212:
377:. In keeping with the channel's intention to appeal to specialist audiences, Halliwell focused primarily on films from the 1930s and '40s. Over the next few years, the channel showed hundreds of vintage movies in seasons, with many titles introduced by filmmakers such as Samuel Goldwyn Jnr,
518:. However, in Halliwell's system even a one-star rating was a definite recommendation. Poor or mediocre films which other critics would rate one or two stars were equally missable to him, so they received no star. By the time of Halliwell's death in 1989, the
183:, a period when film production was at its peak, with new releases debuting in cinemas with great regularity. Halliwell went almost nightly to the cinema with his mother, Lily, which provided an escape from the at times tough reality of their
546:
This second work also came in for as much criticism as it did praise. Halliwell came under fire from journalists and critics for the brevity of his assessments, and his dismissive stance on more modern films. His devotion to the
236:
magazine in London, before returning to
Cambridge to manage the Rex Cinema from 1952 to 1956. Under his management, the cinema became extremely popular with the Cambridge undergraduate community, showing classic films such as
144:: "Immersed in the enjoyment of these fine books, one should look up for a moment to admire the quite astonishing combination of industry and authority in one man which has brought them into existence."
397:
For lovers of the golden age of the cinema like myself, Channel 4 became a source of unalloyed delight as time and again one encountered films one had only ever read about and never expected to see.
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network, a role he maintained throughout the 1970s and most of the 1980s. Travelling to
Hollywood twice a year to view the latest TV pilots and film offerings and to trade fairs in
561:
wrote that
Halliwell "isn't a scholar, critic or cineaste, but rather a movie buff, a man who knows the credits of everything but the value of very little". Jim Emerson of the
510:
originally incorporated capsule reviews and information on over 8,000 English-speaking titles. He used a four-star rating system similar in appearance to the system used by
486:
Others were less enthusiastic, criticising
Halliwell's subjectivity and occasionally reactionary opinions on the films included, as well as the bias towards older films.
1512:
271:, Halliwell arranged for Cambridge magistrates to assess the picture. They subsequently granted him a special licence, and so the Rex became the only cinema in
261:
reported that "students felt their periods at
Cambridge were incomplete without the weekly visit to the Rex." In 1955, after the British Censor had banned the
609:
beginning in 1987, and published a number of historical and critical works about the cinema. He also published three volumes of ghost stories inspired by
299:. He married Ruth Porter in 1959 and they had one son. Initially appointed as Cecil Bernstein's assistant, Halliwell gained the role of Film Adviser to
1532:
322:, Halliwell became a major player in the television industry. In his capacity as chief buyer for the ITV network, he was responsible for bringing to
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gave
Halliwell an award in 1985 'for the selection and acquisition of films with a view to creative scheduling.' Author and film historian
340:
200:
595:, which ran for a further two editions in 1982 and 1986. The third edition, published by Grafton in 1986, included over 12,000 entries.
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sold ten thousand copies on its first run, including four thousand in the United States. In all, Halliwell edited nine editions of the
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Halliwell retired from the television industry in 1986 but continued to edit his film guides. He wrote a regular TV article for the
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called
Halliwell "something of a grumpy old English fuddy-duddy rarely has anything good to say about any movie made after 1960".
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wrote in 1979 that "the referrer needs an iron will to look up only one fact," in reference to the perceived density of the book.
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During this period, Halliwell also presented two television series celebrating the
British wartime documentary movement:
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in 1956 on a three-year trainee course. He was then employed as a film publicist for the company. In 1958, he joined
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128:(1965), a single volume film-related encyclopaedia featuring biographies (with credits) and technical terms, and
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magazines in 1984-85, in which he publicised upcoming films and responded to reader questions and requests.
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385:. Isaacs later wrote that Halliwell had made an "unsurpassed contribution" to the channel's success. The
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Halliwell was given responsibility for buying TV shows and in 1968 became the chief film buyer for the
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This list of Leslie
Halliwell's favourite films was originally published in the fifth edition of the
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had doubled in size. He acknowledged his predecessors in the introduction to the first edition,
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a year later, where he remained for the next thirty years, at their offices in London's
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Halliwell's promotion of the cinema through his books and seasons of "golden oldies'"on
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Death certificate: Jan/Feb/Mar 1989, Vol 17, Page 295, Reg no. 189, Surrey
Northern.
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There is a well-developed consensus among film scribes that Leslie Halliwell's
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460:. The book was highly influential and critically acclaimed, with TV presenter
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screens some of the highest rated shows of the 1970s and 1980s, including
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in 1929, Halliwell enjoyed films from an early age. He grew up during the
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Halliwell's birth certificate: Apr/May/Jun 1929, Bolton, Vol 8c, Page 480
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in 1979. Disappointed with the first edition, he joined with
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The Ghost of Sherlock Holmes: Seventeen Supernatural Stories
1398:'Halliwell's Screen Choice' in the Saturday edition of the
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left him increasingly out of touch with modern attitudes.
1368:"Rating 6 recently published guides to movies on video"
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by Jeremy Isaacs. Halliwell had regular columns in the
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Halliwell's third encyclopaedic work began life as the
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738:, written by Michael Binder, was published in 2011.
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is the single most valuable reference book on film."
995:See the following book reviews: Anthony Quinton in
106:(23 February 1929 – 21 January 1989) was a British
93:
79:
56:
30:
23:
230:from St Catharine's, Halliwell worked briefly for
877:Seats in All Parts: Half a Lifetime at the Movies
792:Mountain of Dreams: the Golden Years of Paramount
373:, he became buyer and scheduler of US films for
132:(1977), which is dedicated to individual films.
