Who was John Farrow?
Born in Sydney in 1904, Farrow left his accounting career to travel the world, sailing the Pacific and embarking on a voyage with filmmaker Robert J. Flaherty, the director of the first commercially successful feature documentary, 'Nanook Of The North' (1922).
Farrow eventually came to Hollywood, claiming to have jumped off a ship into the ocean near San Francisco, and fabricated a formal education when applying for jobs. His nautical expertise helped him to get his foot in the door as a script consultant, then he quickly established himself as a screenwriter at Warner Brothers, Paramount, and RKO, writing over 20 filmed screenplays from 1927 to 1931.
In 1933, he was arrested on the charge of being an illegal immigrant, but given five years' probation and the full charges dropped in 1934.
He made the leap to directing in 1937 with 'Men In Exhile', which kickstarted a career comprising over FIFTY feature films including 'West Of Shanghai' (1937) and 'The Invisible Menace' (1938) both starring Boris Karloff, 'Broadway Musketeers' (1938), and film noir classic 'The Big Clock' (1948).
Amidst this busy directing career, he also served in World War II from 1939 to 1942, rising to the rank of Commander and experiencing serious health issues with typhus, but thankfully recovering.
After his service, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director in 1942 for 'Wake Island', later winning Best Adapted Screenplay in 1957 for 'Around The World In Eighty Days'.
Although he was associated with both Mexican actress Dolores del Rio and Sir Winston Churchill's eldest daughter Diana Churchill in his youth, he married actress Maureen O'Sullivan in 1936, having seven children. All four of his daughters became actresses, including the great Mia Farrow (The Haunting Of Julia).
Celebrate this remarkable filmmaker with DIRECTED BY... JOHN FARROW - our 6-disc Limited Edition Hardbox including five stunning films (four on Blu-ray for the first time worldwide), and the feature-length 2021 documentary 'John Farrow: Hollywood's Man In The Shadows'. Pre-order now at imprintfilms.com.au
Included in the set:
• Commandos Strike At Dawn (1942) – worldwide first on Blu-ray
• The Hitler Gang (1944) – worldwide first on Blu-ray
• Night Has A Thousand Eyes (1948)
• Submarine Command (1951) – worldwide first on Blu-ray
• Botany Bay (1953) – worldwide first on Blu-ray
