Fergus McDonell
Fergus McDonell ( born October 6, 1910 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England; † January 3, 1984 in Norwich, England ) was a British editor and film director who was nominated once for an Academy Award for Best Editing.
Life
McDonell, who was educated at Sedbergh School in Cumbria, started his career as an editor in the film industry in 1939 at the staged by Roy Kellino with James Mason, Sylvia Coleridge and William Devlin thriller I Met a Murderer. He worked until 1976 as an editor in the production of nearly sixty films, including numerous documentaries.
At the Academy Awards in 1948 McDonell was nominated for the Oscar for Best Editing, and indeed for the movie Expelled ( Odd Man Out, 1947) by Carol Reed with James Mason, Robert Newton and Cyril Cusack.
Besides his work as an editor McDonell worked 1949-1960 as a director. After his directorial debut with The voice of conscience (The Small Voice), a thriller starring Valerie Hobson, James Donald, and Howard Keel, he staged another twenty mostly short films.