Anthony Hinds Biography

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Anthony Hinds (Tony Hinds) is a British screenwriter and producer. He is the son of the founder of Hammer Film Productions, William Hinds.

Early career

(Tony) Hinds was born in 1922 and educated at St Paul's School. He joined his father's business briefly before he went off to become a pilot in the RAF during World War II.

He returned to Hammer in 1946 and initially produced a great many modest thrillers. One of these was the The Dark Road (1947), one of the quota quickies, which featured a jewellery shop called 'Hinds', a reference to his father's original business. This business had been divided in the 1920s between William and his brother Frank Hinds. Frank's part is now the F. Hinds national jewellery chain.

In the summer of 1953, Anthony Hinds, like so many British television viewers, had been enthralled by the BBC's The Quatermass Experiment, a six part science fiction thriller written by Nigel Kneale. Hinds was so impressed by what he saw that he suggested that Hammer should buy the big screen rights. They approached the BBC and snapped up the rights.

The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) was a runaway success and was the first of the legendary Quatermass series, considered by many to be among the finest British science fiction films ever made.

It was also Tony Hinds who came up with the idea of hiring country houses and shooting films in the rooms and grounds of the locations, which saved the cost of kitting out a full studio and was one of the most important decisions in Hammer's history.

Under the pseudonym John Elder, he was a prolific screenwriter and from the mid 1960s he concentrated on this activity, returning to production for The Lost Continent (1968). He is a very influential figure in the Hammer success story.

He also produced the TV series Journey to the Unknown for LWT (1968-71).

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