Set decorator 'knew Star Wars would be a hit'

Alf Hunter still has his Raiders of the Lost Ark crew cap

A retired set decorator who worked on iconic movies has said he knew Star Wars was going to be a hit.

Alf Hunter, from Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, worked on more than 60 films including the first three films in the sci-fi franchise and the Indiana Jones series.

The 90-year-old, who started working at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood in 1951, said he developed a reputation for his skills in set painting and was regularly requested by directors.

Thinking back to his work on the 1977 blockbuster, he said: “I told George Lucas that I could tell when a film was going to be a winner and Stars Wars was up there."

Alf Hunter painted the set of the Millennium Falcon

Mr Hunter also worked on the Stanley Kubrick classics The Shining and A Clockwork Orange, and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner.

His daughter, Lisa Hunter, 53, said she clearly remembered visiting the Star Wars set as a young girl and going inside the Millennium Falcon.

She said: “I didn’t know what it was at the time but remember Dad telling me not to touch anything."

After Star Wars, Mr Hunter went on to work on Raiders of the Lost Ark with fellow decorator Jack Josey and said they always appreciated the film’s director personally thanking ‘two hairy-arsed decorators'.

He recalled: "Steven Spielberg shook my hand and thanked me for my sets."

Mr Hunter said the pair not only painted the sets, but were also involved in decorating the giant ball that Indiana Jones runs away from in the opening sequence.

"I forget how many times we had to decorate that bloody thing, every time it rolled on the floor, it damaged the paintwork."

He added that one of his career highlights was working for director David Lean on Dr Zhivago, which won five Academy Awards in 1965, including one for art and set decoration.

Mr Hunter wishes he had written a book which would include the time he took Elizabeth Taylor to the local pub and how he called Clint Eastwood a "big handsome git" to his face.

He said if he got to do his career over, he would want the same job and from his experience, "the bigger the star, the nicer the person".