John Mills is a veteran of more than eighty films, including Ice Cold in Alex and Great Expectations. He received an Oscar for his portrayal of Michael in David Lean’s Ryan’s
Daughter. He has also had an illustrious stage career which began in the musical theatre of the 1930s. This popular actor talks about his life and work and his story is illustrated with film clips, archive material and extracts from his anecdotal autobiographical one-man show.
In this programme, the Nobel Prize-winning author gives a rare television interview and talks in depth about his novel, The Dean’s December. An attack on the physical and spiritual decline of modern city life, the book was inspired by Bellow’s experience of his native Chicago.
Made in 1982, this two-part film special records the only time Laurence Olivier (1907-89) talked openly for television about a life filled with incident and romance both on and off the stage and screen. His life-story is richly illustrated with film clips and archive material, and there are contributions from friends, including Peggy Ashcroft, Douglas Fairbanks Jnr., John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, John Osborne, and his wife, the actress Joan Plowright.
