Terry O’Brien

Terry O’Brien began as a sound engineer with British Movietone News. His earliest credit is in No.1140A of April 1951, where he appeared in ‘THE BUDGET,' asking the Chancellor about its content. According to the shot list he received the reply ‘It’s a nice day.' O’Brien appears in the Movietone staff list for October 1951, and in January 1952 he was in the Movietone team assigned to film the ‘Flying Enterprise’ disaster. He was next credited with cameraman George Richardson [qv] for ‘BARBARIANS v. ALL BLACKS’ in No.1290A of February 1954, after which he was frequently credited in the Movietone teams covering domestic events. O’Brien then trained as a cameraman, and his first cameraman’s assignment seems to have been for ‘AUSTRIAN CHANCELLOR’S VISIT’ in No.1307 of June 1954. In April 1954 O’Brien was shown with Derek Stiles [qv] and D. Evans [qv] looking at a tape machine in ‘THE BUDGET’ in British Movietone News No.1350A. O’Brien’s last credit is for ‘CHILDREN MAKE MUSIC’ in British Movietone News No.1543A of January 1959. After leaving Movietone he worked in the film department of the British Tourist Board.

In 1965 a Terry O’Brien was credited as director, working for British Films Ltd [qv], for ‘SUPERSONIC HYPERSONIC FLIGHT’, Frontier No.14. This was a science series produced for overseas distribution by the Central Office of Information [COI] and sponsored by the Commonwealth Relations Office. He also seems to have worked for United Motion Pictures [qv] as director on another COI series Portrait, directing ‘CIVIC THEATRE’, also released in 1965.

Sources

Reg Sutton’s typescript autobiography, copy in BUFVC; The National Archives (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO) INF 6/121: NoS Number 324979; Frontier Number 14; Date released 1965: NoS Number 327486; Portrait Number 39; Date released 1965.