Film director known for The Lion In Winter

Born: June 3, 1930;

Died: November 23, 2017

ANTHONY Harvey, who has died aged 87, was a film-maker who was nominated for the Best Director Oscar for only his second film, the historical drama The Lion in Winter (1968). Although he did not win, offers of other big Hollywood movies came pouring in.

He had the chance to direct Love Story, which turned out to be the highest grossing film of 1971, and Cabaret, one of the biggest hits of 1972. Instead he chose A Glimpse of Tiger, which was abandoned a few days after shooting began, following clashes between its star Elliot Gould and the studio Warner Bros.

Then came They Might Be Giants (1971), starring George C Scott as a psychiatric patient who believes he is Sherlock Holmes and Joanne Woodward as his psychiatrist Dr Watson. At least it made it into the cinemas, but not for long.

In Hollywood, a director is only as good as their last film and Harvey quickly went from being a red hot new talent to decidedly lukewarm. Katharine Hepburn, who won an Oscar for The Lion in Winter, remained a loyal friend and supporter and he worked with her again on three more films, two of which were for television.

Although he directed a total of 13 films, for cinema and television, over a 28-year period, The Lion in Winter remained the highpoint of his career.

Harvey was born in London in 1930. His father died when he was young and his mother married Morris Harvey, an actor and writer. Anthony took his stepfather’s name and began his film career as a juvenile actor, playing Ptolemy in Caesar and Cleopatra (1945), with Claude Rains and Vivien Leigh.

He won a scholarship to RADA, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and he worked in repertory theatre, but concluded he was never going to reach the top as an actor. He secured a job as an assistant film editor with the Boulting Brothers.

He was editor on Stanley Kubrick’s films Lolita (1962) and Dr Strangelove (1964), though he recalled that Kubrick had a habit of firing him and then phoning up the next day as if nothing had happened.

His directorial debut was Dutchman (1967), a low-budget inter-racial romance. It so impressed Peter O’Toole that he recommended Harvey as director for The Lion in Winter, in which O’Toole was to play King Henry II and Hepburn was his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Harvey was sufficiently confident to tell Hepburn to tone down her performance. The film won her the third of a record-breaking four Oscars as Best Actress. Harvey collected it on her behalf.

Hepburn shared the award with Barbra Steisand after voting was tied, and Harvey recalled standing on and tearing Streisand’s outfit as they went up on stage.

After the failure of They Might be Giants, Harvey and Hepburn worked together again on an acclaimed television adaptation of The Glass Menagerie (1973).

He continued to work steadily through the 1970s and early 1980s, making films for cinema and for television. Later credits include the TV movie The Disappearance of Aimee (1976), with Bette Davis and Faye Dunaway, the tennis drama Players (1979) and the western Eagle’s Wing (1979).

His final film was a television movie called This Can’t Be Love (1994), once more starring Hepburn. It was an unhappy experience, during which he clashed with the studio. After that he retired to his home on Long Island, New York. He had no immediate family but kept in touch with Hepburn until her death in 2003.

BRIAN PENDREIGH