Motion Picture Director, Screenwriter, and Producer. Born Basil Clive Dear, he played amateur theater as a youth and soon switched to the professional stage. In 1931 he became stage manager for the private theaters of producer/director Basil Dean. He then changed his name to Dearden to avoid being confused with Dean. In the mid-1930s he joined the film industry, working in various capacities. He edited, wrote scripts, was an assistant director, producer and co-director, finally making his directorial debut in 1943 for Ealing Studios with "The Bells Go Down", remaining with Ealing well into the 1950s. As early as 1949, he formed a significant 22-year partnership with producer Michael Relph, beginning in 1949 and ending with his death in 1971. Credits include "The Captive Heart" (1946), "Saraband for Dead Lovers" (1948/with Stewart Granger), "The Blue Lamp" (1950), "The Ship That Died of Shame" (1955), "Violent Playground" (1958/with Stanley Baker), "The League of Gentlemen" (1960/with Jack Hawkins), "Woman of Straw" (1964), "Khartoum" (1966), "The Assassination Bureau" (1968) and the first episodes of the successful television series "The Persuaders" (starring Tony Curtis and Roger Moore) from mid 1970 on. Dearden died at Hillingdon Hospital, London, after being involved in a road accident on the M4 motorway near Heathrow Airport, in which he suffered multiple injuries. He is the father of screenwriter and director James Dearden.
Motion Picture Director, Screenwriter, and Producer. Born Basil Clive Dear, he played amateur theater as a youth and soon switched to the professional stage. In 1931 he became stage manager for the private theaters of producer/director Basil Dean. He then changed his name to Dearden to avoid being confused with Dean. In the mid-1930s he joined the film industry, working in various capacities. He edited, wrote scripts, was an assistant director, producer and co-director, finally making his directorial debut in 1943 for Ealing Studios with "The Bells Go Down", remaining with Ealing well into the 1950s. As early as 1949, he formed a significant 22-year partnership with producer Michael Relph, beginning in 1949 and ending with his death in 1971. Credits include "The Captive Heart" (1946), "Saraband for Dead Lovers" (1948/with Stewart Granger), "The Blue Lamp" (1950), "The Ship That Died of Shame" (1955), "Violent Playground" (1958/with Stanley Baker), "The League of Gentlemen" (1960/with Jack Hawkins), "Woman of Straw" (1964), "Khartoum" (1966), "The Assassination Bureau" (1968) and the first episodes of the successful television series "The Persuaders" (starring Tony Curtis and Roger Moore) from mid 1970 on. Dearden died at Hillingdon Hospital, London, after being involved in a road accident on the M4 motorway near Heathrow Airport, in which he suffered multiple injuries. He is the father of screenwriter and director James Dearden.
Bio by: Fritz Tauber
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