Born December 30, 1906 in London, British director Sir Carol Reed was the second son of the actor Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and his mistress May Pinney. Following a public school education, Reed made his theatrical debut in 1924. He joined Edgar Wallaces troupe and acted in several plays, later overseeing film adaptations of Wallaces plays by Basil Deans Associated Talking Pictures. 1 Between 1932 and 1934, Reed worked for Associated Talking Pictures, first as a dialogue director, then later as a secondunit director and an assistant director. 2 With Robert Wyler, he codirected It Happened in Paris 1935, a comedy based on a French play. Reeds directorial debut came with Midshipman Easy 1935, a historical romance that marked his first foray into noveltofilm adaptations.He began his directing career as the British film industry blossomed under producers Sir Alexander Korda, Basil Dean, J. Arthur Rank and Edward Black. Reeds first successes, Midshipman Easy 1935 and Laburnum Grove 1936, were produced by Basil Dean and scripted by Anthony Kimmins from popular novels, respectively, Marryats Mr. Midshipman Easy and J.P. Priestleys Laburnum Grove. Reed collaborated with Anthony Kimmins on the story and the screenplay for Talk of the Devil 1937. Kimmins scripted four of Reeds first five films, bringing his own directing expertise to Reeds productions.

Address: GPO Box 2476V, Melbourne VIC 3001, Australia
Website: http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/03/reed.html