Paul Rothaz on AllMovie

Former graphic artist Paul Rotha entered the British film industry after writing the seminal work on cinema history The Film Till Now (1930). Though still in his twenties, Rotha began making his own films under the tutelage of John Grierson, shortly thereafter. Such industrial films as Shipyard (1935) earned young Rotha considerable acclaim. During the '40s, he continued making documentaries and also became a producer. During the '50s, he directed three feature films including Cat and Mouse (1958) before returning to documentaries with the highly acclaimed biography The Life of Adolf Hitler in 1961.