Educated at Bedales School, Leacock was active in the movie industry
from 1935. A student of documentary filmmaker John
Grierson, Leacock worked as assistant to Thorold
Dickinson during the Spanish Civil War. During WWII, Leacock joined the Army Kinematograph Service. After the war, Leacock was involved
with the documentary Crown Film Unit as an advisor. By the 1950s he’d
began directing modest yet accomplished feature films for Group 3 including Appointment
in London (1953), The
Kidnapper’s (1953), The
Spanish Gardener (1955) and Innocent Sinners (1958); often garnering fine performances from
child actors. He moved to Hollywood in 1959 and immediately began directing
TV series including ‘Rawhide’ and ‘Bonanza’,
and regrettably, away from Pinewood, this promising director’s
film output declined in quality. Leacock spent the next twenty years
chiefly in Hollywood directing countless popular television series.
He was the brother of documentary filmmaker Richard Leacock.
