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Basil Dearden

Basil Dearden

Director, producer and writer · Died March 23, 1971, aged 60 · Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England

Basil Dearden (born Basil Clive Dear; 1 January 1911 – 23 March 1971) was an English film director.

Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 1, 1911
Died
March 23, 1971 (aged 60)
From
Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England
Works as
Director, producer and writer
Titles
24 on MovieCove · 56 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Down 32% in 30 days

What are Basil Dearden's films like?

Across their 23 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Power.

Genres

Drama9 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 67th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Comedy4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 72nd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Comedy movies
Crime4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 72nd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Crime movies
Adventure3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 39th percentile
: browse their Adventure movies
Action2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 67th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Action movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
31%
Power
18%
Bonds
14%
Society
13%
Self
13%
Survival
6%
Ideas
5%
Romantic love5 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception7 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice4 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity5 titles, browse their movies with this themeGreed4 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity3 titles, browse their movies with this themeTrauma3 titles, browse their movies with this themeBetrayal3 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 23 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 10 · Serious 4 · Dark 9

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 14 · Stylized 8 · Heightened 1

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 5 · Charged 13 · Intense 5

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 11 · Shifting 11 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 15 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 5

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

A split, not a type: Slow burn 12 · Even-paced 11 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 8 · Engaged 14 · Full focus 1

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

Easy watch 9 · Affecting 11 · Heavy 3

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 16 · Open-ended 5 · Ambiguous 2

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
16
Melancholic
13
Warm
5
Dread
6
Thrilling
4
Other
17

How their films linger

Thought-provoking9 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 6 with a twist

  • Happy5
  • Bittersweet9
  • Tragic5
  • Ambiguous3
  • Cyclical1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Basil Dearden's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 15 of their 24 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (6).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Basil Dearden's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

56 credits, 24 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • The Last Appointment! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)

    Director

  • Mission: Monte Carlo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)

    Director

  • The Persuaders! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)

    Director

  • The Persuaders!(1971)

    Show 3 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows

  • The Man Who Haunted Himself(1970)

    Director · Executive Producer · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • The Assassination Bureau(1969)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • Only When I Larf(1968)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films

  • Khartoum(1966)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • Masquerade(1965)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films

  • Woman of Straw(1964)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • A Place to Go (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)

    Director

  • The Mind Benders(1963)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Life for Ruth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)

    Director · Producer

  • All Night Long(1962)

    Director · Co-Producer

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Victim(1961)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • The Secret Partner (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)

    Director

  • Man in the Moon(1960)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films

  • The League of Gentlemen(1960)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Sapphire(1959)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films

  • Desert Mice (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)

    Producer

  • Rockets Galore (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)

    Producer

  • Violent Playground(1958)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • Davy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)

    Producer

  • Nowhere to Go(1958)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films

  • Big Time Operators(1957)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • The Green Man (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)

    Director

  • Who Done It? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)

    Director · Co-Producer

  • PT Raiders(1955)

    Director · Producer · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films

  • Out of the Clouds(1955)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films

  • The Rainbow Jacket (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)

    Director

  • The Square Ring (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)

    Director

  • The Gentle Gunman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1952)

    Director · Producer

  • I Believe in You (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1952)

    Director · Producer · Screenplay

  • Pool of London (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)

    Director

  • Cage of Gold (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)

    Director

  • The Blue Lamp(1950)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • Train of Events (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)

    Director · Screenplay

  • Saraband(1948)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films

  • Frieda (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1947)

    Director

  • The Captive Heart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1946)

    Director

  • Dead of Night(1945)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • They Came to a City(1944)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • The Halfway House(1944)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • My Learned Friend (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)

    Director

  • The Bells Go Down (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)

    Director

  • Did You Ever See a Dream Talking (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)

    Director

  • The Goose Steps Out(1942)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • The Black Sheep of Whitehall (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    Director

  • Turned Out Nice Again (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)

    Associate Producer

  • The Ghost of St. Michael's (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)

    Associate Producer

  • Spare a Copper (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    Associate Producer · Writer

  • Young Veteran (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    Production Assistant

  • Let George Do It! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    Screenplay

  • Now You're Talking (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    Script

  • Penny Paradise (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Assistant Director

  • This Man Is News (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Writer

Career shape

A full career of 55 titles from 1938 to 1977.

Biggest box office

Dead of Night (1945)

$35K worldwide

Highest rated

Victim (1961)

Midcredits 97th

Most popular right now

Dead of Night (1945)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing44 of 55: 35 only directing, 9 with another role · typical Midcredits score67thWriting8 of 55: 2 only writing, 6 with another roleProducing13 of 55: 5 only producing, 8 with another roleOther crew3 of 55: 3 only other crew, 0 with another role

55 titles, 10 with more than one role — directing and producing overlap on 7 of them.

By decade

1930s2 · crew1940s18 · crew1950s17 · crew1960s13 · crew1970s5 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Basil Dearden's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 67th percentile, the median of all 23; across their 23 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 66th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

66thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 23

Approval · how many liked their films

65thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 23

Reach · how many have seen their films

53rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 23

Midcredits score across 24 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up7
  • 50th to 74th13
  • 25th to 49th4

Shape of the crowd

None of their 24 titles divides audiences: 16 are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Crowd Pleaser16
  • Broadly Agreed2
  • Mixed3

Most loved · director

Victim (1961)

Midcredits 97th · 86% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 73/100 and the pacing 50/100 in their films, across 23 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Basil Dearden's work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films
Sex & Nudity3 titlesmedian 24 · mildMedian of all films: 32

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.

Who does Basil Dearden work with?

People who share at least 2 of Basil Dearden's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Michael Relph shares the most, 16.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers