The late Freddie Francis was a first class cinematographer and director. He started his film career as a clapper boy on the film The Marriage of Corbal. He went on to be a camera operator before becoming a director of photography (dop) on a number of top class films. He told me he was in the Army Kinematograph Service Film Unit during WW2 shooting 35mm film for them. He added that is where I really started operating and becoming a dop.

His first feature film as a dop was A Hill In Korea. He went on to photograph Sons And Lovers directed by legendary cinematographer Jack Cardiff. Other offerings included Room At The Top and Saturday Night And Sunday Morning starring Shirley Ann Field. Jack Clayton directed Room At The Top. Freddie told me he would often watch Clayton, who was a good friend, editing the picture. Field, who I interviewed for a newspaper article was a good friend of Freddie and his wife and spoke highly of them.

Asked where was his favourite location, Freddie said: “Anywhere, I just loved making movies.” One of Freddie’s favourite directors was the American Robert Mulligan. He worked with Mulligan on Man In The Moon and Clara’s Heart starring Whoopee Goldberg.

Freddie broke away from cinematography and directed his first feature Two And Two Make Six (1961). He went on to direct several British Hammer horror films at Bray studios. His first horror offering was Paranoiac (1963). It took around six weeks to shoot a Hammer film. He told me they usually worked from eight am until six pm Monday – Friday. He also directed pictures for Amicus, Tigon and Tyburn.

He also directed film for television, working on several episodes of The Saint and Man In A Suitcase. He told me he didn’t care too much for television work – only really feeling at home on a feature film set.

After directing several films he went back to cinematography. He worked on the re-make of Cape Fear. The original version was released in 1962 and the re-make in 1991. Martin Scorsese directed it; Freddie says he and Scorsese got on extremely well.

Freddie won Oscars for Sons And Lovers (1960) and Glory (1989). His last film was The Straight Story (1999). Freddie passed away on 17 March 2007 aged 89.