Sidney Gilliat (15 February 1908 – 31 May 1994) was an English film director, producer and writer. He was the son of George Gilliat, editor of the Evening Standard from 1928 to 1933. Sidney was born in the district of Edgeley in Stockport, Cheshire. In the 1930s he worked as a scriptwriter, most notably with Frank Launder on The Lady Vanishes (1938) for Alfred Hitchcock, and Night Train to Munich (1940), directed by Carol Reed. He and Launder made their directorial debut co-directing the home front drama Millions Like Us (1943). From 1945 he also worked as a producer, starting with The Rake's Progress, which he also wrote and directed. He and Launder made over 40 films together, founding their own production company Individual Pictures. While Launder concentrated on directing their comedies, most famously the four St Trinian's School films, Gilliat showed a preference for comedy-thrillers and dramas, including Green for Danger (1946), London Belongs to Me (1948) and State Secret (1950). He wrote the libretto for Malcolm Williamson's opera Our Man in Havana, based on the novel by Graham Greene. He had also worked on the film. Early life and career Gilliat was the son of George Gilliat, the editor of the London Evening Standard from 1928 to 1933. He was brought up in New Malden and He was educated at London University, studying English and History. He worked for a period as a journalist at the Evening Standard, later saying he was fired after refusing to interview a grieving widow who was too upset to be spoken to. The film critic of the Evening Standard, Walter Mycroft, went to work at Elstree Studios as a scenario editor, and hired Gilliat to write intertitles for silent films. He was fired after he was overheard criticising a producer's work. Walter Forde Gilliat's early screen credits were on films directed by Walter Forde including Red Pearls (1930), Lord Richard in the Pantry (1930), Bed and Breakfast (1930), You'd Be Surprised! (1930), The Ghost Train (1931), The Ringer (1931) and Third Time Lucky (1931). He also wrote The Happy Ending (1931) and A Gentleman of Paris (1931). Gillat's first major credit as a screenwriter was Rome Express (1932) directed by Forde. He and Frank Launder worked on the script for Facing the Music (1933) but they did not actually work together. Gilliat was credited as writer on Friday the Thirteenth (1933); Orders