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SIR JOHN MILLSCBE A KNIGHT TO REMEMBER
Surely no other actor ever enjoyed as long and distin- guished screen career as
Sir John Mills, who died in April at the grand old age of 97. He made his movie debut in 1932 in The Midshipmaid
and, eight decades later, could be seen earlier this year in Fujifilm’s promotional film, Lights 2.
In between, of course, were memorable roles in some of this country’s greatest contributions to cinema, including The Young Mr Pitt (1942), Waterloo Road (1944), Great Expectations (1946), Scott Of The Antarctic (1948) Morning Departure (1950), Hobson’s Choice (1953),
The Colditz Story (1954), Above Us The Waves (1955), Ice Cold In Alex (1958), Tiger Bay (1959), Tunes Of Glory (1960), Oh! What A Lovely War (1969) and Ryan’s Daughter (1970) for which he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, playing a deaf, deformed Irish mute which, ironically, belied not only his natural good looks but also a memorable speaking voice.
Born in Felixstowe, Suffolk, the son of a mathematics teacher, he actually grew up in Norwich working briefly as a clerk before breaking into the theatre.
Although the screen would later dominate his career he did go back to the stage from time to time, notably in Rattigan’s Ross on Broadway, opposite Judi Dench in a musical version of The Good Companions and in a revival of Separate Tables.
Married to his second wife, the writer Mary Hayley Bell, since 1941, the devoted couple started a dynasty of actors with daughters Juliet and Hayley following in their father’s footsteps.
Sir Michael Caine once wrote: “My hero in British films is definitely Johnny Mills. He’s one of the few people I can think of who can play convincing working-class as well as toffee-nosed roles.”
Sir John had another gift for his public. This came in 2001 with the release of Moving Memories, which was a film about his personal life culled from more than 12,000 feet of home movies which had languished in the family attic for well over 40 years.
Like with all Sir John’s previous work, it was worth waiting for and contained some amazing footage of his friends and family. ■ QUENTIN FALK
Photos from top: Sir John Mills CBE in Flame In The Streets; in Ice Cold In Alex; with Rex Harrison and wife Mary; romping with the children; recently with Jack Cardiff BSC at the Pinewood Fujifilm Eterna launch
14 • Exposure • Fuji Motion Picture And Professional Video