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{{Short description|British film producer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person {{Infobox person
|name = Betty Box |name = Betty Box
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|OBE}}
|image = Betty_Box_1959.jpg |image = Betty_Box_1959.jpg
|caption = Betty Box in 1959 |caption = Box in 1959
|birth_name = Betty Evelyn Box |birth_name = Betty Evelyn Box
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1915|9|25|df=y}} |birth_date = {{Birth date|1915|9|25|df=y}}
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|death_date = {{Death date and age|1999|1|15|1915|9|25|df=y}} |death_date = {{Death date and age|1999|1|15|1915|9|25|df=y}}
|death_place = ], ], England |death_place = ], ], England
| spouse = ]<br>(m. 1948–1999) |spouse = ]<br />(m. 1948–1999; her death)
|other_names = |other_names =
|known_for = |known_for =
|occupation = ] |occupation = ]
|nationality = British
}} }}
'''Betty Evelyn Box''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|commas=on|OBE}} (25 September 1915 – 15 January 1999) was a prolific British ], usually credited as Betty E. Box. '''Betty Evelyn Box''' (25 September 1915 – 15 January 1999) was a prolific British ], usually credited as Betty E. Box.


==Early life and career== ==Early life and career==


Born in ], Kent, England, she initially planned to be a commercial artist or journalist.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50611106 |title=FEW OTHER WOMEN DO HER JOB. |newspaper=] |location=Brisbane |date=20 September 1954 |access-date=17 December 2015 |page=8 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> She entered the motion picture industry in 1942, joining her brother ] and his wife ] at ], where she helped produce more than 200 wartime ] shorts.<ref name="box">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204960423 |title=She Still Governs the Stars. |newspaper=] |location=Melbourne |date=10 February 1951 |access-date=17 December 2015 |page=9 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Box: Born in ], Kent, England, Betty Box initially planned to be a commercial artist or journalist.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50611106 |title=FEW OTHER WOMEN DO HER JOB. |newspaper=] |location=Brisbane |date=20 September 1954 |access-date=17 December 2015 |page=8 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> She entered the motion picture industry in 1942, joining her brother ] and his wife, director ] at ], where she helped produce more than 200 wartime ] shorts.<ref name="box">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204960423 |title=She Still Governs the Stars. |newspaper=] |location=Melbourne |date=10 February 1951 |access-date=17 December 2015 |page=9 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> She said:<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58527447 |title=A BOX OFFICE SUCCESS. |newspaper=] | date=11 April 1973 |access-date=17 December 2015 |page=55 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

<blockquote>Sitting around was no good for me, my brother said, and he asked me to work for him. He was running an organisation that made training and recruitment films. I went along as a general dogsbody, and as more men were called up, there were more opportunities for me. We worked from 7 a.m. until 10 or 11 at night. I learnt more in those two years than I would in ten years in peacetime.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58527447 |title=A BOX OFFICE SUCCESS. |newspaper=] | date=11 April 1973 |access-date=17 December 2015 |page=55 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref></blockquote> {{blockquote|Sitting around was no good for me, my brother said, and he asked me to work for him. He was running an organisation that made training and recruitment films. I went along as a general dogsbody, and as more men were called up, there were more opportunities for me. We worked from 7 a.m. until 10 or 11 at night. I learnt more in those two years than I would in ten years in peacetime.}}

Following World War II, she made an easy transition to feature films, beginning with '']'' (1946). Following World War II, she made an easy transition to feature films, beginning with '']'' (1946).


When her brother assumed control of ] that year, he named her Head of Production at the Poole Street, ] studio, where she produced ten films during the next two years.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51389240 |title=Producers run in Box family. |newspaper=] | date=29 March 1947 |access-date=17 December 2015 |page=32 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> While tight budgets and shooting schedules compromised the quality of some of them, others – such as '']'' (1947) – proved to be among the most politically interesting films of the period. "Every story I have at the moment has a murder in it", she said in 1947. "It's no wonder I'm being called 'Bloodthirsty Box'."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article26395616 |title=Top-Line British Film Producer Is A Woman. |newspaper=] |location=Hobart, Tasmania |date=21 January 1947 |access-date=17 December 2015 |page=10 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> She was also known for the trio of popular '']'' films, starting with '']'' (1948) and followed by '']'' and '']'' (1949).<ref name="box"/> When her brother assumed control of ] that year, he named her Head of Production at the Poole Street, ] studio, where she produced ten films during the next two years.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51389240 |title=Producers run in Box family. |newspaper=] | date=29 March 1947 |access-date=17 December 2015 |page=32 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sydney Box; Betty Evelyn Box (Mrs P.E. Rogers); Muriel Box - National Portrait Gallery |url=https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw170151/Sydney-Box-Betty-Evelyn-Box-Mrs-PE-Rogers-Muriel-Box |access-date=2023-02-19 |website=www.npg.org.uk |language=en}}</ref> While tight budgets and shooting schedules compromised the quality of some of them, others – such as '']'' (1947) – proved to be among the most politically interesting films of the period. "Every story I have at the moment has a murder in it", she said in 1947. "It's no wonder I'm being called 'Bloodthirsty Box'."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article26395616 |title=Top-Line British Film Producer Is A Woman. |newspaper=] |location=Hobart, Tasmania |date=21 January 1947 |access-date=17 December 2015 |page=10 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> She was also known for the trio of popular '']'' films, starting with '']'' (1948) and followed by '']'' and '']'' (1949).<ref name="box"/>


