Writing

Alexander Baron

Born 1917-12-04 · Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, UK

Alexander Baron (1917-1999) was a novelist and screenwriter. Born into a working class Jewish home in Hackney, Baron joined the Communist Party as a young man, saw the thick of battle in Sicily and Normandy during WWII, and became one of the most admired novelists of post-war Britain. His first novel, From the City, From the Plough (1948) was based on his own wartime experiences, specifically D-Day, and was acclaimed as the definitive novel of WWII. It was the first of a trilogy, including There's No Home (1950) and The Human Kind (1953), the latter of which was adapted into the film The Victors (1963). Literary success led to him writing screenplays for films such as Robbery Under Arms (1957) and The Siege of Sidney Street (1960). This was followed by a string of novels about working class life in post-war London, including The Lowlife (1963), a cult novel for many other writers ever since, and a secondary career as a TV scriptwriter, specifically adapting literary classics like The Further Adventures of the Musketeers (1967), The Legend of Robin Hood (1975), A Horseman Riding By (1978), Sense and Sensibility (1981), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1982), Stalky & Co. (1982) Jane Eyre (1983), Goodbye Mr. Chips (1984), Oliver Twist (1985) and Vanity Fair (1987). In recent years, Baron's reputation has flourished, with many of his fifteen novels now back in print.

Acting credits

9.0

‘The Cardinal and the Corpse' marks the beginning of Petit’s loose partnership with writer Iain Sinclair. There’s a nod towards narrative here involving a book-search launched by graphic novelist Alan Moore and a dealer (the dapper but barking Driffield), but it’s little more than an excuse to showcase a number of authors and other miscreants.

The Cardinal and the Corpse

1992

Behind the camera

5.2

During the mid 1860s, brothers Dick and Jim Marston are drawn into a life of crime by their ex-convict father Ben and his friend, infamous cattlethief Captain Starlight. Making their way to Melbourne with the proceeds of a recent raid, the brothers meet and romance the Morrison sisters, Kate and Jean, whom they eventually marry; but just as they are poised to start a new life in America, Captain Starlight and his gang arrive in town, planning a raid at the local bank.

Robbery Under Arms

1957

Helga and David travel to a secluded hotel for some alone time. Helga is much older than David and tongues wag among the other guests. The more time they are together the more age difference becomes a rift between them.

Late Summer

1963

5.5

An orphan endures a harsh life in a workhouse before fleeing to London, where he falls in with a gang of juvenile pickpockets led by the criminal Fagin, and eventually finds a better life, exposing the cruelties of poverty and child labor in Victorian England.

Oliver Twist

1985

4.5

A police inspector (Donald Sinden) tracks down Russian anarchist Peter the Painter (Peter Wyngarde) and his gang in circa-1911 London.

The Siege of Sidney Street

1960

An Edwardian house party given by a Fabian woman, her business-man husband and assorted guests from politics and the Arts - including a young man prone to disturbing premonitions.

Gentle Folk

1980