Vernon Harris

For the American football cornerback, see Vernon Harris (American football).

Vernon Harris (26 February 1905 – February 1999) was a British screenwriter. He often worked with the film director Lewis Gilbert^[1] who said:

[Harris] worked with me in some way on almost every film I did over nearly forty years. In those early days, we very often did the complete screenplay together. Vernon’s real strength was as a script editor. We would lay out the scenario together and we would then usually depend upon a dialogue writer to supply the dialogue.^[2]

Harris was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for his script for film Oliver! (1968).^[3]

Harris was born in Folkestone. He worked extensively for radio at the BBC, notably on PC49 and Band Waggon.^[4][5] He died in Surrey.

Credits

Screenwriter

• Play Up the Band (1935)
• Joy Ride (1935) – also story
• The Improper Duchess (1936)
• Tropical Trouble (1936)
• Band Waggon (1940) – also devised by
• The Adventures of PC 49 (1949) – based on radio series
• A Case for PC 49 (1951) – also based on radio series
• Emergency Call (1952) aka The Hundred Hour Hunt
• There Was a Young Lady (1953) – original story
• Cosh Boy (1953) aka The Slasher
• Albert R.N. (1953) aka Break to Freedom
• The Good Die Young (1954)
• The Sea Shall Not Have Them (1954)
• Reach for the Sky (1956) – additional scenes
• Three Men in a Boat (1956, joint nomination with Hubert Gregg for BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay)
• The Admirable Crichton (1957) aka Paradise Lagoon
• Carve Her Name with Pride (1958)^[6]
• A Cry from the Streets (1958) (nomination for BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay)^[7]
• Ferry to Hong Kong (1959)
• Light Up the Sky! (1960)
• Almost Angels (1962)
• Emergency (1962)
• Oliver! (1968 – 1969 nominee for Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay)
• Friends (1971)
• Paul and Michelle (1974)

As script editor

• The Adventurers (1970)
• Seven Nights in Japan (1976)
• The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
• Moonraker (1979)
• Educating Rita (1983)

Storyboard artist

• Shirley Valentine (1989)

Actor

• Joy Ride (1935)
• Show Flat (1936)
• Tropical Trouble (1936)
• Farewell Again (1937)
• The Claydon Treasure Mystery (1938)
• The Last Barricade (1938)
• The Gables Mystery (1938)

Radio Writer

• Band Waggon (1938–40)
• The Adventures of PC 49