506:First published in 1977 and regularly updated,
409:for Channel 4 two years later. Both featured
122:. He is best known for his reference guides,
8:
1376:. pp. 74–75 – via Newspapers.com.
1161:, July 1964 for the launch of the show. See
283:After leaving The Rex, Halliwell joined the
1498:Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge
187:. In 1939, Halliwell won a scholarship to
20:
1513:Deaths from esophageal cancer in England
1001:, 25 November 1977; Charles Champlin in
979:
1456:Website celebrating Halliwell and his
1127:(Bolton School's magazine), July 1957.
118:, the British commercial network, and
7:
1300:, Thames Television, 2 January 1974.
1013:, 2 June 1978; David Bartholomew in
632:, a month before his 60th birthday.
570:
778:The Clapperboard Book of the Cinema
458:Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies
1043:, 6 December 1988 and 30 May 1997.
1009:, 11/1977; John Russell Taylor in
14:
215:Halliwell profile/interview from
201:St Catharine's College, Cambridge
1533:People educated at Bolton School
1238:Storm Over 4: A Personal Account
1011:The Times Educational Supplement
835:Halliwell's Television Companion
593:Halliwell's Television Companion
572:Halliwell's Television Companion
526:I salute especially the work of
114:and television rights buyer for
1493:20th-century British historians
635:
542:during the fifties and sixties.
514:and (with slight modification)
464:comparing the companion to the
16:British film critic (1929–1989)
369:In 1982, at the invitation of
1:
1366:Emerson, Jim (2 March 1990).
1024:, 23 December 1987.quoted in
1005:, 4 May 1979; Benny Green in
998:The Times Literary Supplement
764:The Filmgoer's Book of Quotes
104:Robert James Leslie Halliwell
35:Robert James Leslie Halliwell
1276:TV Section, 25 October 1984.
226:After graduating with a 2:1
1402:, 14 March 1987-10/10/1987.
830:(editions 1–7 by Halliwell)
759:(editions 1–9 by Halliwell)
636:Halliwell's favourite films
467:Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
153:London Film Critics' Circle
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682:A Matter of Life and Death
499:
405:, for Granada in 1982 and
329:The Six Million Dollar Man
1193:The Sunday Times Magazine
933:Double Take and Fade Away
446:First published in 1965,
439:
207:The Rex Cinema, Cambridge
141:Times Literary Supplement
1199:magazine, 8 March 1976;
1079:See Halliwell's memoir,
780:. – with Graham Murray,
749:The Filmgoer's Companion
480:The Filmgoer's Companion
456:, which is now known as
449:The Filmgoer's Companion
441:The Filmgoer's Companion
151:won him awards from the
1508:British film historians
1432:. – LeslieHalliwell.com
1058:magazine, 28 June 1985.
549:Golden Age of Hollywood
530:, James Robert Parish,
411:Ministry of Information
195:, he went on to study
181:Golden Age of Hollywood
1518:Daily Mail journalists
1503:British encyclopedists
1334:Halliwell's Film Guide
1211:, 2 February 1981 and
1093:Cambridge Evening News
820:Halliwell's Film Guide
806:Halliwell's Movie Quiz
706:The Philadelphia Story
620:at the Princess Alice
564:Orange County Register
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508:Halliwell's Film Guide
501:Halliwell's Film Guide
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387:British Film Institute
352:James Bond film series
291:, and was seconded to
258:Cambridge Evening News
223:
217:January 1987 issue of
157:British Film Institute
130:Halliwell's Film Guide
1195:, 1 October 1978 and
1003:The Los Angeles Times
666:Bride of Frankenstein
540:Monthly Film Bulletin
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1523:English film critics
1387:Screen International
1223:, 22 March 1987 and
1207:, 21 February 1983;
1203:, 13 February 1983;
1178:, 22 March 1987 and
1113:Cambridge Daily News
961:A Demon on the Stair
947:Return to Shangri-La
919:A Demon Close Behind
599:Retirement and death
413:productions such as
125:Filmgoer's Companion
1442:Halliwell's Horizon
1356:, 24 February 1978.
1219:, 23 October 1982;
1180:Films & Filming
1068:Bolton Evening News
1026:Halliwell's Horizon
891:Halliwell's Harvest
849:Halliwell's Hundred
736:Halliwell's Horizon
658:Trouble in Paradise
341:The Incredible Hulk
289:Southern Television
1538:People from Bolton
1270:The British at War
1260:, 23 January 1989.
1227:, 5 February 1987.
1095:, 31 January 1983.
1081:Seats in all Parts
1028:, Michael Binder,
905:The Dead that Walk
714:The Maltese Falcon
698:Sons of the Desert
616:Halliwell died of
407:The British at War
324:British television
293:Granada Television
275:to show the film.
252:Destry Rides Again
224:
197:English Literature
1411:See bibliography.
1322:Los Angeles Times
1272:is advertised in
1215:, 13 March 1988;
1111:, 22 March 1955;
1105:Sight & Sound
722:The Lady Vanishes
618:esophageal cancer
493:Los Angeles Times
416:Listen to Britain
350:, as well as the
285:Rank Organisation
279:Television career
220:Films and Filming
159:and a posthumous
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108:film critic
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167:Early life
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255:. The
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1246:See 4
1236:Book
1030:p.195
626:Esher
265:film
161:BAFTA
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