Orme was born in Conway, Wales. He was one of four children with sisters Vanda, Daphne, and Wendy Orme. His parents were Edward Reginald Orme, British Army Major, and Jessie May Allen.
In February 1970, Orme joined John Boorman as his associate and became a director of Christel Films and John Boorman Productions Limited. This relationship saw him working on a number of productions with Boorman.
In 1971, Orme began working as associate producer on Deliverance (adapted from James Dickey's novel), directed by John Boorman, edited by Tom Priestley and starring Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox. The film was a box office success in the United States, becoming the fifth highest-grossing film of 1972 after grossing a domestic total of over $46 million with only a $2 million budget. It was nominated for three Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Film Editing. Deliverance was an inductee to the 2008 National Film Registry list;[1][2] which commented, "With dazzling visual flair, director John Boorman and cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond infuse James Dickey's novel with scenes of genuine terror and frantic struggles for survival battling river rapids — and in the process create a work rich with fascinating ambiguities about "civilized" values, urban-versus-backwoods culture, nature, and man's supposed taming of the environment."[3]
In 1972, Orme worked for one year as production executive with Clive Parsons' Film and General Investments and Completion Guarantee Company.[citation needed]
In 1976, Orme worked as associate producer with producer Harvey Bernhard and executive producer Mace Neufeld on The Omen, directed by Richard Donner, edited by Stuart Baird and starring Gregory Peck. This is considered by many as one of the best films of 1976, as well as one of the best horror films ever made. The film was a massive commercial success in the United States. It grossed $4.3m in its opening weekend and $60.9m domestically on a relatively small budget of $2.8m. The film was the fifth highest-grossing movie of 1976 and won an Academy Award for Best Original Score (awarded to the film's composer Jerry Goldsmith, his only Oscar, having been nominated no less than eighteen times).
Orme would remain in close contact throughout his career with Harvey Bernhard, Mace Neufeld and Zvi Spielmann after having collaborated with them previously on The Omen and/or Damien: Omen II.
In 1979, Orme worked on John Boorman's Excalibur for seven months in its pre-production stage.
In 1981, Orme worked as associate producer on the film version of Brimstone and Treacle with executive producer Naim Attallah and producers Alan E. Salke, Herbert F. Solow and Kenith Trodd. The film was directed by Richard Loncraine and starred Sting and Denholm Elliott.
Orme also worked as a European production supervisor for Paramount Pictures, a troubleshooter for Warner Brothers and was also resident expert on production problems with Film and General Investments.
Personal life
On 14 January 1950, Orme married Vivienne Knight, screenwriter and author who worked as the director of publicity for Powell and Pressburger on 12 films from 1943 to 1955. On 14 July 1953 Orme and Vivienne divorced. In 1966, Vivienne married Patrick Campbell, 3rd Baron Glenavy.
On 20 March 1960, Orme married his wife of 47 years, Brenda Anne Harper, a fashion model known for her stylish and sophisticated appearance who was photographed by the likes of Norman Parkinson and Terence Donovan notably for publications such as Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. Filmmaker Emeric Pressburger and model Ingrid Walker were present at the marriage.
Orme lived with his brother-in-law Emeric Pressburger in the late 1940s and early 1950s at 70 Redington Road in Hampstead. Orme and Emeric would often spend evenings in the study at No.70 in almost complete silence (maybe with some music playing) sipping beer or slivovitz and enjoying each other's silence.
On 9 May 2007, Orme died at his home in Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire. He was survived by his wife, Brenda; his children, Nicholas and Toby; and his grandchildren, Nathan and Cameron.
Terrence A. Clegg, film producer (Out of Africa) and president of the Guild of Film Production Executives (now known as the Production Guild of Great Britain) wrote an obituary on Orme: "I am sad to record the death of one of our long standing honorary members Charles Orme. Charles had been retired for many years and lived in recent times in Chalfont St. Giles. He spent much of his early career with Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell and was involved in many of their famous productions like The Red Shoes and The Battle of the River Plate. He also had a long standing working relationship with John Boorman. The last time I worked with him was on Khartoum way back in 1965 and I remember his stiff upper lip British reserve of being something of a comfort to a young and inexperienced second A.D. in the oppressive heat of Cairo. I thought of him as 'posh' in those days but in fact he was a thorough professional and someone you could rely on in any kind of adversity. He was a credit to our business."
Michael Powell, film director (on Orme from the second volume of his autobiography: Million-dollar Movie): "Charles Orme from the production office had been working for weeks on an elaborate cue board which was to be used to signal gun flashes, water splashes, drifting smoke, loud explosions, turning control towers and rocking bridges, as well as big bangs and flashes between the cameras and the actors. All this had to be controlled with the electrical panel behind, and above, the camera. I now broke it to him that he would have to work his panel himself because I was sending Syd to Montevideo, to mobilise the government, the police, the army, and ten thousand civilians to come down to the docks on a specified Saturday and Sunday. Charles had led a rather sheltered life up until then, but he rose to the occasion all right. Archers do, and after all he was Emeric's brother-in-law."
