[1] His contributions towards these films was largely neglected until Dai Vaughan's biography of him, Portrait of an Invisible Man,[2] was published in 1983.
In this time, he worked as an editor for most of the films directed by Humphrey Jennings, including Fires Were Started and Listen to Britain.
[6] Following the death of Humphrey Jennings in 1950, McAllister began working for the British Transport Films unit, under Edgar Anstey.
[5] With Anstey's encouragement, McAllister began working as a producer, resulting in films such as the humorous I Am a Litter Basket (1959).
[8] Some of the film's most memorable scenes, including the cut from Flanagan and Allen in a factory to Dame Myra Hess at the National Gallery, were attributed to McAllister by his colleagues.