Harold Baim

Harold Baim (1914–1996) was a British film producer, director and writer. He was born in Leeds in 1914; he died in Reading, Berkshire in 1996.

Life and career

According to his family, Baim left Leeds after the death of his father in 1929 and moved to London in 1931. Baim originally wanted to be a journalist but instead gained employment working the clapperboard for film producers at MGM and Renown Pictures. Baim then worked for film producer and distributor George Minter and moved on to Columbia Pictures selling their films to the Odeon, ABC and Gaumont cinema chains.

Baim became a prolific producer of 35mm short films, creating over 300 titles in his lifetime. The subjects of his early films, made by his company The Federated Film Corporation, were released in the early 1940s and featured well known music hall and variety theatre acts such as Wilson, Keppel and Betty. His later and more well known films were mainly travelogues filmed in England, Europe, the Middle East, South Africa, America and Asia as well as music compilations featuring footage of well-known pop music acts of the era.