British director Don Chaffey began his career in the film industry in
the art department at Gainsborough Pictures. He began directing in
1951, often working on films aimed at children. He branched out into
television in the mid-'50s, turning out many of the best episodes of
such classic series as
Geheimauftrag für John Drake (1960),
Nummer 6 (1967) and
Mit Schirm, Charme und Melone (1961). Although he
worked in many film genres, his best work is generally acknowledged to
be the crackerjack fantasy
Jason und die Argonauten (1963).
On the other hand, he was also responsible for the lugubrious,
box-office disaster
Königin der Wikinger (1967), one of
the few productions from Hammer Films that lost money. In the late
1970s Chaffey traveled to the US and worked primarily there, often in
made-for-TV movies.
