Charles Orme

Charles Orme (13 August 1918 – 9 May 2007) was a British film producer. He worked regularly with Powell & Pressburger, Ralph Thomas, Basil Dearden and John Boorman. He has over 50 credits on a number of classics including The 39 Steps (1959), Khartoum (1966), Deliverance (1972), The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) and The Omen (1976). He was an original member of the multiple-award-winning Powell & Pressburger production team known as The Archers. He was a production assistant, production manager and assistant director on many of their classic productions, including The Red Shoes (1948), The Small Back Room (1949), Gone to Earth (1950) and The Elusive Pimpernel (1950), The Tales of Hoffmann (1951), Oh... Rosalinda!! (1955), The Battle of the River Plate (1956) and Ill Met by Moonlight (1957).

Early years

Charles Reginald Orme was born in Conway, Wales, He was one of four children with sisters Vanda, Daphne, and Wendy Orme. His parents were Edward Reginald Orme, British Major and Jessie May Allen. In his early years he spent time in Canada working as a lumberjack before entering the film industry.

Film career

On 29 March 1947, Emeric Pressburger married Charles' sister Wendy Orme, and they later had a daughter, Angela. Angela had two sons both becoming successful film-makers: Kevin Macdonald an Oscar-winning director whose work includes the documentaries One Day in September (1999), Touching the Void (2003) and Marley (2012) as well as feature films The Last King of Scotland (2006) and Black Sea (2014). Andrew Macdonald, a film producer and co-founder of DNA Films whose work has included films such as Shallow Grave (1994), Trainspotting (1996), 28 Days Later (2002) and most recently Ex-Machina (2015).

In 1947, aged 29, Charles' brother in law Emeric Pressburger introduced Charles to a career in the film industry which was to span the next 38 years. Charles was a member of the legendary production company The Archers which is renowned for making magnificent films such as 49th Parallel (1941), The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), A Matter of Life and Death (1946), Black Narcissus (1947), The Red Shoes (1948) and The Tales of Hoffmann (1951).

The Archers/Powell and Pressburger

From 1947 to 1957, Charles learned his trade working as part of The Archers production team on eight Powell & Pressburger films:

• The Red Shoes (1948) as Production Assistant
• The Small Back Room (1949) as Production Assistant
• The Elusive Pimpernel (1950) as Production Assistant
• Gone to Earth (1950) as Unit Production Manager & Location Manager
• The Tales of Hoffmann (1951) as Unit Production Manager
• Oh... Rosalinda!! (1955) as Production Manager
• The Battle of the River Plate (1956) as 1st Assistant Director
• Ill Met by Moonlight (1957) as 1st Assistant Director

Additional Films (with Emeric Pressburger only):

• Twice Upon a Time (1953) as Unit Production Manager
• Miracle in Soho (1957) as Production Manager

Also in 1951 he worked as Unit and Location Manager on Warners Bros' Where's Charley? directed by David Butler and starring Ray Bolger (The Wizard of Oz).

In 1952, Charles worked as Production Manager on the first full-length feature film made by Billy Graham in England, Souls in Conflict, directed by Dick Ross and Leonard Reeve, photographed by cinematographer Guy Green (Great Expectations (1946), Oliver Twist (1948)). Charles also worked as Production Manager on Meines Vaters Pferde, a German film made partly in Ireland, directed by Gerhard Lamprecht and starring Curt Jurgens (The Spy Who Loved Me).

Rank Organisation

From 1956 to 1964, Charles was placed under contract with the Rank Organisation as a Production Manager where he regularly worked with directors Ralph Thomas, Basil Dearden, John Paddy Carstairs and Robert Asher as well as producers such as Betty E. Box, Earl St. John, Hugh Stewart and Michael Relph on another 22 films including films as diverse as The 39 Steps, several Norman Wisdom and Doctor films as well as The Intelligence Men with Morecambe and Wise.

As Production Manager on:

• Just My Luck (1957)
• Innocent Sinners (1958)
• The Wind Cannot Read (1958)
• The Square Peg (1958)
• The 39 Steps (1959)
• Upstairs and Downstairs (1959)
• Follow a Star (1959)
• The League of Gentlemen (1960)
• Doctor in Love (1960)
• No Love for Johnnie (1961)
• Flame in the Streets (1961)
• No My Darling Daughter (1961)
• A Pair of Briefs (1962)
• In the Doghouse (1962)
• Life for Ruth (1962)
• The Wild and the Willing (1962)
• The Mind Benders (1963)
• Doctor in Distress (1963)
• The Informers (1963)
• Woman of Straw (1964)
• The High Bright Sun (1964)
• The Intelligence Men (1965)

1965-1969: Freelance: Khartoum

In 1965, Charles stepped out from under the Pinewood corporate umbrella into the role of freelance Production Supervisor for Khartoum, directed by Basil Dearden, produced by Julian Blaustein and starring Charlton Heston, Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson and Richard Johnson.

