T.E.B. 'Tibby' Clarke graduated with a law degree from Cambridge
University, but decided that writing was more his forte. He started on
that career path first as writer for a magazine in Australia, than back
in London freelancing as a journalist. He also had jobs on Fleet
Street, worked in advertising, as a door-to-door salesman, briefly
served in the police force and contributed a series of articles as a
foreign correspondent based in Argentina during a military coup. In
addition, he found the time to author five novels, the first of fifteen
major publications to appear under his name.
An interview with a scenario editor at Ealing Studios led to a contract
and, from 1943 to 1957, he was employed as a screenwriter, at first in
collaboration with others. From
Auf ihn mit Gebrüll (1947), he received solo
writing credits and became noted for a series of imperishable comedies
about English eccentricities that have remained uniquely popular to
this day. Clarke was known to be a meticulous researcher and only
needed a hook on which to hang his underlying fantasy premise. Already
fascinated by archaic laws, he painstakingly looked for historical
precedents for his comedy
Blockade in London (1949),
finding them in the independent medieval duchy of Burgundy and posed
the question : what if Charles the Bold had survived the 1447 Battle of
Nancy and sought political asylum in England, say Pimlico, which might
then, by default, be considered a principality of Burgundy ?
For his caper comedy
Einmal Millionär sein (1951),
he confronted a teller at the Bank of England with a note saying
'Information required on means of stealing gold bullion'. Within a
short time, Clarke had three bank executives, including the managers of
the bullion and the transport department, sorting out any plot-related
problems as to where, when and how such a heist might conceivably
succeed. 'The Lavender Hill Mob' won Clarke the 1952 Academy Award for
Best Story and Screenplay. 'Tibby' used similar means of coaxing
information out of British Railways officials for
Der Titfield-Express (1953)
and the registrars at Lloyd's Shipping for
Kapitän Seekrank (1957).
After leaving Ealing, Clarke worked only sporadically in the movies. He
drew upon his own experience in the police force to write the police
drama Chefinspektor Gideon (1958) for
John Ford (having had a previous hit
with Die blaue Lampe (1950)), and the
following year collaborated on a screen adaptation of
D.H. Lawrence's
Söhne und Liebhaber (1960) with
Gavin Lambert, for which he received an
Academy Award nomination. In 1974, he published a revealing
autobiography detailing his work at Ealing, entitled 'This Is Where I
Came In'.
