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 | Chris Millett(1905-1989) | |
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Born in Chester in 1905, Christopher Franks Millett was the fourth son of civil servant George Prideau Millett, (Conservator of Forests, Bombay Presidency 1911-1918) and his Australian wife Saide Russet Millett (neé Millar). In 1930 Chris married Louisa Marion Cathcart. They lived in London until 1938 when they moved to Capel, near Dorking, Surrey, raising their family in the romantically named The House in the Wood. They had a son, born 1935, and a daughter, born 1939. Eventually they divorced, and in 1961 Chris married film editor Helen Wiggins. After a few years living in London Chris and Ellen ('Helen' was her professional pseudonym) moved to the West Sussex coast: first to Itchenor, a village by Chichester Harbour, and then in 1967 to Worthing. Ellen died in 1978, and Chris died on 29 January 1989. The earliest reference I can find to Millett's film career comes from a letter to Carl Giles from animator Laurie Price, in which he names Millett as one of the staff at SuperAds, a short-lived animation studio that employed an assemblage of talent between 1929-31. I do not know which studio Millett had been recruited from, but on the closure of SuperAds he accompanied Laurie Price back to Publicity Pictures. Initially credited as part of the animation team, Chris Millett had by the end of the 1930s become predominantly a scriptwriter - not only on the animated films but also for the live-action productions. During WWII Publicity Pictures concentrated on 'Instructionals' - training films for the Armed Forces. After the war the company's name was changed to National Interest Pictures, and continued making training and information films, scripted by Chris Millett and directed by the company's managing director, Albert Hopkins. In 1964 Hopkins left National Interest Pictures along with the rest of his unit, and continued to make instructionals through Helen Wiggins Films. In the early 1970s Chris and Ellen retired, and Helen Wiggins Films went into voluntary liquidation 24 January 1974. |
Filmography (Animation or with animated inserts) | ||||
| Loony Libels (Series of advertising films, titles unknown) | (Publicity Pictures, 1932-3) Animator, script? | |||
| Morris May Day (A Cheery Chune) | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1935) Animator, script? | |||
| The Midshipman (A Cheery Chune) | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1935) Animator, script? | |||
| The Baronial Beanfeast (A Cheery Chune) | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1935) Animator, script? | |||
| Carnival Capers (A Cheery Chune) | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1935) Animator, script? | |||
| The Gay Cavalier (A Cheery Chune) | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1935) Animator, script? | |||
| Observation and Reporting | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1941) Script | |||
| The Private Life of a Fuze | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1941) Script | |||
| Post Early | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1941) Script | |||
| 6-Pounder Twin Gun | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1942) Script | |||
| Range Finding: Barr and Stroud | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1942) Script | |||
| 6 Inch CP II: Preparation for Action | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1942) Script | |||
| 'X' Marks the Spot: Map Symbols Explained | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1942) Script | |||
| Fire Direction - Close Defence | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1942) Script | |||
| 6 Inch CP II Gun: Laying | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1942) Script | |||
| River Crossing | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1942) Script | |||
| Handling & Laying British Anti-tank Mines | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1942) Script | |||
| Infantry Role in Clearing Minefields by Hand | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1942) Script | |||
| U-Boat Attacks on Convoys No. 1 | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1942) Script | |||
| U-Boat Attacks on Convoys No. 2 | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1942) Script | |||
| U-Boat Attacks on Convoys No. 3 | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1942) Script | |||
| Where's That Milk? | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1943) Script | |||
| Attack on U-Boat No. 1 | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1943) Script | |||
| 17 PDR Anti-tank Gun: Sights, Sight Testing and Zeroing | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1943) Script | |||
| Handling & Maintenance of the LL Cable | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1943) Script | |||
| Radio Location Part VIII | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1944) Script | |||
| Mechanics of Recovery | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1944) Script | |||
| Air Photo Reading in the Field III: How to Use Air Photographs | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1944) Script | |||
