John Mills Movies
Born in a British seaside resort town, John Mills was the son of a mathematics teacher father. Mills' mother worked as a theatrical box office manager, and it was this world, rather than his father's academic milieu, which most attracted young Mills. After brief employment as a clerk in a corn merchant's office, Mills moved to London, where he enrolled at Zelia Raye's Dancing School. His first professional job was as a chorus dancer in The Five O'Clock Revue in 1929. Making as many contacts as possible, Mills was able to secure work on the legitimate stage, and in 1932 appeared in his first film, the Jessie Matthews vehicle The Midshipmaid. Learning his craft in "quota quickies," Mills rose to leading man in such prestige productions as Brown on Resolution (1935), Tudor Rose (1936), and The Green Cockatoo (1938). In 1939, he appeared in his first American film, Goodbye Mr. Chips, playing student Peter Colley. He starred in a number of morale-boosting World War II films, usually playing the personification of the calm, resourceful young British military officer; any chance for a real life career in uniform, however, was scuttled by Mills' duodenal ulcer. After the war, he starred in such international hits as Great Expectations (1946), Scott of the Antarctic (1949), Hobson's Choice (1954), and Above Us the Waves (1955). In 1970, Mills won a long overdue Oscar for his performance as the village idiot in Ryan's Daughter (1970), directed (as were several of Mills' earlier films) by David Lean. His Broadway work has included Ross, a 1961 dramatization of the life of T.E. Lawrence. In 1966, Mills directed Sky West and Crooked (aka Gypsy Girl), which starred his daughter, Hayley Mills, and was written by his wife, Mary Hayley Bell (Mills' other daughter, Juliet, is likewise an actress of note). One year later, he made his American series-TV debut as British attorney Dundee in the weekly Western Dundee and the Culhane. In 1977, John Mills was made a knight of the British Empire; his very full life, both offscreen and on, was summed up three years later in his autobiography Up in the Clouds, Gentlemen, Please. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1976
A former policeman investigates a series of murders by centering on an organization which re-creates medieval battles. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1933
In this comedy, a chimney sweep is swept into a political campaign and finds himself not only supporting the Labour Party, but also running against the elitist incumbent. When the sweep's son falls for the opposition's daughter, trouble ensues, but the sweep wins anyway. Later he realizes that he is not cut out for the job and backs out. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Masterpiece Theatre's 1991 production of A Tale of Two Cities is a faithful adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic French Revolution drama. The story focuses on English lawyer Sydney Carton, who has an unrequited love for Lucie Manette, the wife of French aristocrat Charles Darnay. After Charles' uncle, the Marquis St. Evremonde, tramples a young boy with his horse, the Marquis is killed by the boy's father, sparking a revolution. During the revolution, Darnay is persuaded to return to Paris, where he is arrested and sentenced to death. Realizing that Lucie will never love him the way she loves Charles, Sydney takes Darnay's place on death row, thereby letting the aristocrat return to his wife. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1989
The fourth presentation of Masterpiece Theatre's 1989-90 season, a four-part adaptation of Dickens' Tale of Two Cities, was so lavish an undertaking (especially for TV) that it ended up a Production of Two Cities. Part of the program was taped at London's Granada studios, while the remaining scenes were shot at the Dune Studios of France. Part One, telecast November 11, 1989, begins with the release of Dr. Manette (Jean-Pierre Aumont) from the Bastille in 1775. Five years later, dissipated attorney Sidney Carton (James Wilby) saves the life of Charles Darnay (Xavier DeLuc), the beloved of Dr. Manette's daughter Lucie (Serena Gordon). This expository installment ends with the observation that Carton and Darney closely resemble one another...and all of us who read Tale of Two Cities in high school know where this is going.
