Since the fifties Dick Lester has been domiciled in England, and sprang
to attention in the early days of ITV with his work in connection with
the Goons (Peter Sellers, Spike
Milligan, Harry Secombe). His first cinema film was a rapidly made short,
The Running, Jumping
and Standing Still Film (1959) which encapsulated his humorous approach.
His two films with the Beatles; A
Hard Day's Night (1964) and Help!
(1965), plus The
Knack... and How to Get It (1965) displayed a trendy originality
which was later dissipated in How
I Won the War (1967) and the disastrous The Bed-Sitting Room (1969).
His most satisfactory film to date is Petulia, made in America. During
the 70's and 80's Lester made mainly unoriginal comic book action films
like Robin and Marian (1976), Butch and Sundance: The Early Days (1979)
and Superman II (1980). Lester did direct one film of note, arguably
the definitive adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' The
Three Musketeers (1974).
