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Lean, David. Director. Born on March 25, 1908 in Croydon, England. He entered British films as a tea boy at Gaumont in 1927; later served as a claperboy and messenger, and worked his way up to editor of newsreel footage in 1930 and of feature films in 1934. Among the films he edited were Pygmallion (1938), 49th Parallel (1941), and One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942). Lean began his career as a director in 1942 with an excellent war film, In Which We Serve, which he co-directed with Noel Coward. His next three films were adaptations of Coward pieces. The crowning achievement of this phase of Lean's career is the intimate romantic gem Brief Encounter, notable for its disciplined structure and the superlative acting of Tevor Howard and Celia Johnson. The next phase in Lean's work produced two extraordinary adaptations of Dickens novels, Great Expectations and Oliver Twist. The opening sequence of the former contains a masterful example of cutting for suspense effect which is frequently shown in film schools. Lean next directed three films starring his second (1949-57) wife, Ann Todd (his first was actress Kay Walsh). Of these three films, the most interesting is the documentary-style The Sound Barrier/Breaking Through the Sound Barrier with a memorable performance from John Mills.
Lean extracted excellent performances from John Mills and Brendy De Banzie in Hobson's Choice and a marvelous spinster characterization from Katherine Hepburn in Summer Madness/Summertime. He won the New York Film Critics directing award for the latter. With The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lean turned abruptly from intimate drama to the sumptuous superproduction with which he has since become identified. He won an Academy Award for the direction of this critical and popular blockbuster as well as another New York Film Critics Award. He received another Oscar in 1962 for Lawrence of Arabia.
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