The second chapter of the four-part British/French TV adaptation of Tale of Two Cities was telecast November 18, 1989 on PBS' Masterpiece Theatre. We pick up the story with Lucie Manette (Serena Gordon) choosing to wed Charles Darnay (Xavier DeLuc). This leaves Sidney Carton (James Wilby) out in the cold, but also sets the stage for the "far far better thing" he'll do on Lucie's behalf in Part Four. Meanwhile, the seeds of the French Revolution are sown when Gaspard (Jean-Paul Tribout) avenges the death of his child at the hands of the callous nobles. Coming up in parts three and four: The storming of the Bastille, the fancy needlework of Madame DeFarge, and Sidney Carton's curtain speech at the guillotine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The second chapter of the four-part British/French TV adaptation of Tale of Two Cities was telecast November 18, 1989 on PBS' Masterpiece Theatre. We pick up the story with Lucie Manette (Serena Gordon) choosing to wed Charles Darnay (Xavier DeLuc). This leaves Sidney Carton (James Wilby) out in the cold, but also sets the stage for the "far far better thing" he'll do on Lucie's behalf in Part Four. Meanwhile, the seeds of the French Revolution are sown when Gaspard (Jean-Paul Tribout) avenges the death of his child at the hands of the callous nobles. Coming up in parts three and four: The storming of the Bastille, the fancy needlework of Madame DeFarge, and Sidney Carton's curtain speech at the guillotine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
A Woman of Substance is a six-hour TV miniseries, based on the best-selling novel by Barbara Taylor Bradford. This story of a British servant girl who, through sheer force of will, becomes one of the world's most powerful women, stars Jenny Seagrove as Emma Hart from age 15 to 49, and Deborah Kerr as Emma from 50 to 79 (curiously, Kerr was Emmy-nominated for her work, while Seagrove, who had the more difficult assignment, was not). Part one of Woman of Substance was subtitled "Nest of Vipers." Here we find Emma discharged from her job after a desultory affair with her employer's son (Peter Chelsolm). A Woman of Substance was syndicated to local TV stations beginning on November 26, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1955
Judging by the number of times it has shown up on TV, Above Us the Waves may be American viewers' favorite British war film. Most of the film is set in a British midget submarine, commandeered by John Mills. The sub's mission (together with its "fellow" vessels) is to sink the German battleship Tirpitz. This will be accomplished by the midget sub fleet sneaking into Norwegian waters, floating beneath the Tirpitz, then planting explosives. Only Mills' sub manages to complete the mission. Based on a true-life 1943 incident, Above Us the Waves takes a revisionist approach by showing the German officers and seamen to be human beings rather than faceless minions of Hitler. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Mills, John Gregson, (more)
- 1970
Also known as Return of the Boomerang, Adam's Woman is set in the rough-and-tumble Australia of the 1840s. Beau Bridges plays Adam, convicted of a crime he didn't commit and shipped off to the penal colony "Down Under". Enduring brutal treatment, he escapes, only to be captured again. Thanks to the intervention of a reform-minded warden John Mills, Adam is offered a fresh start in life. An unexpectedly vicious climax finds Adam and his new wife (Jane Merrow) fending off a group of scurrilous ex-prisoners headed by Adam's onetime cellmate (James Booth). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Beau Bridges, Jane Merrow, (more)
- 1967
In this Ivan Tors action adventure (that later served as the basis for the television series Cowboy in Africa, John Mills appears as Wing Commander Howard Hayes, now having hung up his wings for ranching in Kenya. Hayes hatches a solution to alleviate the hunger of Masai villagers with a plan to domesticate wild African game. To do this, he imports from across the sea two authentic ridin' and ropin' American cowboys -- Jim Sinclair (Hugh O'Brien) and his faithful sidekick, John Henry (Tom Nardini). While the two sod busters corral wildlife for Hayes, Sinclair falls hard for an attractive nurse, Fay Carter (Adrienne Corri) and befriends a young native boy (Charles Malinda). But this African idyll is soon torn asunder when rancher Karl Bekker (Nigel Green) -- fearing that Hayes' wild animal domestication will breed disease and the contagion will infect his own prize cattle -- using any means necessary, sets out to sabotage Hayes's plans to feed the hungry. All riled up, Jim Sinclair swings into action to help Hayes. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hugh O'Brian, John Mills, (more)
