[1] Born into a German-Jewish family,[2] Cornelius left his native South Africa to work under Max Reinhardt in the Berlin theatrical world.
Cornelius became an associate producer and screenwriter of several Ealing classics such as Hue and Cry and It Always Rains on Sunday.
The film's success with both the public and the critics led him to ask for a pay rise which Ealing refused.
That film's failure led Cornelius to return to Ealing studios with the idea for Genevieve.
Cornelius died whilst making Law and Disorder, with the film finished by Charles Crichton.