
Humphrey Jennings
Personal Info
Known for
Directing
Gender
Male
Birthday
1907-08-19
Day of Death
1950-09-24 (43 years old)
Place of Birth
Walberswick, United Kingdom
Humphrey Jennings
Biography
Frank Humphrey Sinkler Jennings (19 August 1907 – 24 September 1950) was an English documentary filmmaker, celebrated for his poetic and visually striking portrayals of British life during World War II. A co-founder of the Mass Observation social research organization, Jennings blended avant-garde techniques with a deep sense of national identity, creating films that captured the resilience and spirit of the British people. His most acclaimed works, including Listen to Britain (1942), Fires Were Started (1943), and A Diary for Timothy (1945), showcase his unique ability to fuse documentary realism with lyrical storytelling. Film critic and director Lindsay Anderson described him as "the only real poet that British cinema has yet produced."
Known For
Acting
(2025)
Humphrey Jennings: The Man Who Listened to Britain
as Self (archive footage)
(1935)
(1934)
The Glorious Sixth of June
as Albert Goodbody
(1934)
Pett and Pott: A Fairy Story of the Suburbs
as Grocer (uncredited)
Crew
(1950)
Family Portrait
Director, Writer
(1949)
The Dim Little Island
Director, Producer
(1948)
The Cumberland Story
Director
(1946)
A Defeated People
Director
(1945)
A Diary for Timothy
Director
(1945)
Myra Hess
Director
(1944)
The True Story of Lili Marlene
Director, Writer
(1944)
The Eighty Days
Director
(1944)
V. 1
Director
(1943)
Fires Were Started
Director, Writer
(1943)
The Silent Village
Director, Producer
(1942)
Listen to Britain
Director, Writer, Editor
(1941)
Words for Battle
Director
(1941)
The Heart of Britain
Director
(1941)
This Is England
Director
(1940)
London Can Take It!
Director
(1940)
Welfare of the Workers
Director
(1940)
Spring Offensive
Director
(1939)
Cargoes
Director
(1939)
Spare Time
Director
(1939)
S.S. Ionian
Director
(1939)
The First Days
Director
(1938)
English Harvest
Director
(1938)
Penny Journey
Director
(1938)
Speaking from America
Director
(1938)
The Farm
Director
(1938)
Making Fashion
Director
(1937)
Farewell Topsails
Director
(1936)
The Birth of the Robot
Color Designer
(1936)
David Low Animation
Producer
(1935)
Coal Face
Additional Photography
(1934)
Post-Haste
Director
(1934)
Locomotives
Director
(1934)
The Story of the Wheel
Director