Fergus McDonell (1910-1974) was an English film editor and director. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing for Odd Man Out (1947), and his film The Hideout (aka The Small Voice) received a nomination for Best British Film at the 1949 BAFTA Awards. Early life Fergus McDonell was one of five children born to Angus MacDonnell, Judge of Trichonopoly, Madras and his wife Elsie Murdoch. His grandfather was Lord Aeneas Ranald MacDonell, 19th Chief of Clan MacDonell of Glengarry. Members of this family variously spell their surname ‘MacDonnell’, ‘Macdonnell’ and ‘McDonell’; Fergus used the latter spelling throughout his life. As was the custom among members of the Indian Civil Service during the Raj, it is likely that McDonell spent his early childhood in India and was sent back to England for his education. His brother Angus died at age two; he and his three other brothers attended Sedbergh School in Cumbria. Career In 1937, McDonell entered the film world as an editor on The Claydon Treasure Mystery, one of a series of B movies or ‘Quota Quickies’ which he would make between 1937 and 1950. Quota Quickies were a response to the protectionist Cinematograph Films Act 1927, which was intended to limit Hollywood imports and ensure that a healthy percentage of films screened in British cinemas were of British origin. American producers got around it by setting up shell companies in the UK to make low-budget films, often shot on two-week schedules. Their quality was so poor that it was not unusual for theatre owners to apologize to their customers, in advance. These ‘B’ films did not intend to be serious but they offered a springboard for talent, and a way for filmmakers to hone their craft. The films that McDonnel worked on, however, were of a better quality; his last B movie, Private Information (1952), was one of 15 films selected by Steve Chibnall and Brian McFarlane in their book The British 'B' Film, as among the most meritorious of the British B films made in Britain between World War II and 1970. Chibnall and McFarlane praise McDonell's "sensitive regard for human relationships and for the ways in which the pressure of circumstance highlights aspects of character", and they note that he "had a knack for obtaining striking performances from his leading ladies". Private Information was the third film McDonell directed; by now, he was