Razzle-dazzle showman Michael Todd hocked everything he had to make this spectacular presentation of Jules Verne's 1872 novel Around the World in 80 Days, the second film to be lensed in the wide-screen Todd-AO production. Nearly as fascinating as the finished product are the many in-production anecdotes concerning Todd's efforts to pull the wool over the eyes of local authorities in order to cadge the film's round-the-world location shots--not to mention the wheeling and dealing to convince over forty top celebrities to appear in cameo roles. David Niven heads the huge cast as ultra-precise, supremely punctual Phileas Fogg, who places a 20,000-pound wager with several fellow members of London Reform Club, insisting that he can go around the world in eighty days (this, remember, is 1872). Together with his resourceful valet Passepartout (Cantinflas), Fogg sets out on his world-girdling journey from Paris via balloon. Meanwhile, suspicion grows that Fogg has stolen his 20,000 pounds from Bank of England. Diligent Inspector Fix (Robert Newton) is sent out by the bank's president (Robert Morley) to bring Fogg to justice. Hopscotching around the globe, Fogg pauses in Spain, where Passepartout engages in a comic bullfight (a specialty of Cantinflas). In India, Fogg and Passepartout rescue young widow Princess Aouda (Shirley MacLaine, in her third film) from being forced into committing suicide so that she may join her late husband. The threesome visit Hong Kong, Japan, San Francisco, and the Wild West. Only hours short of winning his wager, Fogg is arrested by the diligent Inspector Fixx. Though exonerated of the bank robbery charges, he has lost everything--except the love of the winsome Aouda. But salvation is at hand when Passepartout discovers that, by crossing the International Date Line, there's still time to reach the Reform Club. Will they make it? See for yourself. Among the film's 46 guest stars, the most memorable include Marlene Dietrich, Charles Boyer, Jose Greco, Frank Sinatra, Peter Lorre, Red Skelton, Buster Keaton, John Mills, and Beatrice Lillie. All were paid in barter--Ronald Colman did his brief bit for a new car. Newscaster Edward R. Murrow provides opening narration, and there's a tantalizing clip from Georges Méliès' A Trip to the Moon (1902). Offering a little something for everyone, Around the World in 80 Days is nothing less than an extravaganza, and it won 5 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Cinematography. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Niven, Cantinflas, (more)
Comic actor Rowan Atkinson brought his bumbling character Mr. Bean from television to the big screen with this British comedy. Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) is a well-meaning but not especially bright fellow with a gift for making the worst of any situation. Bean is about to be fired from his job as a guard at the Royal Nation Art Gallery for sleeping on the job, but the Chairman (John Mills) intervenes at the last moment. To insure that his incompetence will manifest itself so completely that there will be no choice but to get rid of him, Bean's superiors come up with a plan -- they'll send him to America to speak at a posh private gallery owned by George Grierson (Harris Yulin), where General Newton (Burt Reynolds) will display the most recent addition to his art collection, "Whistler's Mother." It's even money whether or not the museum will still be standing before Bean is done; as if this weren't enough, while in L.A. Bean is mistaken for a surgeon and forced to operate on an injured police officer. Richard Curtis, one of the film's producers, said after viewing the final product, "It's an unpleasant family movie. I'm very pleased." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rowan Atkinson, Peter MacNicol, (more)
- 1988
- Add Best of British Cinema: Five Decades of Classic British Films to QueueAdd Best of British Cinema: Five Decades of Classic British Films to top of Queue
This documentary, narrated by Sir John Mills, looks back at the history of the British film industry, and features clips from many of the most memorable films to come from England, beginning with 1933's The Private Life Of Henry VIII and following through to the mid-1980s, with emphasis on some of the great stars of the United Kingdom, including Charles Laughton, Laurence Olivier, Vivian Leigh and Robert Donat. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1934
Eva Moore, famous for her portrayal of Ernst Thesiger's religious-zealot sister in The Old Dark House, is awarded top billing in the British Blind Justice. Moore provides comic relief to the deadly serious goings-on in the rest of the film. Geraldine Fitzgerald plays the sister of a man who was accused of cowardice and shot during wartime. She attempts to keep her shame a secret, until a slimy blackmailer enters her life. Said blackmailer is murdered, and guess who is suspected of the crime? Blind Justice was adapted by Vera Allinson from Arnold Ridley's play Recipe for Murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1935
