About Ronald Neame
Ronald Neame CBE, BSC (23 April 1911 – 16 June 2010) was an English filmmaker and cinematographer. Beginning his career as a cinematographer, for his work on the British war film One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1943) he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. During a partnership with director David Lean, he produced Brief Encounter (1945), Great Expectations (1946), and Oliver Twist (1948), receiving two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Neame then moved into directing, and some notable films included, The Man Who Never Was (1956), which chronicled Operation Mincemeat, a British WWII deception operation, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969), starring Maggie Smith in an Academy Award–winning title role, and the action-adventure disaster film The Poseidon Adventure (1972). He also directed I Could Go On Singing (1963), Judy Garland's last film, and Scrooge (1970), starring Albert Finney. For his contributions to the film industry, in 1996 Neame was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and received two BAFTA Awards, including the BAFTA Fellowship, BAFTA's highest honour. At the 15th Academy Awards, In Which We Serve won an Academy Honorary Award, and Neame was nominated for an Best Special Effects for his camerawork on One of Our Aircraft Is Missing. The film also marked an important shift in Neame's career, as it was his first film on which he was not cinematographer. He was fortunate enough to be hired as an assistant cameraman on Blackmail (1929), the first British talkie, directed by a young Alfred Hitchcock. Beginning his career as a cinematographer, for his work on the British war film One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1943) he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Special Effects. During a partnership with director David Lean, he produced Brief Encounter (1945), Great Expectations (1946), and Oliver Twist (1948), receiving two Academy Award nominations for writing.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.