==The Rank Organisation== ==The Rank Organisation==
When the Gainsborough studios were closed by ] in 1949, Box moved to ], where she collaborated with director ] on some 30-odd films. They began by making thrillers such as '']'' (1952) but then concentrated on comedy. When the Gainsborough studios were closed by ] in 1949, Box moved to ], where she collaborated with director ] on some 30-odd films. They began by making thrillers such as '']'' (1952) but then concentrated on comedy.


The biggest success of their career commercially was the seven-film '']'' series, beginning with '']'' (1954) and ending with '']'' (1970).<ref>{{cite news|title=THE LONDON FILM SCENE: Prize-Winning Movie a Problem to Its Producer -- Money-Maker -- Addenda|author=STEPHEN WATTS LONDON|work=New York Times|date=16 May 1954|page=X5}}</ref> The comedies contained a wacky irreverence which clearly struck a chord with contemporary audiences and helped to make stars of the young ] and ].<ref name=MorleyS-DBRO>Morley, Sheridan (1999). ''Dirk Bogarde: Rank Outsider''. Bloomsbury (London) (second edition). {{ISBN|978-0-7475-4698-6}}.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58104457 |title=NOW SHE IS BETTY BOX OFFICE. |newspaper=] |location=Adelaide |date=24 July 1954 |access-date=17 December 2015 |page=6 Supplement: SUNDAY MAGAZINE |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/479395/ |title=BFI Screenonline: Box, Betty (1915-1999) Biography |publisher=Screenonline.org.uk |date=1915-09-25 |access-date=2014-07-04}}</ref> The biggest success of their career commercially was the seven-film '']'' series, beginning with '']'' (1954) and ending with '']'' (1970).<ref>{{cite news|title=THE LONDON FILM SCENE: Prize-Winning Movie a Problem to Its Producer -- Money-Maker -- Addenda|author=STEPHEN WATTS LONDON|work=New York Times|date=16 May 1954|page=X5}}</ref> The comedies contained a wacky irreverence which clearly struck a chord with contemporary audiences and helped to make stars of the young ] and ].<ref name=MorleyS-DBRO>Morley, Sheridan (1999). ''Dirk Bogarde: Rank Outsider''. Bloomsbury (London) (second edition). {{ISBN|978-0-7475-4698-6}}.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58104457 |title=NOW SHE IS BETTY BOX OFFICE. |newspaper=] |location=Adelaide |date=24 July 1954 |access-date=17 December 2015 |page=6 Supplement: SUNDAY MAGAZINE |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/479395/ |title=BFI Screenonline: Box, Betty (1915-1999) Biography |publisher=Screenonline.org.uk |date=1915-09-25 |access-date=2014-07-04}}</ref>


Towards the end of her career, Box said the genre she preferred was comedy: Towards the end of her career, Box said the genre she preferred was comedy:<ref name="aww">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article44553170 |title=American is big British movie man. |newspaper=] | date=3 December 1952 |access-date=31 October 2015 |page=57 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

<blockquote>You can assess laughter. I get pleasure out of making a movie, but to listen to people laughing at what we have made – this is great. I'm a natural pessimist. Comedies are difficult. You can make a good adventure story if you have the money, good actors, and a good story (more often than not a best-selling book), and you'll know the film will please. Comedy is more of an instinctive thing.<ref name="aww">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article44553170 |title=American is big British movie man. |newspaper=] | date=3 December 1952 |access-date=31 October 2015 |page=57 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref></blockquote> {{blockquote|You can assess laughter. I get pleasure out of making a movie, but to listen to people laughing at what we have made – this is great. I'm a natural pessimist. Comedies are difficult. You can make a good adventure story if you have the money, good actors, and a good story (more often than not a best-selling book), and you'll know the film will please. Comedy is more of an instinctive thing.}}