| Bren 303 LMG Mechanism | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1945) Script | |||
| Pistol Revolver No. 2 Mechanism | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1945) Script | |||
| The Military Map and Conventional Signs (Map Reading I) | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1945) Script | |||
| Contours, Hills and Slopes (Map Reading II) | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1945) Script | |||
| Contours, Spurs, Re-entrants and Valleys (Map Reading III) | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1945) Script | |||
| Visibility (Map Reading IV) | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1946) Script | |||
| Map Setting and Position Finding (Map Reading V) | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1946) Script | |||
| Comparison of Map and Ground (Map Reading VI) | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1945) Script | |||
| Aids to Direction (Map Reading VII) | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1946) Script | |||
| Measurement of Distance and Choosin Route (Map Reading VIII) | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1946) Script | |||
| Direction on the Map (Map Reading IX) | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1946) Script | |||
| Direction on the Ground (Map Reading X) | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1946) Script | |||
| Use of Prismatic Compass (Map Reading XI) | (Publicity Picture Productions, 1946) Script | |||
| Town and Country Planning (No. 5) | (National Interest Picture Productions, 1946) Script | |||
| The BESA MG 7.92mm Mechanism | (National Interest Picture Productions, 1946) Script | |||
| Medical Application of Sulphonamides | (National Interest Picture Productions, 1948) Script | |||
| Shadow on Happiness | (National Interest Picture Productions, 1949) Script | |||
| Cross-country and Obstacle Driving | (National Interest Picture Productions, 1949) Script | |||
| Introduction to AA | (National Interest Picture Productions, 1950) Script | |||
| Troop Tactics Part 2: Tank and Infantry Co-operation | (National Interest Picture Productions, 1951) Script | |||
| Troop Tactics Part 3: Contact with the Enemy | (National Interest Picture Productions, 1951) Script | |||
| The Effects of Atomic Weapons on Troops in the Field | (National Interest Picture Productions, 1954) Script | |||
| March Discipline | (National Interest Picture Productions, 1955) Script | |||
| Field Cable Laying | (National Interest Picture Productions, 1957) Script | |||
| Principles of Supersonic Missile Flight | (National Interest Picture Productions, 1958) Script | |||
| Air Photos in War | (National Interest Picture Productions, 1958) Script | |||
| Doppler Principle in Airborne Navigation Aids | (National Interest Picture Productions, 1958) Script | |||
| Doppler Navigation Aids - Green Satin/GPI Mk 4 and Blue Silk/GPI Mk 4a | (National Interest Picture Productions, 1958) Script | |||
| Charicteristics and Effects of Nuclear Weapons | (National Interest Picture Productions, 1959) Script | |||
| Radiological Defence Protection Residual Effects | (National Interest Picture Productions, 1960) Script | |||
| Radiological Defence - Decontamination Part 1 - Personal Cleansing | (National Interest Picture Productions, 1961) Script | |||
| Sea Slug | (National Interest Picture Productions, 1961) Script | |||
| AFV HE Shooting | (National Interest Picture Productions, 1961) Script | |||
| Aerials Part 1 | (National Interest Picture Productions, 1963) Script | |||
| Aerials Part 2 | (National Interest Picture Productions, 1964) Script | |||
| This Farming Business | (National Interest Picture Productions, 1964) Script | |||
| Controlled Environment in Poultry Houses | (National Interest Picture Productions, 1964) Script | |||
| Mooring Work Part 1: Laying an Admiralty Standard Mooring | (Helen Wiggins Films, 1965) Script | |||
| Mooring Work Part 2: Maintenance of Admiralty Standard Moorings | (Helen Wiggins Films, 1965) Script | |||
| Boom Defence Part 1: The AST Defence | (Helen Wiggins Films, 1966) Script | |||
| Uses of Blood | (Helen Wiggins Films, 1967) Script | |||
| Modulation | (Helen Wiggins Films, 1967) Script | |||
| The Muck Problem | (Helen Wiggins Films, 1967) Script | |||
| Helicopters - Theory of Flight | (Helen Wiggins Films, 1968) Script | |||
| This Growing Business | (Helen Wiggins Films, 1968) Script | |||
| Egg Quality Control on the Farm | (Helen Wiggins Films, 1969) Script | |||
| Fire chemistry: What is a Fire? | (Helen Wiggins Films, date unknown [1965-70]) Script | |||
| Hydraulics | (Helen Wiggins Films, 1970) Script | |||
| Dental First Aid Part 1: Palliative Treatment | (Helen Wiggins Films, 1970) Script | |||
| Dental First Aid Part 2: Surgical Procedures | (Helen Wiggins Films, 1970) Script | |||
| Here's Ernie | (Helen Wiggins Films, 1971) Script | |||
| Keys to Metrication: Dimensional Co-ordination | (Helen Wiggins Films, 1971) Script | |||
| Organising | (Helen Wiggins Films, 1972) Script | |||
Links to Other Sites | ||||
Peter Hale
Last updated 2015
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