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Kenneth Harper

{{short description|English film producer}}

{{other people|Ken Harper}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}}

{{Infobox person

| image =

| name = Kenneth Harper

| birth_date = 1913

| birth_place = Kinver, South Staffordshire, England

| death_date = {{death year and age|1998|1913}}

| death_place = Banbury, Oxfordshire, England

| occupation = Film producer

| yearsactive = 1954–1973

}}

Kenneth Harper (1913–1998) was an English film producer. He produced 13 films between 1954 and 1973. He was a member of the jury at the 21st Berlin International Film Festival.{{cite web |url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1971/04_jury_1971/04_Jury_1971.html |title=Berlinale 1971: Juries |access-date=13 March 2010 |work=berlinale.de}}

He produced the first films of Peter Yates and Ken Russell and four films starring Cliff Richard. In a 1964 interview he said he found producing "fascinating - finding the story, the director and the cast: mixing people, you know? It's like being a chef in the kitchen."YOU PAYS YOUR MONEY AND YOU TAKES YOUR CHANCE Grant, Elspeth. The Tatler and Bystander; London Vol. 252, Iss. 3277, (17 June 1964): 667.

Biography

Harper's first credit as producer was a Dirk Bogarde comedy, For Better, for Worse (1954) directed by J. Lee Thompson for Associated British. Harper and Thompson reunited on Yield to the Night (1956) a drama with Diana Dors.FOR BETTER, FOR WORSE Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 21, Iss. 240, (1 January 1954): 161.McCambridge in 'Giant;' Los Angeles Times 18 May 1955: A7.

Harper teamed up with George Willoughby and made Action of the Tiger (1957) at MGM, directed by Terence Young, and Passionate Summer (1958) for Rank.'Action, of the Tiger' Keeps Stars on Move G M W. Los Angeles Times 11 October 1957: B8.

Harper had a big hit with The Young Ones (1961) starring Cliff Richard and directed by Sidney J. Furie. It was the second most popular film of the year at the British box-office."Money-Making Films Of 1962." Times [London, England] 4 January 1963: 4. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 11 July 2012. After doing the comedy Go to Blazes (1962) he did a second film with Richard, Summer Holiday (1963), the first feature directed by Peter Yates and another hit.The perpetual busman's holiday: Sir Cliff Richard and British pop musicals

Donnelly, K J. Journal of Popular Film & Television; Washington Vol. 25, Iss. 4, (Winter 1998): 146-154.

Harper producer Ken Russell's first film as director, but French Dressing (1964) flopped. A third film with Richard, Wonderful Life (1964) was a disappointment. So too was Two Weeks in September (1967).{{cite magazine|last=Petrie|first= Duncan James |year=2016|title= Resisting Hollywood Dominance in Sixties British Cinema : The NFFC/Rank Joint Financing Initiative|magazine= Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television|url=http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/94238/1/01439685_2E2015_2E1129708.pdf}}

More popular was Prudence and the Pill (1968).Deals, Deals, Deals With the Busiest Body of Them All: PLAYFUL "PRUDENCE" REVIVED MAN AT WORK

By A.H. WEILER. New York Times 6 February 1966: X9.

His last two credits were The Virgin and the Gypsy (1970) and Take Me High (1973), the latter another film with Richard.{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-british-film-moguls-nat-cohen-part-five-1971-1988/|access-date=5 February 2025|date=5 February 2025|title=Forgotten British film moguls – Nat Cohen: Part Five (1971-1988)}}

Filmography

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Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times 30 June 1969: d24.

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References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • {{IMDb name|0363899|Kenneth Harper}}
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20180614181958/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9fd69637 Kenneth Harper] at BFI

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Category:1913 births

Category:1998 deaths

Category:Deaths from emphysema

Category:English film producers

Category:People from Kinver

Category:20th-century English businesspeople