This war movie is set on the high-seas during WWI. It chronicles the exploits of a brave English sailor who is captured by a German cruiser. The courageous sailor, the bastard of a RN officer, soon escapes from the German ship. He also steals a rifle. He hides on the shore and begins taking pot-shots at the Germans. Due to his marksmanship, the ship's journey is delayed. While the Germans are hunting for him, the British ships sneak up and sink the enemy boat. Unfortunately the brave sailor is killed. He becomes a hero and the British erect a cross on the highest point on the island to commemorate the young hero. The commander of the British ship is disturbed to discover that the dead hero was the son he denied having. This drama is considered to be a landmark British film; it is the first to utilize the actual Royal Navy and it's ships. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Betty Balfour, John Mills, (more)
British writer/actor Stephen Fry makes his feature-film debut with the witty, sophisticated comedy Bright Young Things, adapted from Evelyn Waugh's 1930 novel Vile Bodies. Set in London during the '30s, this stylish period film follows an ensemble cast of well-dressed and highly literate partygoers. Aspiring writer Adam Fenwick-Symes (stage actor Stephen Campbell Moore) loses the manuscript of his first novel when traveling through customs. He then sets out to raise enough money to marry his sweetheart, Nina Blount (Emily Mortimer), the daughter of a colonel (Peter O'Toole). All in the name of love, Adam seeks funding through a constant stream of parties, meetings, and conversations with eccentric acquaintances. Cameo appearances are made by the likes of Dan Aykroyd, Simon Callow, and Stockard Channing. Bright Young Things was shown at the 2003 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emily Mortimer, Stephen Campbell Moore, (more)
- 1933
In this musical, a middle-class cockney fishwife yearns to become a movie star. Her plans go swimmingly. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In this romance, a poor girl spends her spare time window shopping for pricey goods. On a lark, she goes into an auto dealership to price a Rolls Royce. She feigns outrage when she learns the car has already been sold. She petulantly demands that she be sold that particular car. Her feisty actions are observed by a wealthy playboy who immediately falls in love with her. Much to the shock of her parents, who own a small antique shop, a brand new Rolls is delivered right to the front of their shop. Her mother goes to the dealer and demands to know who bought the vehicle for him. The dealer tells her that her daughter "won" it. Of course, it was the playboy who bought her the car on the sly. When at last they meet, the two fall in love. They encounter difficulty when the playboy discovers that she works at his father's musical instrument factory. He must conceal his identity to avoid scandal, but it cannot be avoided. The truth comes out and it is a while before the couple can get back together. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Mills, Mark Lester, (more)
One of the longest-running hits in the history of Broadway and the West End, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats has been specially re-staged for this presentation, which captures all the music and movement of the original stage production with an uncommon intimacy and depth. The cast includes Elaine Paige, Sir John Mills, and Ken Page. Included in the special two-volume edition are exclusive interviews with the creators, two featurettes, and a trailer for the Andrew Lloyd Webber Spotlight Collection. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elaine Paige, John Mills, (more)
- 1935
Charing Cross Road is a London thoroughfare where several theatrical boarding houses have set up shop. Each one of these establishments is chock full of show-biz hopefuls, wannabes, has-beens and never-weres. John Mills and June Clyde play Tony and Pam, "at liberty" vaudevillians who arrive in London on the lookout for their Big Chance. In danger of developing a swelled head, Tony is chastened by an elderly trouper (Derek Oldham) who tells him the sad story of a once-great entertainer who hit the skids. Based on a BBC radio play, Charing Cross Road enjoyed a built-in fan following even before the cameras turned. Among the film's many pleasures is the presence of musical-comedy favorite Belle Baker as "herself," and a very young Coral Browne as a haughty aristocrat. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Mills, June Clyde, (more)
