Alan Hume (Behind The Scenes)
By: Anders Frejdh
Published:
2014-12-01
Cinematographer on THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, FOR YOUR EYES ONLY, OCTOPUSSY and A VIEW TO A KILL
I have met
Alan Hume and his wife Sheila a few times at Pinewood Studios. The first time was in November 2004 at
An afternoon with Richard Kiel, and again at
James Bond: A celebration + An evening with George Lazenby in June 2005.
Alan was a very pleasent person to meet and I got the impression that he was a very humble man with a very appreciative attitude towards fans.
About Alan Hume:
Alan began his career as a clapper loader and focus puller at Alexander Korda’s Denham Studios; where he worked extensively with David Lean.
Fast progressing to camera operator, Alan worked on dozens of films including Dance Little Lady (for Val Guest), Three Men In A Boat (for Ken Annakin) and The Green Man (for Launder & Gilliat). He then began a very long and successful partnership with director Gerald Thomas and the Carry On films.
Starting on the very first – Carry On Sergeant in 1958 as operator – Alan progressed to Director of Photography and lensed the last in the series in 1992.
In 1976,
John Glen invited Alan to work with him on the second unit of
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and the amazing ski-jump that graces the pre-titles sequence. This lead to Alan being invited to ‘light’ John Glen directorial debut,
For Your Eyes Only (1981).
Alan ‘lit’ two more Bond films –
Octopussy (1983) and
A View to a Kill (1985), all with
Roger Moore as 007.
He was also Director of Photography on Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi, A Fish Called Wanda, Shirley Valentine and a number of films with director Kevin Connor including Warlords Of Atlantis and From Beyond The Grave.
Alan worked on more than 200 films and tv series and in March 2004 he published his autobiography,
A Life Through the Lens.
Editor's note:
Alan's daughter,
Pauline Hume, was assistant to the legendary Maurice Binder from the mid 1980's until Maurice sadly passed away in April 1991. Pauline also designed the end titless for
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997),
The World Is Not Enough (1999),
Die Another Day (2002), and
Casino Royale (2006).
Text written and published by Anders Frejdh in July, 2005
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