Author

My book is the book I wish I had had when I started out in this business 35 years ago!

It will appeal strongly to students of Theatrical Fencing, Competitive Fencing, Directing for Film and Theatre, Film Study students at College and University, original screen writers and Sports Coaches which includes training of special need students.

This book is suitable for all, however, for those about to enter their chosen field in the film and sports world, this book is an inspirational MUST READ!!

There are, to my personal knowledge, hundreds of young people, vainly knocking on the doors of the entertainment world seeking the chance to enter, to find an opening or an opportunity to get their foot inside the entertainment world. For the true artist, reality TV celebrity has an unsustainable future - a short shelf life, one that is fickle and unforgiving. To be a working professional with training and skills is a tough life - very tough and often unrewarded, When I started out on my adventure of knocking on doors, thirty-five years ago, I had no family or relative already working in the business and no one able or capable to help me open those doors. “Take One, Action!” is my story of my successful journey, packed with insight and advice which no film school can ever teach you. This book is an essential read for all aspiring actors, swordsmen, fight choreographers and film directors looking to make a long-lasting career in the entertainment business, where fleeting celebrity is cheap. It will also appeal and be of significant interest to theatre, film and fencing students, entertainment historians and those who thirst for an insight into the world of swordsmen and the art of making action movies. 

The question is why this book? You will soon discover from the first chapter that I am worth reading and listening to because I have worked professionally in the entertainment business for 35 years - from a nobody to a valued asset. I have directed for both Film and Theatre, most notably "Birth of a Legend" a filmed western and "Golden Swords" at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, London. I am also now an executive producer in audio as an Independent Programme supplier for BBC Radio.
This memoir reflects the style I have adopted over many years writing for journals and is a friendly conversation with the reader which will be enjoyed by all. Illustrated through interesting anecdotes from my own 73 roles on set in front of the camera, this is an insider's view of the development of film and its future, from someone who was there on the ground. It also incorporates intriguing nuggets of information from both swordplay and film worlds, such as:

• Why spiral staircases rise clockwise?
• Which Hollywood star was a British Army fencing champion?
• Where did the term slapstick originate?
• What will be the impact of Netflix on UK theatrical releases?

Additionally, I have included, within my memoir’s pages, a comprehensive list of my top films with some commentary on why they are worth watching and a suite of photographs to illustrate my journey.Take One, Action!  will let you "peek behind the curtain" of swordplay and film to see how the Wizard of Oz in the entertainment world pulls all those levers and pushes those buttons. (300 words)

A Non-Fiction study of the pioneering action from 1908 to 1973, created by Directors, Stuntmen and women of early Hollywood, before the advent of Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) 

For the first time in print, this book studies the six main elements of action in films:   Swordplay, battles, planes, trains and automobiles, horses, fire, fist and gun fights, ending with an odd sock category on some of the pioneering, one off stunts that made cinematic stunt history before CGI.

“Hollywood’s Pioneering Daredevils!” is the gift every film fan, cinema goer, student actor, writer, director and stunt performer will want to have at their fingertips.

An ideal gift for the film buff in your life. “Hollywood’s Pioneering Daredevils!” is packed full of photographs that explore movie stunts and the people who pioneered them in the great film genres of Hollywood, including:‘The Swashbucklers”, “Battles & War films”, “Trains, Plane & Automobiles”, “Horses”, “Fire”, the “Bread & Butter” work and an odd socks chapter on the great WOW! action sequences.

If you are a fan of the silent film pioneers like Buster Keaton, you’ll know that everything you saw on the screen in those films, actually happened. The risks were real, the skills required in surviving such feats were breath-taking and the impact of this on the quality of the films was reflected in the audiences which loved them. We are still talking about these films one hundred years after they were made. These performers were the fathers, the pioneers, the original daredevils who set the bar so high and those who follow in their footsteps must at least equal or surpass these moments in film.

