John Guillermin

A journeyman British director, John Guillermin received his film training in France following WWII. He worked on several documentaries and spent some time in Hollywood before returning to England where he wrote and directed his first feature, "Torment/Paper Gallows" (1949), an entertaining but unoriginal thriller. Guillermin went on to have a modest career helming films in several genres, including the modestly charming children's flick "Adventure in the Hopfields" (1954), the murder mystery "The Whole Truth" (1958), the caper "The Day They Robbed the Bank of England" (1960) and the highly-regarded farce "Waltz of the Toreadors" (1964). "The Blue Max" (1966) was praised for its stunning aerial shots and the playful relationship of stars Ursula Andress and George Peppard. In the 1970s, he oversaw several all-star features that were more impersonal gaudy spectacles than thrilling blockbusters. Among these were the "Airport"-inspired "Skyjacked" (1972), "The Towering Inferno" (1974), which owed much to its cinematography and special effects, and "Death on the Nile" (1978), adapted from an Agatha Christie mystery. Critics were divided over his remake of "King Kong" (1976); some found it clever and amusing, others banal.