Ralph Thomas

Ralph Thomas was a prolific English director of film comedies. His best-known work is the "Doctor" series, which spanned from "Doctor in the House" in 1954 to "Doctor in Trouble" in 1970. The movies were adapted from the "Doctor" novels by Richard Gordon, and most of them starred Dirk Bogarde as Dr. Simon Sparrow and James Robertson Justice as Sir Lancelot Spratt. The series, set in a London teaching hospital, proffered ample doses of romantic mischief and was a popular hit. "Doctor at Sea," from 1955, co-starred Brigitte Bardot in her early years, earning a BAFTA nomination for Best British Screenplay. Thomas' most critically successful film, 1961's "No Love for Johnnie," was one of his few dramas; Peter Finch earned a Best Actor BAFTA for his starring role, and the film itself was nominated for a Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. Thomas' naughty later work included 1971's "Percy," from 1971, and 1974's "It's Not the Size that Counts," both comedies about male organ transplants. Thomas' brother Gerald was also a successful director, helming his own, larger franchise of sorts, the "Carry On" comedy series of the '60s and '70s. Thomas passed away at age 85, but his son Jeremy continued partly in his father's footsteps, working as a producer on edgier independent films.