Ralph Foster Smart (27 August 1908 – 12 February 2001) was an English-born film and television producer, director and writer, who worked in the UK and Australia.
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Early life
Smart was born in England to H. C. Smart, an Australian publicist, and his English wife, Hope Daisy Smart, née Foster.
Career
Smart found work in Britain with Anthony Asquith and later alongside the film director Michael Powell, whom he assisted with 'quota quickies': low-budget "B" pictures made partly in order to exploit the advantageous position of the British film industry under the Cinematograph Films Act 1927.
During the Second World War, Smart joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1942 and served until 1945. Afterward he worked for the Rank Organisation and Ealing Studios, returning to Australia to direct several films beginning with The Overlanders and including Bitter Springs (1950), addressing the mistreatment of young Aborigines.
Back again in Britain, he became an influential figure in ITC television, producing, directing or writing a number of television series and films, including the 1950s series The Adventures of Robin Hood and The Invisible Man. Later he created and produced the highly successful spy series Danger Man (known as Secret Agent in the United States).
In 2000 he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for "services to the development of the Australian film industry".
He retired to Australia, and died on 12 February 2001, in Bowen, Queensland.
Selected filmography
A Cottage on Dartmoor (1929) – uncredited writer
The Woodpigeon Patrol (short; 1930) – writer, director
The Star Reporter (1932) – writer
Hotel Splendide (1932) – writer
C.O.D. (1932) – writer
His Lordship (1932) – writer
Born Lucky (1933) – writer
The Murder Party (1935) – writer
The Phantom Light (1935) – writer
Crime Unlimited (1935) – writer
Sweet Success (short) – 1936) – director
For Dealers Only (Ford Motor Company short) – (1937) – director
Convict 99 (1938) – writer
Alf's Button Afloat (1938) – writer
The Good Old Days (1940) – story
Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt (1940) – writer
Forgotten Men (1942) (documentary short) - director
South West Pacific (1943) – actor
Island Target (documentary; 1945) – director
The Overlanders (1946) – writer, associate producer
