C. M. Woolf

C. M. Woolf
Born
Charles Moss Woolf

(1879-07-10)10 July 1879
London, England
Died31 December 1942(1942-12-31) (aged 63)
London, England
Employer(s)Gaumont British Picture Corporation, General Film Distributors
Known forDistributing some of Alfred Hitchcock's first films
Spouse(s)Second wife, Gladys Capua Woolf
ChildrenJohn and James Woolf, Rosemary Woolf
RelativesEight brothers and sisters

Charles Moss Woolf (10 July 1879 – 31 December 1942) was a British film distributor.

Biography

Woolf made a fortune by financing, distributing and exhibiting films after World War I, including some of Alfred Hitchcock's first films. In 1935 he resigned from the Gaumont British Picture Corporation and formed General Film Distributors. He brought J. Arthur Rank into the film industry.

He was the father of producers John and James Woolf, and of Rosemary Woolf, a scholar of medieval literature.

Michael Balcon called him "an extraordinary man—a high-tension man, capable of great charm-and generosity but also having the capacity to reduce strong men to tears. He was known throughout the film world as ‘C.M.’ and regarded generally with a mixture of awe and affection... not a maker of films in any sense of the word; he rarely visited the studios, but he knew about the end product and had an unparalleled talent for film business—without doubt the shrewdest film salesman of his time."

Selected filmography

References

  1. ↑ 'Sir John Woolf, 86, Producer Of 'African Queen' and 'Oliver' ', The New York Times, 1 July 1999 accessed 2 June 2012
  2. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (17 January 2026). "Forgotten British Film Moguls: John and James Woolf". Filmink. Retrieved 17 January 2026.
  3. ↑ Spevack-Hussman, Helga (1995). "Rosemary Woolf (1925–1978)". In Helen Damico (ed.). Medieval Scholarship: Literature and Philology. Taylor & Francis. pp. 439–. ISBN 9780815328902. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  4. ↑ Balcon, Michael (1969). Michael Balcon presents ... a lifetime of films. Hutchinson. p. 34.