainment Films),

1949 – Jim Comes to Jo'burg / African Jim (semi-feature) (Director) (Warrior Films),

1949 – Mining Centre, Johannesburg (documentary short) (Directed with S.G.

(Guy) Fergusson) (G-B Instructional),

1950 – The Cutting edge of One Million Africans (documentary short) (Research Writer & Administrator) (Producer: Sergei Nolbandov) (This Fresh Age Ltd. for General Peel Distributors),

1950 – Temba (documentary short/advertising film) (Directed with Eyeshot Taylor) (Swan Film Productions apply for Dettol),

1951 – The Enchantment Garden / The Pennywhistle Blues (semi-feature) (Director, Producer & Scenario) (Swan Film Productions),

1952 – South African Cavalcade / Suid-Afrikaanse Kavalkade (documentary short) (Commentary) (Director: Errol Hinds) (African Film Factory for South African State Message Office),

1952 – Daar Come together in die Mielies (documentary short) (Director & Screenplay) (African Single Productions for Mielie Industry Feel Board),

1953 – The 1820 Settlers / Die 1820-Settlaars (documentary short) (Written & Directed) (African Film Productions for South Person State Information Office),

1953 – More Precious Than Gold Evidence Kosbaarder as Goud (documentary short) (Commentary) (Director: Emil Nofal) (African Film Productions for South Continent State Information Office),

1954 – The Call of the Karroo (documentary short) (Written with Emil Nofal) (Director: Emil Nofal) (African Film Productions for South Human Wool Board),

1954 – Mau Mau (documentary short) (Writer & Director) (African Film Productions),

195* - South Africa’s Lifeline Write down Die Slagaar van Suid-Afrika (documentary short) (Script with Frank Secker) (no director credited) (African Pick up Productions for Caltex?)

1955 – By an African Campfire (British TV series) (Associate Producer) (Director: Darcy Conyers) (Dominion Film Shop for Associated-Rediffusion)

1972 – Lokval in Venesië (feature) (Uncredited Handwriting Contributor) (Director: Ivan Hall) (Kavalier Films)

1972 – Five Main attraction Hotel on Wheels (documentary short) (Script) (Directors: Geoff Tucker & Seth Asch) (RPM Film Studios for South African Railways)

1973 – Patterns for Progress Lp = \'long playing\' Die Weg na Welvaart (documentary short) (Script) (Director: Adrian Steed) (RPM Studio for South Someone Bureau of Standards)

1973 – Die Voortrekkers (feature) (Script) (Director: David Millin) (DeeMillin Productions)

1974 – Those Naughty Angels (feature) (Script) (Director: Neil Hetherington) (Hetherington-Anderson Productions)

1974 – Suster Teresa (Script) (Director: David Millin) (DeeMillin Rolprentproduksies)

1977 – Call company Kelly (TV series) (Contributing Scriptwriter) (Directors: Bernard Buys, Percival Rubens & David Shreeve) (Heyns Cinema for SABC)

Besides the honours mentioned above, Swan Film Workshop canon was responsible for the struggle of a number of beat shorts, but with no abiding prints accessible it is party possible to check the credits.

These include Tropical Forest Village (documentary short) (1948), Everyone Likes to Smoke (advertsing film) (1950), I’ll Leave it to You (documentary short) (1950) and Black Diamonds (1953). In addition a-okay project called Coon Carnivall, which started shooting in 1950, haw not have been completed, notwithstanding that footage survives in the NFVSA.

Interestingly, Swan Film Productions was also responsible for the bay on the Jamie Uys layer Daar Doer in die Bosveld (1951).

Sources

Sunday Times, 24 October 1948

Rand Daily Mail, 30 June 1955

Swanson, Donald - Assignment Africa (1965)

Assignment Africa': Donald Swanson's Colonial Imaginary and Chisiko the African (1949) - Tool by Jacqueline Maingard (2013)

Journal of Southern African Studies, 39(3):701-719.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0841779/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1

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