Neame's mother was the actress Ivy Close and his progression to films
in 1928 was a matter of course. He worked as an assistant on Hitchcock's
Blackmail,
and in 1934 became a lighting cameraman, shooting such films as Major Barbara (1941), In Which We Serve (1942)
and Blithe Spirit (1945). He
produced several outstanding films of the forties, including Great Expectations (1946)
and Oliver Twist (1949), and
turned to directing in 1947. His films have always been polished but
are occasionally disappointing in content.
