Losey relocated to New York City in 1930 and found work writing reviews for the New York Times and other publications.He then was hired as as assistant stage manager for the international touring company of Grand Hotel.Returning to New York City in 1931,He was hired as stage manager by Charles Laughton for the Broadway production of Payment Deferred.In 1932, Losey directed a New York production of Little Ol' Boy.
In 1935,Losey travelled to Moscow to attend a film making seminar conducted by Sergei Eisenstein.While there he directed a English Language production of Waiting for Lefty written by Clifford Odets.Back in New York,Losey directed a number of productions for the Federal Theatre Project.Losey also started directing short films dealing with social issues.
Losey spent much of the early portion of the 1940s writing and directing radio dramas for CBS and NBC.In 1943,he was drafted into the Army Signal Corps and was honorably discharged in 1945.He then relocated to Hollywood where he directed the short film A Gun in His Hand.Losey received an Academy Award nomination for this film.Charles Laughton procured Losey's services as director for a stage production of Gallileo in 1947.In 1948 Losey directed The Boy with Green Hair which featured a pre-teen Dean Stockwell in the title role.He then directed The Lawless (1949),The Prowler (1951), and a bizzare remake of Fritz Lang's M(1951).
In 1951,Losey was called to testify in front of the House Un-American Activities Commitee.Losey refused.During his blacklisting,he was in Italy directing Paul Muni in Stranger on the Prowl(1952),for the American release prints Loseys name was deleted from the credits.Losey continued to look for work in television and film but was unable to find employment in America.
In 1952,Losey decided to relocate to the U.K.and,found the situation as problematic as it had been in the United States.Persevering and making important connections in England,Losey began working once more.At first,he was reduced to taking any assignment that was available at a very poor rate of pay.He also initially had to work under a pseudonym.Losey often wrote scripts under a number of names usually for a small amount of money.
Under an alias he was given the chance to direct The Sleeping Tiger which starred American leading lady Alexis Smith (who was extremely nervous when she discovered the identity of the director) and a young leading man billed as Dirk Bogarde.He went on to direct The Intimate Stranger again,using an alias.Losey soon was given the chance to direct suspense films under his own name.These films included Time Without Pity (1957) and,The Gypsy and the Gentleman(1957)
During this time,Losey was staring to enjoy an almost cult-like status in France.Critics and fans of avant-garde cinema were Losey's greatest admirers.In 1960 the release of The Criminal greatly expanded Losey's popularity as a film director.This film turned out to be an international box office success as well.Losey was honored with a week long retrospective of his films by the Paris Cinematheque.The retrospective attracted standing room only crowds during its run.
The early 1960s also saw the McCarthy era blacklist effectively over.Kirk Douglas refused to credit the script of Spartacusto an alias and publicly announced that the scripts writer was the blacklisted Dalton Trumbo and that,he would receive full credit for it.Though Losey was now able to work in his home country,he continued to work in The U.K.
Losey continued to direct.He filmed the science fiction film The Damned (1962) and, Eve(1962) which garnered him even more critical praise.In 1962 Losey and Dirk Bogarde decided to film The Servant.They had disscussed filming the Robin Maugham book since filming of The Sleeping Tiger.The initial plan was for Bogarde to act only in an executive production capacity (Bogarde was Losey's choice to play Tony in when they first disscussed the idea in the early 1950s).Losey and Bogarde both wanted to cast Ralph Richardson as Hugo Barrett but it quickly became clear that Richardson's asking price could not be met.Losey's solution,conveyed to Bogarde,was quick and to the point."I got it, you'll play the servant!".
The film was shot and completed in 1962.The Servant was important on two fronts.His role as Hugo Barrett continued Bogarde's transition from Odeon Idol to internationally respected film actor.This was also the first time Losey exercised complete creative control over a film.For the most part Losey would continue to maintain creative control of his works.
