Biography
Initially an actor with the Ben Greet repertory company, Briton Basil Dear later became a stage manager for director Basil Dean. To avoid being confused with Dean, Dear added a "den" to his professional name. When Dean became a staff director at Ealing films, Dearden went along as a scriptwriter, production manager and associate producer. He co-directed several comedies featuring such major stars as George Formby and Will Hay, finally getting a chance to solo with the morale-boosting wartimer
The Bells Go Down (1942). From 1949 through 1971, Dearden was associated with producer Michael Relph; the team won British Film Academy Awards for the quasi-documentary
The Blue Lamp (1951) and the racially charged romantic melodrama
Sapphire (1959). Dearden's efficient if impersonal technique enabled him to direct comedies (
Smallest Show on Earth), psychological dramas (
Victim) and murder mysteries (
Woman of Straw) with equal success. He also helmed the 1966 historical epic
Khartoum, starring Charlton Heston and Laurence Olivier. In 1959, Dearden directed several half-hour installments of the internationally produced TV series
The Four Just Men. Basil Dearden died in an auto crash at the age of 60; he was survived by his son, writer/director James Dearden. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide