Charles Alfred Selwyn Bennett (2 August 1899 – 15 June 1995) was an English playwright, screenwriter and director probably best known for his work with the great English director Alfred Hitchcock. Bennett was involved in adapting Casino Royale for television.
Charles Bennett was born in a disused railway carriage in Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex, England, the son of Lilian Langrishe Bennett (1863–1930), an actress and artist. Bennett's mother told him his father was Charles Bennett, a civil engineer killed in a boiler explosion, though he thought it was actor Kyrle Bellew (1855–1911)
Bennett began writing for TV, doing such shows as The Ford Television Theatre, Climax! (where he did "Casino Royale", the first screen adaptation of a James Bond novel, Schlitz Playhouse, Fireside Theatre, Cavalcade of America, The Count of Monte Cristo, Conflict, The Christophers, Lux Video Theatre and The New Adventures of Charlie Chan. Some of these he also directed and he produced Charlie Chan.
Bennett has been the subject of two biographies, both written by his son John.
- Hitchcock's Partner in Suspense (2014)
- The Rise of the Modern Thriller (2020)
He has also been the subject of biographical articles:
- Barr, Charles. "Blackmail: Charles Bennett and the Decisive Turn" in Palmer, R Burton & Boyd, David, Hitchcock at the Source: The Auteur as Adaptor, 2011, New York: SUNY Press.
- Belton, John. "Charles Bennett and the typical Hitchcock scenario", Film History, (1997) 9(3), 320–332.
He was interviewed by Arnold Schwartzman for the British Entertainment History Project in 1992.