Epitaph For a Spy by Ambler,Eric - 1944

London: Hodder & Stoughton. This is a Very Good Copy of this Book in what was originally part of the series of Hodder's services yellow jackets edition.This copy has been re-bound in grey card covers by Everybody's Rebound which was obviously a wartime effort to save on paper.The book was acquired from the private library of Film Director Roy Ward Baker who was a close friend of Eric Ambler.Roy Ward Baker after a start as a mere tea boy soon rose to the level of an assistant director on Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes (1938).He served in the Army during World War II, transferring to the Army Kinematograph Unit in 1943. One of his superiors at the time was novelist Eric Ambler who insisted on Baker being given his first big break directing The October Man, from an Ambler screenplay, in 1947.Ambler also adapted Walter Lord's A Night to Remember for Baker's 1958 screen version.His next two films, The Weaker Sex (1948) and Paper Orchid (1949) were popular but overshadowed by the success of Morning Departure (1950), also featuring John Mills.Morning Departure drew international attention to Baker's talent and prompted Darryl Zanuck, production head of 20th Century Fox,to invite him to Hollywood, though his first film for the company was made in the UK.During the early 1950s, Baker worked for three years at Fox where he directed Marilyn Monroe in Don't Bother to Knock (1952) and Robert Ryan in the 3D film noir Inferno (1953). He returned to the UK in 1953 and continued to work on films.He worked for television during the 1960s. He directed episodes of The Avengers, The Saint, The Persuaders! and The Champions all adventure series created with an eye on the American market.He directed, among others, Quatermass and the Pit (1967) The Vampire Lovers (1970) and Scars of Dracula (1970) for Hammer, and Asylum (1972) and The Vault of Horror (1973) for Amicus. He also directed Bette Davis in the black comedy The Anniversary (1968).In the latter part of the 1970s he returned to television, and throughout the 1980s continued to work on shows such as Minder. He retired in 1992.Nice copy with this wonderful association.Great addition to any Ambler collection,8vo 192pp First Edition Thus 1944 . Very Good. Soft cover. First Edition. 1944.