In 1968, Charles then worked as a Production Supervisor on Inspector Clouseau, directed by Bud Yorkin, starring Alan Arkin, Frank Finlay and Delia Boccardo.

In 1969, Charles made the jump from Production Supervisor to Associate Producer to reunite with director Basil Dearden on The Assassination Bureau, edited by Teddy Darvas, photographed by cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth and starring Oliver Reed, Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas and Curt Jurgens.

1969 - 1970 Development and pre-production work

During 1969 and 1970, Orme worked on development and pre-production work for the following 18 projects:

For Paramount Pictures:

• Homo Faber (Anthony Mann)
• Because of the Cats
• A Day at the Beach (Roman Polanski)

For Robert Chartoff & Irwin Winkler:

• Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead
• A Cry of Whiteness
• Single

For Universal Studios:

• William the Conqueror (Thomas Clyde)
• Officer Factory

For Warner Brothers:

• Private Navy (Clarke Reynolds, Ornstein)
• Julie in Love (Pigott-Brown, Ornstein)
• Red Sun (Ted Richmond, Terence Young)
• Out of Africa (Julian Blaustein)

For United Artists:

• I Hear America (John Boorman)
• Labour of Love
• Lord of the Rings (John Boorman)
• Life of Maria Callas

For MGM:

• The Last Run (John Boorman)

For Michael Relph & Basil Dearden:

• Genesis 2000

In 1969, Charles worked as a Paramount Production Executive in Denmark on A Day at the Beach (1972) with producers Gene Gutowski and Roman Polanski. The film was directed by Simon Hesera and starred Peter Sellers, Mark Burns, Beatie Edney and Maurice Roëves.

In the same year, Charles also worked as a Post-Production Supervisor on Performance, produced by Sanford Lieberson and David Cammell. The film was directed by both Nicolas Roeg and Donald Cammell and starred Mick Jagger, James Fox and Anita Pallenberg.

1970 - 1985: Later Career

Charles Orme with John Boorman

In February 1970, Charles joined John Boorman as his associate and became a director of Christel Films and John Boorman Productions Limited. This relationship saw him working on a number of productions with Boorman.

In 1971, Charles began working as Associate Producer on Deliverance (adapted from James Dickey's novel), directed by John Boorman, edited by Tom Priestley and starring Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox. Deliverance was a box office success in the United States, becoming the fifth-highest grossing film of 1972 after grossing a domestic total of over $46 million with only a $2 million budget. Deliverance was nominated for three Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Film Editing. In 2008, Deliverance was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".^[1]

In 1972, Charles worked for one year as Production Executive with Clive Parsons' Film and General Investments and Completion Guarantee Company.

In 1973, Charles reunited with John Boorman as Associate Producer for Zardoz, edited by John Merritt, photographed by cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth and starring Sean Connery, Charlotte Rampling and Sara Kestelman.

In 1974, Charles began working as Associate Producer for United Artists on The Man with the Golden Gun, the ninth film in the James Bond series, directed by Guy Hamilton and starring Roger Moore, Christopher Lee and Britt Ekland.

In 1975, Charles worked as Associate Producer for 20th Century Fox on The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother, edited by Jim Clark, starring Gene Wilder (also Writer and Director), Madeleine Kahn, Marty Feldman, Dom DeLuise, Roy Kinnear and John Le Mesurier.

In 1976, Charles worked as Associate Producer with Producer Harvey Bernhard and Executive Producer Mace Neufeld on The Omen, directed by Richard Donner, edited by Stuart Baird and starring Gregory Peck. The film is considered by many as one of the best films of 1976, as well as one of the best horror films ever made. The film was a massive commercial success in the United States. It grossed $4.3m in its opening weekend and $60.9m domestically on a relatively small budget of $2.8m. The film was the fifth highest grossing movie of 1976 and won an Academy Award for Best Original Score (awarded to the film's composer Jerry Goldsmith, his only Oscar, having been nominated no less than eighteen times).

In the same year, Charles worked as Associate Producer on John Boorman's Exorcist II: The Heretic, edited by Tom Priestley, photographed by cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth and starring Linda Blair, Louise Fletcher and Richard Burton. The film's music was composed by another of the greatest film composers of all time, Ennio Morricone.

