Ralph Smart

Ralph Smart
Born	(1908-08-27)27 August 1908 Chingford, England, UK
Died	12 February 2001(2001-02-12) (aged 92) Bowen, Queensland, Australia
Occupation	Director, screenwriter and television producer.
Period	1927–1973
Genre	Comedy, drama, adventure, science fiction
Spouse	Meg Smart
Children	1 child
Relatives	Patsy Smart (sister)

Ralph Foster Smart OAM (27 August 1908 – 12 February 2001) was a film and television producer, director, and writer, born in England to Australian parents. He found work in Britain with Anthony Asquith and later alongside the film director Michael Powell, whom he assisted with "Quota quickies": low-budget B-pictures to meet a legal commitment to the British film industry.

During the Second World War, Smart joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1942 and served until 1945.^[1] Afterwards he worked for the Rank Organisation and Ealing Studios, returning to Australia to direct several films including Bitter Springs (1950), addressing the mistreatment of young Aborigines.

Back again in Britain, he became an influential figure in television, remembered as the creator and producer of Danger Man, also known as Secret Agent in the United States. He produced, directed or wrote a number of television series and films, including the 1950s series The Adventures of Robin Hood and The Invisible Man.

In 2000 he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for "services to the development of the Australian film industry."

He retired to Australia, and died on 12 February 2001, in Bowen, Queensland.^[2]

Selected Filmography

A Cottage on Dartmoor (1929) - uncredited
Sweet Success (short film; 1936) - director
South West Pacific (1943) - actor
Island Target (1945) - documentary
The Overlanders (1946) - associate producer
Bush Christmas (1947) - director, producer, writer
Quartet (anthology film, segment The Facts of Life; 1948)
A Boy, a Girl and a Bike (1949) - director
Curtain Up (1952) - director
The Adventures of Mr. Pastry (1958) - director
Robin Hood: The Movie (TV film; 1991) - co-director

Writing credits

Production	Notes	Broadcaster
The Woodpigeon Patrol	Feature film (co-written and directed with F.R. Lucas, 1930)	N/A
The Star Reporter	Short film (co-written with Philip MacDonald, 1932)	N/A
Hotel Splendide	Short film (co-written with Philip MacDonald, 1932)	N/A
C.O.D	Feature film (co-written with Philip MacDonald, 1932)	N/A
His Lordship	Feature film (1932)	N/A
Born Lucky	Feature film (1933)	N/A
The Night of the Party	Feature film (co-written with Roland Pertwee, 1935)	N/A
The Phantom Light	Feature film (co-written with J Jefferson Farjeon and Austin Melford, 1935)	N/A
Crime Unlimited	Feature film (co-written with Brock Williams, 1935)	N/A
Convict 99	Feature film (co-written with Cyril Campion, Jack Davis Jr., Marriott Edgar and Val Guest, 1938)	N/A
Alf's Button Afloat	Feature film (co-written with Marriott Edgar and Val Guest, 1938)	N/A
The Good Old Days	Feature film (co-written with Austin Melford and John Dighton, 1940)	N/A
Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt	Feature film (co-written with Marriott Edgar and J.O.C. Orton, 1940)	N/A
Bush Christmas	Feature film (also directed, 1947)	N/A
Eureka Stockade	Feature film (co-written with Walter Greenwood and Harry Watt, 1949) (additional scenes)	N/A
Bitter Springs	Feature film (co-written with Monja Danischewsky and W. P. Lipscomb, 1950)	N/A
Where No Vultures Fly	Feature film (co-written with W. P. Lipscomb and Leslie Norman, 1951)	N/A
Never Take No for an Answer	Feature film (co-written and directed with Maurice Cloche, 1951)	N/A
Always a Bride	Feature film (co-written with Peter Jones, 1953)	N/A
The Adventures of Robin Hood	8 episodes (1956–1957)	ITV
The Flying Scot	Feature film (co-written with Norman Hudis and Jan Read, 1957)	N/A
The Adventures of William Tell	12 episodes (also producer, 1958–1959)	ITV
The Invisible Man	6 episodes (also producer, 1959)	ITV
Danger Man	27 episodes (1960–1962)	ITV
Secret Agent	14 episodes (1964–1966)	ITV
Koroshi	Television film (1968)	N/A
The Champions	"To Trap a Rat" (1968) "Get Me Out of Here!" (1969)	ITV
Riptide	8 episodes (1969)	Seven Network
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)	"My Late Lamented Friend and Partner" (1969) "But What a Sweet Little Room" (1969)	ITV
The Protectors	"The Numbers Game" (1972)	ITV
Elephant Boy	13 episodes (co-written with Tony Morphett, Ted Roberts, David Whitaker and Ian Stuart Black, 1973)	Seven Network

References

External links

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 90495497 LCCN: no2009083627 ISNI: 0000 0000 8006 1647 SUDOC: 132161036 BNF: cb13959122x (data)

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