Rudolph Putnam Messel (28 November 1904 – 3 May 1958) was a British filmmaker, author, and political activist.
He attempted to found a colony in South America for European political exiles, and wrote about the experience in Refuge in the Andes.
He contributed film criticism for The Clarion, edited Socialist Review, and founded Fact.
[2][4] During World War II, Messel served as an ARP Warden, and he left the Labour Party over its support for the conflict.
He retired to a farm on Whiddon Down in Devon, and wrote an unpublished novel based on his experiences there, Red Earth.