The title character (Rod Taylor) is a drifting gunslinger, who enters a Southwestern fort and immediately becomes embroiled with its commander (John Mills). In the end, the wanderer helps the fort guard against attacks from Indians. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Taylor, Ernest Borgnine, (more)
- 1941
Cottage to Let is a taut British wartime spy thriller, laced with moments of genuinely hilarious comedy. The "maguffin" in this instance is a revolutionary new bombsight, designed by inventor John Barrington (Leslie Banks). A group of Nazi spies intend to steal the blueprints for the invention (hence the film's alternate title Bombsight Stolen), and to that end dispatch one of their top agents (John Mills), who parachutes into the story posing as wounded RAF pilot Lt. Perry. Hailed as a war hero by the gullible locals, Perry rents a cottage from the unsuspecting Barrington and his wife (Jeanne de Casalis). The treacherous Nazi meets his match in the unlikely form of oafish Charles Dimble (Alastair Sim), who turns out to be a British undercover agent. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leslie Banks, Jeanne de Casalis, (more)
A disturbed woman starts getting friendly advice from some of the great murderers of history in this black comedy from Great Britain. Introverted Jody Greenwood (Jane Horrocks) and her bolder sister Beth (Imelda Staunton) both live under the thumb of their domineering mother Iris (Brenda Fricker). Jodie has romantic feelings for Dr. Ted Phillips (Jonathan Pryce), a local physician at least twenty years her senior, while Beth has become involved with a hunky male stripper, but both sisters feel paralyzed to do much about their relationships while Iris is still around. One night, Jody is visited by the ghost of Maj. Herbert Armstrong (Edward Woodward), a locally infamous man who made his small town famous with the spectacular murder of his wife. After he passes on some advice about how to achieve personal freedom, Jody kills Iris with an axe and hides the body with Beth's help. However, bad blood arises between Jody and Beth, and, after a nocturnal visit from well-known murderer Dr. Crippen (Hywel Bennett), Jody is inspired to pick up the hatchet again, doing away with Beth and her stripper. Jody beats the case against her in court and wins the heart of Dr. Phillips, but unfortunately she starts getting visits again ... . Jane Horrocks's performance as Jody won her the Best Actress award at the 1994 Catalonian International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Horrocks, Brenda Fricker, (more)
- 1980
Though boasting a British star and director, The Devil's Advocate was essentially a West German production; it was released in Germany in 1977, three years before its bow in English-speaking theatres. John Mills tops the cast as a dying priest who has been summoned to Rome for one last assignment. A dead wartime partisan is being considered for Sainthood. Mills is instructed to investigate the partisan's growing cult following and learn if the man is truly worthy of canonization. Morris West adapted the screenplay of The Devil's Advocate from his own bestselling novel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1960
The first portion of this Walt Disney Presents episode is a behind-the-scenes preview of the upcoming Disney theatrical feature Swiss Family Robinson. Hosted by three of the film's stars, John Mills, Dorothy McGuire and Janet Munro, the segment details the difficulties encountered by the production crew while filming on location in the West Indies' island of Tobago -- an island so uninhabited that even the animals had to be shipped in from the States. The second half of the episode consists of the Oscar-winning "True Life Adventure" short subject Water Birds, previously telecast as part of the Disneyland installment "A Trip Through Adventureland and Water Birds." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Mills, Dorothy McGuire, (more)
- 1934
John Mills made his seventh screen appearance in this British "quota quickie". Mills plays a supposed orphan who is actually the son of a medicine show huckster (Leslie Fuller). The shifty showman finances Mills' medical school education, keeping his identity secret all the while. It is all but inevitable that Mills will graduate, become a crusader against patent-medicine quacks, and come to loggerheads with his own father. John Mills would have to pay his dues with several subsequent low-budget pictures before achieving full stardom with Brown on Resolution (35). Mills' later status as an award-winning international star was certainly not due to such tripe as Doctor's Orders. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
