Alan Gibson

Alan Gibson (April 28, 1938, London, Ontario, Canada – July 5, 1987, London, UK) was a Canadian director active in British film and television. He was particularly notable in his early years for his work in horror. The films he directed include Journey to Midnight (1968), Crescendo (1970), Dracula A.D. 1972, The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1974), Checkered Flag or Crash (1977), Witness for the Prosecution (1982) and A Woman Called Golda (1982) starring Ingrid Bergman. His television work includes Eh Joe (1965), The Capone Investment (1974), Churchill and the Generals (1979) and The Charmer (1987). Alan Gibson came up with the idea for The Flipside of Dominick Hide (1980), a Play for Today he co-wrote with Jeremy Paul and directed. As a child he had overheard his family discussing a recent UFO report and thought to himself: "Since there had been sightings of flying saucers recorded throughout history, it occurred to me that they were man-made machines, time machines from the future". The two men collaborated again on its sequel Another Flip for Dominick (1982). "The Flipside of Dominick" Hide attained viewing figures of 5.3 million and a reaction index of 75 – compared to an average Play for Today score of 59. The Radio Times letter editor claimed that "No other single new BBC TV play in 1980 attracted so much correspondence" – highlighting the public's affection for the show.

Alan Gibson was born in Canada and moved to the UK to train at the Bristol Old Vic. After working as an actor in the theatre, he started directing when BBC2 was launched. He worked on film and TV for the rest of his career. He lived in London with his wife Kate (d. 1997) and their daughters Sarah-Kate and Jessica and died of cancer in 1987 at the age of 49, just a few months before his last work The Charmer was broadcast. His brother is the Canadian writer Graeme Gibson.