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Special Collections

Philip Mackie archive

Philip Mackie was a British television writer and producer. He was born in 1918 and worked in TV from the 1950s until his death in 1985.  He also wrote film scripts, plays, novels, short stories, and verse.

The Philip Mackie Collection is a full professional archive, measuring about 12 metres and containing thousands of items, mainly scripts, notes, and letters.  The collection formed the basis of an undergraduate dissertation in 2019, and it offers an excellent opportunity for Solent students to engage in original research.

To see exactly what the collection contains, view the Philip Mackie collection catalogue on Archives Hub.

To make an appointment to consult the archive or to ask further questions, email library.support@solent.ac.uk.

Philip Mackie's career

Many of Mackie's productions are adaptations of classic works (Maupassant [ITV, 1963], Raffles [Yorkshire TV, 1977]) or based on the lives of historical figures (The Caesars [ITV, 1968], Napoleon and Love [ITV, 1974]). His best-known work is probably The Naked Civil Servant (ITV, 1975), an adaptation of Quentin Crisp's autobiography, for which Mackie won an International Emmy. 

For more detail about Mackie's career, you could view his credits on IMDB, or read a brief biographical article by the British Film Institute's ScreenOnline.

Perhaps the best way to discover Mackie is to read or watch some of his output. Solent Library holds some of his books and DVD copies of his TV works, as you can see from this catalogue search for works by Mackie. Many of Mackie's works are available via online streaming services. Try searching for "Philip Mackie" in BoB National. Some of his broadcast works will now be out of copyright and will be legally available on platforms such as DailyMotion or YouTube.

Philip Mackie archive - images

Letters and newspaper cuttings from the Philip Mackie Archive

Letters and newspaper cuttings from the Philip Mackie Archive

Archive box including letters and scripts for The Naked Civil Servant

Archive box including letters and scripts for The Naked Civil Servant

Edits on the original typescript for the draft screenplay of  The Naked Civil Servant

Edits on the original typescript for the draft screenplay of

The Naked Civil Servant

The Philip Mackie Archive boxes 

The Philip Mackie Archive boxes