==Personal life== ==Personal life==
Betty Box was married to ], producer of the '']'' film series, from 24 December 1948 until her death.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55927666 |title=MOVIE MARRIAGES—1. |newspaper=] |location=Adelaide |date=8 January 1949 |access-date=17 December 2015 |page=2 Supplement: SUNDAY MAGAZINE |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> It was her second marriage; her first, to a pilot during the war, ended in divorce. Betty Box was married to ], producer of the '']'' film series, from 24 December 1948 until her death.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55927666 |title=MOVIE MARRIAGES—1. |newspaper=] |location=Adelaide |date=8 January 1949 |access-date=17 December 2015 |page=2 Supplement: SUNDAY MAGAZINE |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> It was her second marriage; her first, to a pilot during the war, ended in divorce.


⚫ Box and Rogers did not have any children; "We made the choice not to have children", said Box in 1973. "I don't think I would have made a very good mother. You know making a movie is like having a baby – it takes eight weeks to film and nine months to
Box and Rogers did not have any children, but their ] was actor and theatre producer ], the son of Sir Donald Sinden, who starred for Betty Box in, amongst other films, '']'', '']'' and '']''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0801790/bio|title=Marc Sinden : Biography|publisher=IMDb.com|access-date=2014-07-04}}</ref>
produce." She was godmother to Donald Sinden's youngest son ].<ref name="aww"/><ref>https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0947005/trivia/</ref>

⚫ "We made the choice not to have children", said Box in 1973. "I don't think I would have made a very good mother. You know making a movie is like having a baby – it takes eight weeks to film and nine months to
produce."<ref name="aww"/>


Box was awarded the ] in 1958. Box was appointed ] in 1958.


She died in ], ] aged 83 from cancer in 1999.<ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220163304/http://www.findmypast.com/BirthsMarriagesDeaths.jsp |date=February 20, 2009 }}</ref> She died in ], ], aged 83 from cancer in 1999.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220163304/http://www.findmypast.com/BirthsMarriagesDeaths.jsp|date=February 20, 2009}}</ref>


A posthumous autobiography ''Lifting the Lid: The Autobiography of Film Producer Betty Box'' was published in 2000.<ref>{{cite book |last=Box |first=Betty Evelyn |date=October 2000 |title=Lifting the Lid: The Autobiography of Film Producer, Betty Box, OBE |publisher=Book Guild Ltd |isbn=978-1-85776-489-5 }}</ref> A posthumous autobiography ''Lifting the Lid: The Autobiography of Film Producer Betty Box'' was published in 2000.<ref>{{cite book |last=Box |first=Betty Evelyn |date=October 2000 |title=Lifting the Lid: The Autobiography of Film Producer, Betty Box, OBE |publisher=Book Guild Ltd |isbn=978-1-85776-489-5 }}</ref>
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*'']'' (1953) *'']'' (1953)
*'']'' (1954) *'']'' (1954)
*'']'' (1954) *'']'' (1954)
*'']'' (1955) *'']'' (1955)
*'']'' (1956) *'']'' (1956)
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] ]
] ]
] ]
] ]
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Latest revision as of 04:34, 7 January 2025

British film producer

Betty BoxOBE
Box in 1959
BornBetty Evelyn Box
(1915-09-25)25 September 1915
Beckenham, Kent, England
Died15 January 1999(1999-01-15) (aged 83)
Chiltern, Buckinghamshire, England
OccupationFilm producer
Spouse(s)Peter Rogers
(m. 1948–1999; her death)

Betty Evelyn Box (25 September 1915 – 15 January 1999) was a prolific British film producer, usually credited as Betty E. Box.

Early life and career

Born in Beckenham, Kent, England, Betty Box initially planned to be a commercial artist or journalist. She entered the motion picture industry in 1942, joining her brother Sydney and his wife, director Muriel Box at Verity Films, where she helped produce more than 200 wartime propaganda shorts. She said:

Sitting around was no good for me, my brother said, and he asked me to work for him. He was running an organisation that made training and recruitment films. I went along as a general dogsbody, and as more men were called up, there were more opportunities for me. We worked from 7 a.m. until 10 or 11 at night. I learnt more in those two years than I would in ten years in peacetime.

Following World War II, she made an easy transition to feature films, beginning with The Years Between (1946).

