Jack Clayton

Jack Clayton (1921 to 1995) was an English film director and producer who built a reputation for careful literary adaptations. He began in 1935 as a studio tea boy and rose through the British film industry over a career of nearly sixty years. His feature debut, Room at the Top (1959), earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Director, and it was followed by the horror film The Innocents (1961), The Pumpkin Eater (1964), The Great Gatsby (1974) and Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983). Three of his films were nominated for the Palme d'Or. He made few films, partly because he turned down many projects and partly because cancelled productions and a serious stroke in 1977 interrupted his work. Critics and fellow filmmakers have continued to admire his films for their craft.