a contract with Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC) for whom he wound up making five films. The first was a comedy, Will Any Gentleman...? (1953). It was followed by The House of the Arrow (1953). The third was the war film The Dam Busters (1955), starring Richard Todd. It was the most popular movie at the British box office in 1955. Anderson followed this with the first cinema adaptation of George Orwell's 1984 (1956), co-financed by American interests. It was a commercial failure, despite shooting a "happier" ending for the United States release. Around the World in 80 Days Anderson was then called in to direct Around the World in 80 Days (1956), after original director John Farrow had a falling out with producer Mike Todd. Todd reportedly hired him on the strength of The Dam Busters and the recommendation of Noël Coward. The film was a huge hit and Anderson was nominated for an Academy Award (the film won Best Picture) and a Golden Globe for his direction. Todd signed Anderson to a two-picture contract but Todd died in a plane crash in 1958. Anderson was reunited with Richard Todd for another war film Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst (1957) for producer Herbert Wilcox but it was not as popular as The Dam Busters. He made a third film with Richard Todd, a thriller, Chase a Crooked Shadow (1958); this was his fifth and last movie for Associated British. International director In Ireland Anderson made a thriller about the IRA with James Cagney, Shake Hands with the Devil (1959). It was made for Pennebaker, the company of Marlon Brando and provided an early role to Richard Harris. Anderson then took over a project at MGM originally planned as an Alfred Hitchcock project, The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959), with Gary Cooper and Charlton Heston. Anderson later recalled in 1986, "The magic I remember most is walking on to stage 30 in Culver City at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was the biggest stage in the world and I remember looking at it and thinking I'll be here in a couple of weeks and they'll have built a ship and I'll be directing Gary Cooper and Charlton Heston – it's all going to be mine. It gave me such a feeling of astonishment and it's never quite left me." MGM also financed Anderson's next film, the melodrama All the Fine