John Glen (Director)
Datastream
Name: John Glen
Date of Birth: 15th May 1932
Place of Birth: Sunbury-on-Thames, UK
Years active: 1949-2001
Profession: Director, Second Unit Director, Film Editor, Assembly Editor, Sound Editor, Dubbing Editor
Bond films: 8
Also famous for: "Christopher Columbus: The Discovery" (1992)
Biography
Born on May 15th, 1932, John Glen was brought
up in Sunbury-on-Thames. He earned a job as a messenger at
Nettlefold studio in his early 20s and showed a keen interest
in the film industry.
He was eventually invited to observe and
participate in tasks in the editing room and here he learned
his trade
- assembling footage for the editors' perusal and splicing
and sorting reels of film.
Maryam
d'Abo, Timothy Dalton and John Glen on location in Vienna
for "The
Living Daylights" (top right), directing Walter
Gotell as General Gogol on Octopussy (opposite). |
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His first work on a film set was onboard Orson Wells' "The Third Man" (1949), where he was an assistant to the sound department on location. Almost 40 years later Glen would relive the memories on this production as his crew for "The Living Daylights" would shoot at the Prater Ferris wheel in Vienna - a location synonymous with "The Third Man".
Glen would go on to work on features such as "Three Men in a Boat" (1956) and "The Scamp" (1957) before moving out of the sound department to work with the second unit on the memorable '60s adventure "Man In A Suitcase" which starred Richard Bradford. For 9 episodes he served as second unit director before earning a job as a film editor on a score of "Danger Man" episodes in the late 1960s.
Above: A rare picture of Tom Pevsner,
John Glen, Cubby Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara
Broccoli
promoting
"The Living Daylights" in Tokyo, Japan. |
His talent was first introduced to the Bond
crew when he received a call from Peter
Hunt, who was shooting O.H.M.S.S. Hunt offered John Glen
the position of 2nd unit director and Glen took it up. Four days
later, Hunt was flown to Switzerland to shoot the O.H.M.S.S.
bobsled chase. Glen worked under Lewis Gilbert as a 2nd Unit
Director on "The Spy Who
Loved Me" (1977) and "Moonraker"
(1979) before being asked
to
helm
a 007
adventure when the series was brought back to earth in "For
Your Eyes Only". He directed the most consecutive number
of Bond movies in the series (5) by the time he ended his
run with "Licence
To Kill"
in 1989.
It was the Bond movies that have been,
without a doubt, the highlight of this director's career. To
date; many of his post-007 pictures under-performed or
just didn't make it to the
cinema. His latest production was "The Point Men" (2001),
which starred Christopher Lambert and Kerry Fox.
Bondography
Above: John Glen, Michael G. Wilson and
Cubby Broccoli in the Florida Keys on "Licence To Kill" |
Extended Filmography
- The Point Men (2001) - Buy USA
- Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992)
- The Sea Wolves (1980) - Buy USA
- Gold (1974) - Buy USA
- The Italian Job (1969) - Buy USA
- Danger Man (1964) - Buy USA
- The Third Man (1949) - Buy USA
Related Articles
James Bond Directors: 1962-1989
"For Your Eyes Only" Production Notes
