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William Rose

Writing

Biography

William Rose was born in Jefferson City, Missouri, USA, and travelled to Canada at the outbreak of World War II, while the US was still neutral, in order to join up and fight the Nazis. This took him to Britain, where he decided to stay after the war.   He spent his demobilisation money on a course in screenwriting, and then became a writer of British and American comedies such as Ladykillers, Genevieve, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, and The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!, as well as more serious films such as Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.  He retired to Jersey, where he died in 1987 at the age of 72.

Known For

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
7.0

A group of strangers come across a man dying after a car crash who proceeds to tell them about the $350,000 he buried in California. What follows is the madcap adventures of those strangers as each attempts to claim the prize for himself.

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

1963
The Ladykillers
6.1

An eccentric, if not charming Southern professor and his crew pose as a band in order to rob a casino, all under the nose of his unsuspecting landlord – a sharp old woman.

The Ladykillers

2004
The Ladykillers
7.3

Five oddball criminals planning a bank robbery rent rooms on a cul-de-sac from an octogenarian widow under the pretext that they are classical musicians.

The Ladykillers

1955
The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!
6.4

When a Soviet submarine gets stuck on a sandbar off the coast of a New England island, its commander orders his second-in-command, Lieutenant Rozanov, to get them moving again before there is an international incident. Rozanov seeks assistance from the island locals, including the police chief and a vacationing television writer, while trying to allay their fears of a Communist invasion by claiming he and his crew are Norwegian sailors.

The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!

1966
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
7.6

A couple's attitudes are challenged when their daughter brings home a fiancé who is black.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

1967
Dhamaal
6.7

Four friends meet an underworld don who, on his deathbed, clues them in on hidden treasure buried in Goa. The group race towards Goa, not knowing that their plans will soon be foiled, albeit hilariously, by a police officer, who is also after the money.

Dhamaal

2007
The Secret of Santa Vittoria
7.0

During World War II, Italian villagers hide their wine from the German army.

The Secret of Santa Vittoria

1970
Genevieve
6.7

Two friends driving in the London to Brighton vintage car rally bet on which of them will be the first to arrive back home.

Genevieve

1953
Gift Horse
6.6

Compton Bennett's war drama The Gift Horse follows the fortunes of ageing destroyer The Ballantrae and her crew from the time they come together in 1940 until the climactic raid on occupied St Nazaire in 1942. Trevor Howard plays Lt Cmdr Hugh Alginon Fraser, the newly appointed captain, back in service after having left the navy following a court martial.

Gift Horse

1952
Esther Waters
6.4

Esther goes into service in Victorian England, only to be seduced by the sweet talking groom William, who then takes off with his employer's daughter. Left alone to bring up the child, Esther manages and after 7 years has a chance at happiness. Then William turns up again...

Esther Waters

1948
The Flim-Flam Man
7.1

Mordecai Jones, a silver-tongued swindler and self-proclaimed “M.B.S., C.S., D.D.—Master of Back-Stabbing, Cork-Screwing and Double-Dealing,” has made a career out of charming and cheating his way through life. Played with devilish charm by George C. Scott, Jones takes on a new protégé in Curley, a wide-eyed Army deserter eager for direction. Together, they crisscross the backroads of the rural South, pulling off a string of homespun cons while staying one step ahead of a relentless local sheriff. Along the way, Curley falls for Bonnie Lee Packard, a rebellious heiress who joins their misadventures. But as the scams grow riskier, Curley begins to wonder whether a life of flimflam is worth the price. With its colorful characters, offbeat humor, and standout performance by Scott, The Flim-Flam Man is a rollicking Southern caper about cons, conscience, and unlikely camaraderie.

The Flim-Flam Man

1967
Touch and Go
6.6

When Jim Fletcher is told by his firm that his new furniture designs are not in keeping with the firm's image he threatens to resign, and decides to uproot his family and emigrate to Australia - but his problems are only just beginning.

Touch and Go

1955
The 'Maggie'
6.4

The poor, elderly—and the wily, when it comes to parting those who can afford it from their money—Scottish skipper of a broken-down old 'puffer' boat tricks an American tycoon into paying him to transport his personal cargo. When the tycoon learns of the trick, he attempts to track down the boat and remove his possessions.

The 'Maggie'

1954
The Smallest Show on Earth
6.7

Jean and Bill are a married couple trying to scrape a living. Out of the blue they receive a telegram informing them Bill's long-lost uncle has died and left them his business—a cinema in the town of Sloughborough. Unfortunately they can't sell it for the fortune they hoped as they discover it is falling down and almost worthless.

The Smallest Show on Earth

1957
I'll Get You for This
7.0

Nick, an American gambler, arrives in San Paolo and falls in love with Colleen, an American tourist, after she loses all of her money at the casino. Nick flees with Colleen after they are framed for murder and he tries to track down the real killer.

I'll Get You for This

1951
Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks
4.3

Mad Dr Frankenstein recruits an evil dwarf, a Neanderthal man, and others to help him put a brain in the body of a brute.

Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks

1974
Davy
5.7

The Mad Morgans are a family song and dance act touring the British Music Halls. Young Davy is the star of the act but should he stay with his family or strike out on his own ? The last comedy to be produced at Ealing Studios.

Davy

1958
Once a Jolly Swagman
5.8

A factory worker quits his job to become a motorcycle racer.

Once a Jolly Swagman

1949
The Man in the Sky
7.5

The efforts of test pilot John Mitchell to make a better life for his wife Mary and their two children seem doomed to failure and he blames himself. At the Conway Aero-Manufacturing Company of Wolverhampton, Mitchell is to take the company's new rocket-propulsion transport plane up for tests, fully loaded and carrying two important passengers - Ministry official Crabtree and buyer's representative Ashmore. Mitchell learns from his boss, Reg Conway, that if Ashmore does not recommend the plane, the company will be out of business and Mitchell out of a job, since the plane is not even insured as the firm's entire capital is tied up in the plane. Aloft, an engine catches fire and the passengers and other crew bail out, but Mitchell refuses to obey orders to jettison the plane in the Irish Sea.

The Man in the Sky

1957
Made In Ealing: The Story of Ealing Studios
5.0

Documentary about the British film studio. First appeared on the BBC television programme Omnibus.

Made In Ealing: The Story of Ealing Studios

1986