Leslie Halliwell

Anthony Quinton wrote in the Times Literary Supplement: "Immersed in the enjoyment of these fine books, one should look up for a moment to admire the quite astonishing combination of industry and authority in one man which has brought them into existence.

After graduating with a 2:1 honours degree from St Catharine's, Halliwell worked briefly for Picturegoer magazine in London, before returning to Cambridge to manage the Rex Cinema from 1952 to 1956.

Under his management, the cinema became extremely popular with the Cambridge undergraduate community, showing classic films such as The Blue Angel, Citizen Kane and Destry Rides Again.

[11] Initially appointed as Cecil Bernstein's assistant, Halliwell gained the role of Film Adviser to Granada's show Cinema, which was the most popular arts programme on television during the 1960s.

[13] Travelling to Hollywood twice a year to view the latest TV pilots and film offerings and to trade fairs in Cannes and Monte Carlo, Halliwell became a major player in the television industry.

In his capacity as chief buyer for the ITV network, he was responsible for bringing to British television screens some of the highest rated shows of the 1970s and 1980s, including The Six Million Dollar Man, Charlie's Angels, The Incredible Hulk, and The A-Team, as well as the James Bond film series, Jaws, and Star Wars.

Over the next few years, the channel showed hundreds of vintage movies in seasons, with many titles introduced by filmmakers such as Samuel Goldwyn Jnr, Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat.

The book was highly influential and critically acclaimed, with TV presenter Denis Norden comparing the companion to the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.

Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times wrote in 1979 that "the referrer needs an iron will to look up only one fact,"[21] in reference to the perceived density of the book.

First published in 1977 and regularly updated,[citation needed] Halliwell's Film Guide originally incorporated capsule reviews and information on over 8,000 English-speaking titles.

He acknowledged his predecessors in the introduction to the first edition, I salute especially the work of Leonard Maltin, James Robert Parish, Denis Gifford, Douglas Eames and the unsung anonymous heroes who compiled the reviews of the BFI's Monthly Film Bulletin during the fifties and sixties.