---
name: "Herbert Wise"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/herbert-wise"
fi1m_id: "herbert-wise"
imdb_id: "nm0936358"
tmdb_id: 79925
wikidata_id: "Q3133520"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "31 August 1924"
died: "5 August 2015"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 83
average_as: "director"
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-10-07T12:33:36.484682+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Herbert Wise

## Identity

Herbert Wise

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/herbert-wise
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** herbert-wise
- **IMDb ID:** nm0936358
- **TMDB ID:** 79925
- **Wikidata ID:** Q3133520
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Wise, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3133520, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0936358/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/79925

Director. Born 31 August 1924 in Wien, Austria. Died 5 August 2015.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 31 August 1924, Wien, Austria
- **Died:** 5 August 2015
- **Active:** 1962–1996
- **Also known as:** Herbert Weisz, Herbie Wise
- **Frequently works with:** [Brian Parker](https://film.one/person/brian-parker.md), [Bill Hays](https://film.one/person/bill-hays.md), [Jim Goddard](https://film.one/person/jim-goddard.md), [John Glenister](https://film.one/person/john-glenister.md), [Michael Simpson](https://film.one/person/michael-simpson-1226610.md), [Robert Knights](https://film.one/person/robert-knights.md), [Alma Cullen](https://film.one/person/alma-cullen.md), [Anthony Simmons](https://film.one/person/anthony-simmons.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 83, as director, over 4 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 86 (2), 1980s 84 (1), 1990s 76 (1)
- **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 4, Crime 2, Mystery 2, War & Politics 1
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Wise, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3133520, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0936358/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/79925

## Streaming the US now

- **BritBox:** [*Inspector Morse*](https://film.one/tv/inspector-morse.md) (84), [*A Touch of Frost*](https://film.one/tv/a-touch-of-frost.md) (76)
- **The Roku Channel:** [*I, Claudius*](https://film.one/tv/i-claudius.md) (90)
- **Apple TV:** [*Upstairs, Downstairs*](https://film.one/tv/upstairs-downstairs.md) (83)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Herbert Wise

> Herbert Wise trusted actors to make complicated drama clear and compelling. We rate him highly for *I, Claudius*, where that trust survives dated sets and occasional overplaying, and gives the conversations their force.

In *I, Claudius* (1976), people can behave appallingly and remain a pleasure to listen to. Herbert Wise gives their conversations enough weight that following an exchange feels like following an event. We found the cruelty more disturbing because the dialogue had made us laugh first. This is the work on which we rate him highly: he makes complicated drama involving a large cast clear without making everyone behave respectably. Directing all 13 episodes also gave him the chance to sustain that attention across the whole series.

His move from repertory theatre to television in 1956 helps explain the emphasis on performance, though it should not be mistaken for indifference to directing. He often worked close to the actors on set rather than from the gallery, a practical choice consistent with what we see in *I, Claudius*. The ensemble adaptations continued with Alan Ayckbourn’s trilogy, *The Norman Conquests* (1977).

The limitations are there to see in *I, Claudius*, and affection does not oblige us to overlook them. The sets look dated, and some actors press the wickedness harder than the writing needs; we would rather be allowed to notice it ourselves. Yet Wise knows how to make listening matter, while David Hillier’s editing keeps the exchanges clear. With Derek Jacobi leading the cast, the series repeatedly justifies its reliance on actors and dialogue. The theatrical emphasis can become too insistent, but it also helps make spending so much time with these people rewarding.

His later career included episodes of *Inspector Morse* (1989–1996), but television films remained part of the work. *Breaking the Code* (1996) reunited him with Jacobi, a collaboration worth following beyond *I, Claudius*. The familiar crime-series titles should not obscure how much skill it takes to keep a long, crowded drama intelligible. Start with *I, Claudius*, and give the conversations more attention than the scenery.

## Biography

Herbert Wise was an Austrian-born television and film director. Born Herbert Weisz in Vienna in 1924, he arrived in Britain in 1939 as a Kindertransport refugee. He began his career directing at Shrewsbury Repertory Company in 1950, later working at Hull Rep and as Director of Productions at Dundee Rep from 1952 to 1955. He moved into television in 1956.

Wise directed the BBC series *I, Claudius* (1976), for which he received a BAFTA, and episodes of *Inspector Morse*. Other television work included *The Norman Conquests* (1977), *The Woman in Black* (1989), *Tales of the Unexpected*, *The 10th Kingdom* (2000), *Cadfael*, *Rumpole of the Bailey* and *A Touch of Frost*. He also directed the television films *Skokie* (1981) and *Breaking the Code* (1996). His two theatrical features were *To Have and to Hold* (1963) and *The Lovers!* (1973).

