Jack's Early Life

Jack Cardiff's childhood was one of greasepaint, song, theatres and film sets. Born on 18 September 1914, his parents were "old time music-hall pros" and most of his childhood was spent travelling from theatre to theatre.

Jack trod the boards too whenever he got chance and he and his parents also did film work as extras. Jack also sometimes acted in silent films, such as the melodrama Billy's Rose, in which he played a child who dies trying to obtain a rose as a gift for his mother.

Cardiff's first job on leaving school was on the film The Informer in 1928, an experience that sparked his interest in work behind the camera, mainly because the camera crews seemed to travel to exotic destinations. He recalls that his main task was to provide the director with Vichy water, but he also 'followed focus' for the first time - after which he never looked back.

Read more about Jack Cardiff's life and work in his autobiography The Magic Hour, 1996, Faber and Faber. Buy it online at amazon.co.uk