David Darlow (film producer)

David Walter Darlow (born January 1942) is a British film producer and director, who predominantly produced documentary films and series.

Life

Darlow was active as a producer of documentary films and series since the 1970s. He worked for the BBC. In 1972 he planned to produce a documentary for the BBC about the vanishing of Royal Navy frogman Lionel Crabb. This led to a conflict with the British Ministry of Defence and ultimately the BBC abandoned the project.[1] Darlow also directed some productions such as the documentary The Sword of Islam (1987)[2][3] or the TV movie Coded Hostile (1989).

Together with John Smithson he co-founded the production company Darlow Smithson Productions in 1988. In June 2002 Smithson acquired full control and bought out Darlow's 50 % stake.[4] A month later Darlow left the company.

In 2000 Darlow won a News & Documentary Emmy Award in the category Outstanding Background/Analysis of a Single Current Story – Programs for the episode Decoding Nazi Secrets of the documentary series Nova. In the previous year he was nominated for the same award in the category Outstanding Investigative Journalism – Programs for an episode of Survival in the Sky.

Selected filmography

Producer

  • 1979–1981: Panorama (documentary series, 7 episodes)
  • 1982–1985: World in Action (documentary series, 13 episodes)
  • 1992–1994: Everyman (documentary series, 4 episodes)
  • 1998: Crash (documentary series, 3 episodes)
  • 1996–1998: Survival in the Sky (documentary series, 6 episodes)
  • 1999: Station X (documentary series, 4 episodes)
  • 2004: Innovation: Life, Inspired (documentary series, 1 episode)
  • 2005: Air Crash Investigation (documentary series, 8 episodes)

Executive Producer

  • 1999: Nova (documentary series, 1 episode)
  • 2000: Equinox (documentary series, 1 episode)
  • 2001: Science and the Swastika (documentary series, 4 episodes)
  • 2001: Going Critical (documentary series, 1 episode)
  • 2002: Superstructures of America (documentary series, 2 episodes)
  • 2002: Lost Worlds (documentary series, 1 episode)
  • 2005: Air Crash Investigation (documentary series, 10 episodes)

Director

  • 1987: The Sword of Islam (documentary film)
  • 1989: Coded Hostile (also known as Tailspin: Behind the Korean Airliner Tragedy, TV movie)
  • 1994: In Suspicious Circumstances (TV movie, 2 episodes)
  • 1996: Survival in the Sky (documentary series, 3 episodes)
  • 1998: Crash (documentary series, 3 episodes)
  • 2004: Innovation: Life, Inspired (documentary series, 1 Episode)

References

  1. ^ Mike und Jacqui Welham: The Crabb Enigma. Matador, 2010, ISBN 978-1848763821. p. 205 ff.
  2. ^ John Corry: TV Review; 'Sword of Islam,' on 13. In: The New York Times, 13 January 1988.
  3. ^ The Sword of Islam. In: bfi.org.uk, access date 23 February 2021.
  4. ^ RDF producer heads to Darlow Smithson. In: c21media.net, 27 July 2004.