Leon Clore, 73, Wide-Ranging Film Producer

LONDON - Leon Clore, 73, a film producer whose credits include "The French Lieutenant's Woman," died Sunday of cancer at Hammersmith Hospital in west London, his wife said.

Born in Brighton, south of London, Mr. Clore was instrumental in launching the film careers of such directors as Lindsay Anderson.

He produced commercials, documentaries and feature films, including "Every Day Except Christmas" (1957), Lindsay Anderson's 40-minute documentary about Covent Garden market, and "Virgin Island" (1958), with Sidney Poitier.

"He was one of the very few who looked out for and appreciated talent and did what he could to help it," Anderson said.

His best-known films were directed by Karel Reisz: "Morgan: A Suitable Case For Treatment" (1966), adapted from the David Mercer play, and "The French Lieutenant's Woman" (1981), adapted from the John Fowles novel and starring Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons.

Mr. Clore was the nephew of the late Sir Charles Clore, the financier who made possible the Tate Gallery's Clore extension, which opened in 1987 to house the works of J.M.W. Turner.

His widow said today that he would be cremated Feb. 12 at West Chapel, in northwest London.