Richard Lester

January 27, 1997

Lester, an American whose directorial work is mostly made in England, created some of the greatest films of the 1960's. Unfortunately, he would become heavily stuck in the past with his more recent work. Born in Philadelphia on January 19, 1932, his first film as a director was the Peter Sellers' short, The Running, Jumping, and Standing Still Film (1959). His first major effort came in 1964 A Hard Day's Night, a pop culture parody about a day in the life of The Beatles. He would collaborate with the Fab Four again in Help! (1965).

With these two films, Lester updated Marx Brothers type comedy to the swinging 60's era. His most popular films, the independent features The Knack, and How to Get it (1965) and Petulia (1968), were praised for their insight of 1960's London and San Francisco. Lester's directorial path turned sour, after the bomb A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966). He made a brief comeback after The Three Musketeers (1974). Lester inserted a bit of the zaniness of his previous films into this classic tale from Dumas. Many of his recent films have been mainstream work. These have not grabbed the attention of the public. Alas, most of his best work has long since passed us by. Yet, he is still one of the most influential figures in cinema. He changed the face of British comedy, and influenced such popular comedy troops as Monty Python. And he helped make people in the U.S. realize that the Americans were not the only funny people on the planet.

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