Charles Ainslie Crichton[4] (6 August 1910 – 14 September 1999) was an English film director and editor.

[4][6][7] He was educated at Oundle School in Northamptonshire, followed by New College at the University of Oxford where he read history.

[7] Other films he edited included those that were produced by Alexander Korda, such as Cash (1933), The Girl from Maxim's (1933), The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), Sanders of the River (1935), Elephant Boy (1937) and The Thief of Bagdad (1940).

[9] Crichton then directed Hue and Cry (1947), a film considered to be the first comedy released by Ealing Studios.

[6][7][9][10] Later films he directed during the 1950s included The Divided Heart (1954), Law and Disorder (1958), and Floods of Fear (1959).

[10][11] Crichton was the original director of Birdman of Alcatraz (1962),[12] but he quit after clashing with Burt Lancaster.

[6] Crichton said of the experience: "Had I known that Burt Lancaster was to be de facto producer, I do not think I would have accepted the assignment, as he had a reputation for quarreling with better directors than I.

"[13] Crichton was also planning another film project with Sammy Davis Jr., but it never came to fruition due to the death of a producer involved with it.

This led Cleese to propose Crichton returning to the crime comedy film genre.

When the film went into production in 1987, Cleese had to act as stand-by director for insurance reasons since Crichton was 77 years old.