A varied career in the Civil Service, as a salesman and as a journalist,
gave Annakin a broader experience of life than most British directors,
and his first feature, Holiday
Camp (1947), was made on the 'slice of life' principle. Following
this he co-directed two Somerset Maugham portmanteau films; Quartet
(1948) and Trio
(1950). His subsequent output has been generally reliable, but rarely
remarkable. He is one of a select band of British directors trusted
by Hollywood, and much of his work since has been for American companies,
directing films such as The Longest Day (1962), Those
Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965) and Battle of
the Bulge (1965). Annakin was awarded with an OBE in 2002.
