Alan Bridges

After studying at RADA and abandoning a career as an actor, Alan Bridges found his calling behind the camera. During the 1960s, he became one of the most prolific and esteemed directors working in British television. In 1964, Bridges jumped to the big screen with "Act of Murder," a modest whodunit that included a love triangle among an actor, his mistress and her husband. Over the course of his career, the director brought a feel for actors and a sophisticated understanding of the English class structure to bear on finely observed dramas. Despite a limited feature output, Bridges directed what some consider as two minor masterpieces. "The Hireling" (1973), which took the Palme d'Or at Cannes and featured strong central performances by Sarah Miles (as an upper-crust woman on the verge of a breakdown) and Robert Shaw as her chauffeur, explored the social barriers between employer and employee. "The Shooting Party" (1984) offered a superbly rendered look at the changes in class structures at the end of the Edwardian era.