Fred Pusey
Frederick Leonard Alfred Pusey (4 July 1909 – 12 June 1983) was a British film art director and production designer, and a Second World War camouflage officer.[1] His artistic skill was put to use on large-scale deception schemes in the Western Desert, including a dummy railhead and a dummy port.
Biography[edit]
Early work[edit]
Pusey began his career working in an architect's office in 1925. In 1930 he became an art director at British & Dominions Film Corporation.[2]
Pusey was fortunate to be able to work as assistant art director with Vincent Korda's 1936 film Things to Come, which predicted a German invasion of Poland in 1940 and the bombing of a London-like city,[3] as well as Four Feathers and The Drum. He worked as set designer for films including Land Without Music and The Challenge.[2]
Wartime camouflage and film[edit]
Pusey made creative contributions to major camouflage and deception schemes in the Western Desert, collaborating closely with Steven Sykes. He worked on the camouflage for the dummy railhead, a deception for Operation Crusader.[4][5] He also worked on the dummy port at Ras el Hillal. According to Geoffrey Barkas, Pusey was ideal for the job, as he was "round-faced, amiably beaming, full of ideas and approaching them in a very methodical fashion".[6] He and Sykes worked out and put into practice a plan to make the wrecked port appear serviceable. They used a very large painted canvas, with some skilful scene painting by Pusey, to make a destroyed tunnel appear to have been repaired, and the ruined jetty to be in use. They built dummy oil storage tanks, stores, vehicles, camps and tracks.[7]
Pusey became head of production in the SEAC Film Unit during the war.[2]
Postwar TV and film[edit]
After the war, Pusey travelled up the River Amazon in Brazil for End of the River in 1946.[2]
He worked as production designer on TV series including Callan, Special Branch, and The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes.[8]
Filmography[edit]
Pusey worked as art director or production designer between 1932 and 1976 on films and TV programs including:
- Good Night Vienna (1932)
- Up for the Derby (1933)
- Southern Roses (1936)
- The Shape of Things to Come (Vincent Korda, 1936)
- Four Feathers (Vincent Korda)
- The Drum (Vincent Korda)
- Spy in Black (Michael Powell)
- Q-Planes (Michael Powell, 1939)[9]
- Farewell Again (1937)
- The Thief of Bagdad (Alexander Korda & Michael Powell, 1940)
- 49th Parallel (Michael Powell, 1941)
- Once a Jolly Swagman (1948)[10]
- Prelude to Fame (1950)
- Tom Brown's Schooldays (1951)
- The Pickwick Papers (1952)
- Our Girl Friday (1953)
References[edit]
- ^ Barkas, 1952. pp. 141–142.
- ^ a b c d Carrick, 1947.
- ^ Stroud, 2012. p. 18.
- ^ Sykes, 1990. p. 43.
- ^ Stroud, 2012. pp. 138–143.
- ^ Barkas, 1952. p. 159.
- ^ Barkas, 1952. pp. 160–161.
- ^ IMDb: Frederick Pusey. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
- ^ BritMovie: Q-Planes
- ^ Time Out: Fred Pusey - films[permanent dead link]
Bibliography[edit]
- Barkas, Geoffrey; Barkas, Natalie (1952). The Camouflage Story (from Aintree to Alamein). Cassell.
- Carrick, Edward (1947). Art & Design In The British Film.
- Stroud, Rick (2012). The Phantom Army of Alamein: How the Camouflage Unit and Operation Bertram Hoodwinked Rommel. Bloomsbury.
- Sykes, Steven (1990). Deceivers Ever: The Memoirs of a Camouflage Officer. Tunbridge Wells: Spellmount. ISBN 0-946771-54-5.
External links[edit]
- Fred Pusey at IMDb
- British Film Institute: Fred Pusey at the Wayback Machine (archived 21 July 2012)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
