John Mills

  • Noel Coward & David Lean – In Which We Serve (1942)

    David Lean1941-1950DramaNoël CowardUnited KingdomWar
    In Which We Serve (1942)
    In Which We Serve (1942)

    Plot / Synopsis
    In the midst of World War II, the renowned playwright Noël Coward engaged a young film editor named David Lean to help him realize his vision for an action drama about a group of Royal Navy sailors (roles that would be filled by Coward himself, Bernard Miles, and John Mills, among others) fighting the Germans in the Mediterranean. Coward and Lean ended up codirecting the large-scale project—an impressive undertaking, especially considering that neither of them had directed for the big screen before (this would be Coward’s only such credit). Cutting between a major naval battle and flashbacks to the men’s lives before they left home, In Which We Serve (an Oscar nominee for best picture) was a major breakthrough for both filmmakers and a sensitive and stirring piece of propaganda.Read More »

  • Piers Haggard – Quatermass (1979)

    1971-1980Piers HaggardSci-FiTVUnited Kingdom

    A separate screenplay by Nigel Kneale for theaters, parallel to the 1979 Quatermass 4-part miniseries. The story, set in the near future, involves influences from outer space that are possessing people. Professor Quatermass must save his granddaughter from the clutches of a popular, sinister cult called “Planet People” that “performs raptures.”Read More »

  • Frank Nesbitt – Dulcima (1971)

    Frank Nesbitt1971-1980ComedyDramaUnited Kingdom

    Dulcima, treated as a drudge by her family, becomes a housekeeper to Parker, a curmudgeonly widower living in drunken disarray on a neighbouring farm. When she sees the amount of money he has stashed around the place, Dulcima is happy enough to indulge his growing desire for her, and a strange, yet mutually beneficial, relationship develops. But a handsome young gamekeeper, newly arrived on a nearby estate, also catches Dulcima’s eye…Read More »

  • David Lean – Great Expectations (1946)

    1941-1950ClassicsDavid LeanDramaUnited Kingdom

    Quote:
    Based on the book by Charles Dickens Great Expectations (1946) tells the story of a young boy by the name of Pip (Antony Wager/John Mills) who lives in the British countryside with Joe Gargery (Bernard Miles), a poor blacksmith, and his bossy wife Mrs. Joe Gargery (Freda Jackson). They reside in a rundown house not too far from the local cemetery.Read More »

  • Guy Hamilton – The Colditz Story (1955)

    1951-1960DramaGuy HamiltonUSAWar

    Allied prisoners – British, Dutch, French and Polish – pool their resources to plan numerous escapes from the “escape-proof” German P.O.W. camp housed in a Medieval castle known as “Colditz”.Read More »

  • Roy Ward Baker – The Singer Not the Song (1961)

    1961-1970DramaRoy Ward BakerUSAWestern

    Summary:
    During the 1950s, in a small isolated Mexican village, the local Roman Catholic priest, Father Gomez (Leslie French), is an older man with a broken spirit. During his tenure in the village of Quantano, he fought hard to keep his flock of parishioners, in spite of threats and intimidation from the part of local bandit Anacleto Comachi (Sir Dirk Bogarde) and his men. The atheistic bandit has imposed his tyrannical rule over the region for many years. The local Police cannot find any witnesses to come forward and testify to any wrongdoing from the part of Anacleto. Therefore, they cannot charge him or arrest him. The Catholic Church replaces Father Gomez with a younger, more energetic priest, Father Keogh (Sir John Mills) from Ireland. Before departing the village, Father Gomez warns Father Keogh of the dangers of defying Anacleto Comachi’s authority. Read More »

  • David Lean – Ryan’s Daughter [Roadshow version] (1970)

    1961-1970David LeanDramaRomanceUnited KingdomWorld War One

    Quote:
    Set in the wake of the 1916 Easter Rising, a married woman in a small Irish village has an affair with a troubled British officer.Read More »

  • Anthony Pelissier – The History of Mr. Polly (1949)

    1941-1950Anthony PelissierComedyDramaUnited Kingdom

    Plot (possible spoilers):
    Opening in late Victorian times, following his dismissal from a draper’s shop, where his father had placed him as an apprentice, protagonist Alfred Polly (John Mills) finds it hard to find another position. When a telegram arrives informing him of his father’s death, he returns to the family home. With a bequest of £500, Polly starts to consider his future; and a friend of his father’s, Mr Johnson (Edward Chapman), urges him to invest it in a shop – an idea that Polly hates. Whilst dawdling in the countryside on a newly-bought bicycle, Polly meets a schoolgirl, Christabel (Sally Ann Howes) with whom he feels he has fallen in love, but he later marries a cousin, Miriam Larkins (Betty Ann Davies). Read More »

  • Ken Annakin – Swiss Family Robinson (1960)

    1951-1960AdventureClassicsKen AnnakinUSA

    Synopsis:
    A family in route to New Guinea is shipwrecked on a deserted tropical island. They are forced to remain on the island because of the damage to the ship and the pirates that are roaming the islands. They create a home on the island (centering around a huge tree house) and explore the island and its wildlife. Plenty of adventure ensues as the family deals with issues of survival and pirates, and the brothers must learn how to live on the island with an uncertain future.Read More »

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