In 1977-78, Charles worked as Co-Producer on Damien: Omen II, the second installment in The Omen series and was reunited again with Producers Harvey Bernhard and Mace Neufeld. The film was directed by Don Taylor and starred William Holden, Lee Grant and Jonathan Scott-Taylor.

Charles would remain in close contact throughout his career with both Harvey Bernhard and Mace Neufeld after having collaborated with them twice previously on The Omen and Damien: Omen II.

In 1979, Charles worked on John Boorman's Excalibur for 7 months in its pre-production stage.

In 1980, Charles worked as Associate Producer on Outland with Producer Richard A. Roth (Blue Velvet) and Executive Producer Stanley O'Toole. The film was directed by Peter Hyams and starred Sean Connery, Peter Boyle, Frances Sternhagen and James Sikking. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound.

In 1981, Charles worked as Associate Producer on the film version of Brimstone and Treacle with Executive Producer Naim Attallah and Producers Alan E. Salke, Herbert F. Solow and Kenith Trodd. The film was directed by Richard Loncraine and starred Sting and Denholm Elliott.

In 1982-85, Charles worked as Associate Producer on King David with Producer Martin Elfand. The film was directed by Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy) and starred Richard Gere, Edward Woodward, Alice Krige and Cherie Lunghi.

During Charles' career he also worked as a European Production supervisor for Paramount Pictures, a troubleshooter for Warner Brothers and was also resident expert on production problems with Film and General Investments.

Personal life

On 14 January 1950, Charles married Vivienne Knight, screenwriter and author who worked as the Director of Publicity for Powell and Pressburger on 12 films from 1943 to 1955. On 14 July 1953 Charles and Vivienne divorced. In 1966, Vivienne married Patrick Campbell, 3rd Baron Glenavy.

On 20 March 1960, Charles married his wife of 47 years, Brenda Anne Harper, a fashion model known for her stylish and sophisticated appearance who was photographed by the likes of Norman Parkinson and Terence Donovan notably for publications such as Vogue and Harpers Bazaar. Filmmaker Emeric Pressburger and Model Ingrid Walker were both present at the marriage.

Charles lived with his brother in law Emeric Pressburger in the late 40's and early 50's at 70 Redington Road in Hampstead. Charles and Emeric would often spend evenings in the study at No.70 in almost complete silence (maybe with some music playing) sipping beer or slivovitz and enjoying each other's silence.

On 9 May 2007, Charles died at his home in Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire. He was survived by his wife, Brenda; his children, Nicholas and Toby; and his grandchildren, Nathan and Cameron.

Terrence A. Clegg, Film Producer (Out of Africa) & President of the Guild of Film Production Executives (now known as the Production Guild of Great Britain) wrote an obituary on Charles: "I am sad to record the death of one of our long standing honorary members Charles Orme. Charles had been retired for many years and lived in recent times in Chalfont St. Giles. He spent much of his early career with Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell and was involved in many of their famous productions like The Red Shoes and The Battle of the River Plate. He also had a long standing working relationship with John Boorman. The last time I worked with him was on Khartoum way back in 1965 and I remember his stiff upper lip British reserve of being something of a comfort to a young and inexperienced second A.D. in the oppressive heat of Cairo. I thought of him as 'posh' in those days but in fact he was a thorough professional and someone you could rely on in any kind of adversity. He was a credit to our business."

Michael Powell, Film Director (on Charles Orme from the second volume of his autobiography: Million-dollar Movie): "Charles Orme from the production office had been working for weeks on an elaborate cue board which was to be used to signal gun flashes, water splashes, drifting smoke, loud explosions, turning control towers and rocking bridges, as well as big bangs and flashes between the cameras and the actors. All this had to be controlled with the electrical panel behind, and above, the camera. I now broke it to him that he would have to work his panel himself because I was sending Syd to Montevideo, to mobilise the government, the police, the army, and ten thousand civilians to come down to the docks on a specified Saturday and Sunday. Charles had led a rather sheltered life up until then, but he rose to the occasion all right. Archers do, and after all he was Emeric's brother-in-law"

Filmography

Personal quotes

A gentleman filmmaker who feels good manners, good management, tact and gentle persuasion are worth a thousand threats or empty expletives.

— Charles Orme

References

External links

• Charles Orme at the Internet Movie Database
• Charles Orme at the British Film Institute's People & Organisations
• Charles Orme at the Academy Awards Index to Motion Picture Credits