On This Day

Birthday of David Lean

March 25th 1908

14:53 25 March 2024

English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor Sir David Lean was born on this day in 1908. Few filmmakers could rival Lean's prestigious filmography. He made his directorial debut, co-directing with Noël Coward, on 'In Which We Serve' (1942). It's success led to him taking on directing duties on his own on adaptations of the Coward plays 'This Happy Breed' (1944), 'Blithe Spirit' (1945) and 'Brief Encounter' (1945). The 1940s also saw him bring two Charles Dickens novels to the big screen with 'Great Expectations' (1946) and 'Oliver Twist' (1948).

With financial backing from Hollywood, Lean directed some of the greatest films of the 1950s and 60s including 'Bridge on the River Kwai' (1957), 'Lawrence of Arabia' (1962) and 'Doctor Zhivago' (1965).

His 1970 romantic drama 'Ryan's Daughter' was a success at the box office but poorly received by the critics and Lean took a fourteen-year break from filmmaking before returning with 'A Passage to India' (1984) which was a big hit with critics but was the last film he would direct.

He died in 1991 from pneumonia in a London hospital where he was being treated for throat cancer. At the time of his death he was preparing to film an adaptation of Joseph Conrad's 'Nostromo'.

Nominated seven times for the Academy Award for Best Director, which he won twice for 'Bridge on the River Kwai' and 'Lawrence of Arabia', David Lean has been cited as an influence by directors including Steven Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese and Ridley Scott. One of the greatest filmmakers of all time.