Clytie Jessop(1929-2017)
- Director
- Actress
- Producer
Australian Clytie Jessop moved to London, following her sister and brother-in-law who had settled there. In the early 1960s she was involved with cinematographer and director Freddie Francis, who first photographed her in Jack Clayton's film adaptation of Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw", «The Innocents» (1961). Her enigmatic figure and features were ideal for horror films, and in this one she was photographed to great advantage as the ghost of Miss Jessel, a dead governess. Francis later directed her as the frightful woman in white in «Nightmare» (1964) for Hammer Film, and in «Torture Garden» (1967) for Amicus, in which she played Atropos, the Goddess of Destiny.
However, acting was not Jessop's main interest but painting. From 1965 to 1973 she administered her own art gallery, and exhibited her own works in Melbourne, London, Sydney and New York. In 1977 she went to Australia to work as director of the S.H. Ervin Museum and Art Gallery. She became involved in films again, and directed, wrote and produced a couple of art documentaries and the feature «Emma's War» (1986), which was American actress Lee Remick's last screen role, and became Jessop's last known film activity.
However, acting was not Jessop's main interest but painting. From 1965 to 1973 she administered her own art gallery, and exhibited her own works in Melbourne, London, Sydney and New York. In 1977 she went to Australia to work as director of the S.H. Ervin Museum and Art Gallery. She became involved in films again, and directed, wrote and produced a couple of art documentaries and the feature «Emma's War» (1986), which was American actress Lee Remick's last screen role, and became Jessop's last known film activity.