When her brother assumed control of Gainsborough Pictures that year, he named her Head of Production at the Poole Street, Hoxton studio, where she produced ten films during the next two years. While tight budgets and shooting schedules compromised the quality of some of them, others – such as When the Bough Breaks (1947) – proved to be among the most politically interesting films of the period. "Every story I have at the moment has a murder in it", she said in 1947. "It's no wonder I'm being called 'Bloodthirsty Box'." She was also known for the trio of popular Huggetts films, starting with Here Come the Huggetts (1948) and followed by Vote for Huggett and The Huggetts Abroad (1949).

The Rank Organisation

When the Gainsborough studios were closed by Rank in 1949, Box moved to Pinewood Studios, where she collaborated with director Ralph Thomas on some 30-odd films. They began by making thrillers such as Venetian Bird (1952) but then concentrated on comedy.

The biggest success of their career commercially was the seven-film Doctor series, beginning with Doctor in the House (1954) and ending with Doctor in Trouble (1970). The comedies contained a wacky irreverence which clearly struck a chord with contemporary audiences and helped to make stars of the young Dirk Bogarde and Donald Sinden.

Towards the end of her career, Box said the genre she preferred was comedy:

You can assess laughter. I get pleasure out of making a movie, but to listen to people laughing at what we have made – this is great. I'm a natural pessimist. Comedies are difficult. You can make a good adventure story if you have the money, good actors, and a good story (more often than not a best-selling book), and you'll know the film will please. Comedy is more of an instinctive thing.

Personal life

Betty Box was married to Peter Rogers, producer of the Carry On film series, from 24 December 1948 until her death. It was her second marriage; her first, to a pilot during the war, ended in divorce.

Box and Rogers did not have any children; "We made the choice not to have children", said Box in 1973. "I don't think I would have made a very good mother. You know making a movie is like having a baby – it takes eight weeks to film and nine months to produce." She was godmother to Donald Sinden's youngest son Marc Sinden.

Box was appointed OBE in 1958.

She died in Chiltern, Buckinghamshire, aged 83 from cancer in 1999.

A posthumous autobiography Lifting the Lid: The Autobiography of Film Producer Betty Box was published in 2000.

Selected filmography

Gainsborough

Rank

Welbeck Films

Other

Unmade films

  • Requiem for a Wren (1959) – story about World War two from a woman's point of view based on script by R. C. Sherriff

References

  1. "FEW OTHER WOMEN DO HER JOB". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane. 20 September 1954. p. 8. Retrieved 17 December 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ "She Still Governs the Stars". The Age. Melbourne. 10 February 1951. p. 9. Retrieved 17 December 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. "A BOX OFFICE SUCCESS". The Australian Women's Weekly. 11 April 1973. p. 55. Retrieved 17 December 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. "Producers run in Box family". The Australian Women's Weekly. 29 March 1947. p. 32. Retrieved 17 December 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "Sydney Box; Betty Evelyn Box (Mrs P.E. Rogers); Muriel Box - National Portrait Gallery". www.npg.org.uk. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  6. "Top-Line British Film Producer Is A Woman". The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 21 January 1947. p. 10. Retrieved 17 December 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. STEPHEN WATTS LONDON (16 May 1954). "THE LONDON FILM SCENE: Prize-Winning Movie a Problem to Its Producer -- Money-Maker -- Addenda". New York Times. p. X5.
  8. Morley, Sheridan (1999). Dirk Bogarde: Rank Outsider. Bloomsbury (London) (second edition). ISBN 978-0-7475-4698-6.
  9. "NOW SHE IS BETTY BOX OFFICE". The Mail. Adelaide. 24 July 1954. p. 6 Supplement: SUNDAY MAGAZINE. Retrieved 17 December 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. "BFI Screenonline: Box, Betty (1915-1999) Biography". Screenonline.org.uk. 25 September 1915. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  11. ^ "American is big British movie man". The Australian Women's Weekly. 3 December 1952. p. 57. Retrieved 31 October 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. "MOVIE MARRIAGES—1". The Mail. Adelaide. 8 January 1949. p. 2 Supplement: SUNDAY MAGAZINE. Retrieved 17 December 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0947005/trivia/
  14. Archived February 20, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  15. Box, Betty Evelyn (October 2000). Lifting the Lid: The Autobiography of Film Producer, Betty Box, OBE. Book Guild Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85776-489-5.
  16. A. H. WEILER (13 July 1958). "BY WAY OF REPORT: Fox Buyers Eye O'Hara Novel -- Other Items". New York Times. p. X5.

Bibliography

Lifting the Lid by Betty Box, published posthumously in 2000, ISBN 978-1-85776-489-5

External links

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