Campbell Russell - Codename intelligentsia the life and times of the honourable Ivor Montagu, filmmaker, communist, spy

Cover Illustrations

Front: Ivor Montagu at the time of his wedding, 1927, photograph by Sasha. (Getty Images/Hulton Archive)

Back:Left: With George Bernard Shaw in Melodie der Welt, 1929 (frame): Montagu seated on a handy pile of bricks, concealing the fact that my old grey flannel trousers had a big hole in the seat through which my shirt projected. (Private collection)

Centre: Montagus Daily Worker press pass, 1939: when the Soviet Union invaded Finland the paper asked him to go to Russia as a war correspondent, but he was refused an exit permit. (By permission of the Labour History Archive, Manchester)

Right: Montagu in a lighter moment: he had a warm and certainly idiosyncratic charisma. (By permission of the Peoples History Museum)

First published 2018

The History Press

The Mill, Brimscombe Port

Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL 5 2 QG

www.thehistorypress.co.uk

Russell Campbell, 2018

The right of Russell Campbell to be identified as the Author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without the permission in writing from the Publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 0 7509 8844 5

Typesetting and origination by The History Press

Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ International Ltd

eBook converted by Geethik Technologies

Codename Intelligentsia required a great deal of research. I am first of all deeply indebted to the archivists who eased my way and made much of the work a joy. I would like to thank especially Darren Treadwell at the Labour History Archive, Jonny Davies of BFI Special Collections, and Kathleen Dickson and Steve Tollervey at the BFI National Archive. I would also like to acknowledge the help of Anja Gbel at the Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek. Susan Halpert at Harvard Universitys Houghton Library was of great assistance, as were the interloan staff at the Victoria University of Wellington Library.

With respect to film history, Charles Barr has been a constant source of suggestions and information. Others who have generously contributed their knowledge are Jo Botting, Bert Hogenkamp, Richard Taylor, David Bordwell, Terence Dobson, John Sedgwick, Hiroshi Komatsu and Paul Hammond.

In the fields of political and intelligence history I am most grateful for the advice and collaboration of David Burke, Emily Lygo, Timothy Shenk, Bill Logan and Barry Pateman.

For help with translation I would like to warmly thank Galya Brockie, Steve Marder, Jeremy Macey, Gerd Pohlmann and Bert Hogenkamp.

For his knowledge of the cinema, assistance with illustrations, and expert advice regarding publication I am particularly grateful to Patrick McGilligan, author of Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light.

I am highly appreciative of the commitment of Mark Beynon at The History Press, who enthusiastically took on a project at which many other publishers had baulked.

Finally, for their hospitality and ongoing support and encouragement, I am very grateful to Win Campbell (who put me up in London), Bob Tristram (who dutifully read the manuscript chapter by chapter as it emerged), Andrea Bosshard, Gerd Pohlmann, Svenda Strm, Rachel Juniot, and my daughter Camille Wrightson.

Russell Campbell
Wellington, September 2017