This is not an academic history of every stunt and action sequence, that would indeed be a weighty tome! So, you won’t find parachuting, swimming, free climbing, mountaineering, surfing or hang-gliding and the list can go on and on. HPD highlights what I believe to be the best, most pioneering and most memorable cinematic action of the golden age of Hollywood and how it has changed from the birth of cinema to the very latest blockbusters. 

You will be introduced to the pioneers of these action sequences and their directors. The experts who mastered the art, sometimes paying the ultimate price to thrill us, and the stars who made daring-do their trademark signature on their films, like Errol Flynn, to the swashbuckler. Steve McQueen to cars and motorbikes and John Wayne to the Western hero.

In turn, I hope this insight will enable you to appreciate the creativity, innovation and the skills of the film daredevils of all ages.

Originally published as part of the paperback version of “Take One, Action!” (My memoir), this is now available separately as an updated, valuable reference work of fencing terminology and actions of both body and with blade in hand.

This eBook will appeal strongly to students of Theatrical Fencing and Competitive Fencing, in their training sessions in their fencing salle, with their instructor. This is the Book I wish I had had when I started out in my training to become a sword master. The ultimate book for fencing terminology and a practical guide on how to execute all fencing moves, including those with blade in hand. Sports Coaches, of all levels, will find this eBook invaluable.

A comprehensive technical digest of the terminology and vocabulary of the art of fencing; from Olympic Competitive fencing to Theatrical Swordplay. This eBook has been designed for ease of access for the student swordsperson, available on all major digital platforms, from home computers to smart phones and everything in between. The Codex has all the answers you will require to pass your proficiency award qualifications from all recognised fencing governing bodies. 

If you are studying further fencing qualification, to become a coach, this codex covers all the vocabulary you will require to teach others the sport of fencing. 

If your aim is to become a fight director or sword master in the entertainment business, the codex will give you the international language of the sword. This eBook will give you the passport to communicate the skills required of a swordplay scene to the writer of an action sequence, to the cast, the stunt coordinator, and the director, as the correct fencing vocabulary is one recognised world-wide. 

As a fencer and film / theatre swordsman, for over thirty-five years, I have found my notes on terminology and the relevant vocabulary, which I have transcribed for you here, the most valuable, irreplaceable tool in my kit bag, next to my mask, swords and protective jacket. To this day, I can recite a complex fencing definition, verbatim, with ease and without pause for thought. Thanks to my fencing master who gave me the golden ticket to the art of fencing. I now pass the golden ticket on to you. 

A non-fiction, historical study of the films that were produced under the authority of The Ministry of Information, a government war office, prior to, during and post the second world war.

“Bovril & Sherry” is the essential companion to all the British war films seen most weekends and Bank Holidays! This comprehensive book explains why these classic films were made before, during and after the Second World War by both British and Allied filmmakers and it catalogues those who starred in and made them.  

An ideal gift for all serious film watchers!

Have you ever watched a black and white war film, made in the 1940’s or 1950’s and asked yourself, did this really happen during the war or was it simply a fictional Hollywood action story simply to entertain?

You will be surprised to learn that the narrative behind these classic British War Films had a vital purpose in telling the narrative of the film story behind each and every film. They provided truth and honesty, as well as advice and consolation. These films helped a nation through the confusing and uncertain years before the outbreak of the war, supported them in the darkest days of the blitz, when invasion and defeat by Nazi Germany was a real possibility, and finally helped them celebrate their victory and consoled them in the trauma of surviving an unwanted war, which left their once rich and prosperous, country bankrupt and in ruins.

British War films are the unsung heroes of the world conflict which helped bring the country through this time. How many people even know of or acknowledge the British Army Film and Photographic Unit, which brought actual live footage of the war to the world and which had highest casualty rates of any regiment in that time.

Your Sunday afternoon war film has much, much more to it than you may have first thought. This book will highlight the deep feelings and purpose held by the film makers who made them and the bold insightful thinking of the Ministry of Information who green lit the productions.