Wise was married to actress Moira Redmond from 1963 to 1972 and to actress Fiona Walker from 1988.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, bbc.com, theguardian.com, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (4)

- *A Touch of Frost* (1992), Fi1m 76, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/a-touch-of-frost.md)
- *Inspector Morse* (1987), Fi1m 84, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/inspector-morse.md)
- *I, Claudius* (1976), Fi1m 90, Director, Creator — [page](https://film.one/tv/i-claudius.md)
- *Upstairs, Downstairs* (1971), Fi1m 83, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/upstairs-downstairs.md)

## Complete filmography (101)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The 10th Kingdom* (2000), series, Director
- *Noah's Ark* (1997), series, Director
- *Where the Heart Is* (1997), series, Director
- *Breaking the Code* (1996), Director
- *Cadfael* (1994), series, Director
- *Class Act* (1994), series, Director
- *A Touch of Frost* (1992), series, Director — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/tv/a-touch-of-frost.md)
- *Covington Cross* (1992), series, Director
- *Life After Life* (1990), Director
- *Making News* (1990), series, Director
- *The Woman in Black* (1989), Director
- *Saracen* (1989), series, Director
- *Strange Interlude* (1988), series, Director
- *The Ruth Rendell Mysteries* (1987), series, Director
- *Inspector Morse* (1987), series, Director — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/inspector-morse.md)
- *The Christmas Tree* (1986), Director
- *Ladies' Night* (1986), Director
- *Unnatural Causes* (1986), series, Director
- *Welcome Home, Bobby* (1986), Director
- *Reunion at Fairborough* (1985), Director
- *Lytton's Diary* (1985), series, Director
- *The Bill* (1984), series, Director
- *Pope John Paul II* (1984), Director
- *Dalgliesh* (1983), series, Director
- *Death of an Expert Witness* (1983), series, Director
- *Number 10* (1983), series, Director
- *American Playhouse* (1982), series, Director
- *Skokie* (1981), Director
- *Caleb Williams* (1980), Director
- *Caleb Williams* (1980), series, Director
- *Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected: The Landlady* (1979), Director
- *Tales of the Unexpected* (1979), series, Director
- *Julius Caesar* (1979), Director
- *So ’ne und so ’ne* (1979), series, Director
- *The BBC Television Shakespeare* (1978), series, Director
- *The Norman Conquests* (1977), series, Director
- *I, Claudius* (1976), series, Director, Creator — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/tv/i-claudius.md)
- *A Story to Frighten the Children* (1976), Director
- *Rumpole of the Bailey* (1975), series, Director
- *The Secret Agent* (1975), Director
- *Shades of Greene* (1975), series, Director
- *Churchill's People* (1974), series, Director
- *The Gathering Storm* (1974), Director
- *Masquerade* (1974), series, Director
- *Vienna 1900* (1973), series, Director
- *Helen: A Woman of Today* (1973), series, Director
- *Between the Wars* (1973), series, Director
- *Song at Twilight* (1973), Director
- *The Lovers!* (1973), Director
- *Mrs. Warren's Profession* (1972), Director
- *Van der Valk* (1972), series, Director
- *Who's Afraid of Opera?* (1972), series, Director
- *The Villa Maroc* (1972), Director
- *Man of Straw* (1972), series, Director
- *Upstairs, Downstairs* (1971), series, Director — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/tv/upstairs-downstairs.md)
- *Stage 2* (1971), series, Director
- *Budgie* (1971), series, Director
- *Elizabeth R* (1971), series, Director
- *Play for Today* (1970), series, Director
- *The Salesman* (1970), Director, Producer
- *The Italian Table* (1970), Director
- *Softly Softly: Task Force* (1969), series, Director
- *Plays of Today* (1969), series, Director
- *The Exiles* (1969), Director
- *ITV Saturday Night Theatre* (1969), series, Director
- *The Company of Five* (1968), series, Director
- *The Drummer and the Bloke* (1968), Director
- *Man in a Suitcase* (1967), series, Director
- *The Gamblers* (1967), series, Director
- *ITV Playhouse* (1967), series, Director
- *The Fastest Draw* (1966), Director
- *NET Playhouse* (1966), series, Director
- *Thirteen Against Fate* (1966), series, Director
- *The Siege of Manchester* (1965), Director
- *BBC Play of the Month* (1965), series, Director
- *Thirty-Minute Theatre* (1965), series, Director
- *Out of the Unknown* (1965), series, Director
- *Six Shades of Black* (1965), series, Director
- *The Wednesday Play* (1964), series, Director
- *The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling* (1964), series, Director
- *A Fear of Strangers* (1964), Director
- *Theatre 625* (1964), series, Director
- *Festival* (1963), series, Director
- *First Night* (1963), series, Director
- *For King and Country: Out There* (1963), Director
- *To Have and to Hold* (1963), Director
- *The Plane Makers* (1963), series, Director
- *Z-Cars* (1962), series, Director
- *The Day of the Fox* (1961), Producer, Director
- *The Big Pride* (1961), Director
- *Drama 61-67* (1961), series, Producer, Director
- *Sunday-Night Play* (1960), series, Director
- *On Trial* (1960), series, Director
- *Armchair Mystery Theatre* (1960), series, Director
- *Knight Errant Limited* (1959), series, Director
- *Skyport* (1959), series, Director
- *Edgar Wallace Mysteries* (1959), series, Director
- *Shadow Squad* (1957), series, Director
- *Armchair Theatre* (1956), series, Director
- *ITV Play of the Week* (1955), series, Director
- *Hallmark Hall of Fame* (1951), series, Director

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/herbert-wise