Henry Cornelius worked in Germany, France and England an actor and
stage director. After the Nazi occupation of Berlin in 1933, Cornelius
fled to France and became a student at the Sorbonne. During his time
as a student he became an assistant editor, and in 1935 he travelled
to England with Rene Clair to film Clair's The Ghost Goes West (1935).
He was subsequently promoted to full film editor. Returning to his birthplace
of South Africa during the war years, Cornelius wrote documentaries
and worked as a produced and director there. After the war he travelled
to England and worked as an associate producer and screenwriter, becoming
a full-time director at Ealing. He left after directing one film, Passport
to Pimlico (1949), his later films normally had some Ealing links;
Genevieve (1953).
