Humphrey Jennings - Life story

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	Humphrey Jennings 1907-1950
Introduction [Life story] The films Reality on screen Observing the masses Surreal Britain Resources - Richard Attenborough - Tim Gardam - Kevin Jackson - Mary-Lou Legg - Mike Leigh
	1907	Born in Walberswick, a fishing village in Suffolk, son of a middle-class architect father and a painter mother. Has a 'wild, solitary' childhood.

	1916-26	Goes to The Perse School, Cambridge. Excels academically and as an athlete. Takes an active part in the school's drama productions.

	1926-29	Studies English at Pembroke College, Cambridge University. Takes part in drama, paints and co-edits Experiment, a literary magazine. Graduates with the highest possible honours, a starred First.

	1929	Marries Cicely Cooper and begins postgraduate work on the 18th-century Cambridgeshire poet, Thomas Gray.

	1930-33	Edits Shakespeare's poem, Venus and Adonis. Works in theatre and, briefly, as a teacher. Travels to France. Gives up his research on Gray.

	1934-35	Joins John Grierson's GPO Film Unit. Completes his first minor films as actor, set designer and director.

	1936	Helps organise the first International Surrealist Exhibition in London, which includes work by Salvador Dali and Max Ernst.

	1937	Co-founds the Mass Observation movement with Charles Madge and Tom Harrisson.

	1938-39	Broadcasts for BBC radio. Makes more GPO films, including his first distinctive work, Spare Time.

	1940-45	During the Second World War, directs Listen to Britain, Fires Were Started, The Silent Village and A Diary for Timothy.

	1946-49	Makes films, including Dim Little Island and Family Portrait. Travels to Burma. Writes Pandaemonium: the Coming of the Machine in the Industrial Revolution, his collage-history of the Industrial Revolution.

	1950	Dies on the Greek island of Poros after accidentally slipping off a cliff while looking at locations for The Changing Face of Europe, a film about health.

	1985	His book, Pandaemonium: the Coming of the Machine in the Industrial Revolution, is finally published.
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