Monja Danischewsky

Monja Danischewsky (28 April 1911 – 16 October 1994) was a British producer and writer, born in Archangel into a Russian-Jewish family who left Russia for England in 1919 and who produced and wrote the films Topkapi and Rockets Galore! (1957)^[1] and others.

Monja Danischewsky
Born	Monja Danischewsky 28 April 1911 Archangel, Russia
Died	16 October 1994(1994-10-16) (aged 83)
Occupation	Film producer

Biography

Early life

Monja Danischewsky's family left Russia for Great Britain in 1919.

Career

Monja started out with various publicity jobs, then to Ealing Studios as publicity director in 1938 and occasional writer. Monja switched to producing in 1949; and later became an independent producer The Galloping Major (1951); returned as producer/writer in mid-1950s and continued briefly after Ealing ended; Rockets Galore (1958) and The Battle of the Sexes (1959). Monja has written two books about his experiences in the film industry. Autobiography, 'White Russian, Red Face', 1966. and 'Out of my Mind', a collection of anecdotes, 1972.

Personal life

Monja was known as Danny to friends and fellow filmmakers. He married Brenda Danischewsky (born Rattrey) and they had 3 children. In later life he moved to Farnham, Surrey with his wife. He died there at the age of 83.

Filmography

As writer

• Undercover (1943)
• Bitter Springs (1950)
• The Galloping Major (1951)^[2]
• Meet Mr. Lucifer (1953)
• The Love Lottery (1954) (additional dialogue and scenes)
• Rockets Galore! (1957)^[3]
• The Battle of the Sexes (1959)^[4]
• Two and Two Make Six (1962)
• Topkapi (1964) (screenplay)^[5]
• Mister Moses (1965)
• Avalanche (1969) (as John Danischewsky)
• That Lucky Touch (1975) (adaptation)

As producer

• Whisky Galore! (1949) (associate producer)
• The Galloping Major (1951)
• Meet Mr. Lucifer (1953)
• The Love Lottery (1954)
• The Battle of the Sexes (1959)
• Two and Two Make Six (1962) (producer)
• Avalanche (1969) (producer) (as John Danischewsky)
• Run Wild, Run Freedom (1969)

Published works

• White Russian, Red Face (Gollancz, 1966)
• Out of My Mind (Michael Joseph, 1972)
• short memoir by Danischewsky of Barnett Freedman, in Emma Mason (ed.), Tales of Barnett Freedman (Bread and Butter Press, 2020)