John Mills : John Mills 1907-2005

John Mills 1907-2005

I have to say that I first heard of John Mills as the father of Hayley Mills
way back when Walt Disney starred her in Pollyanna. I think for a while John
himself thought he was going down in posterity that way, as Hayley Mills father.
But there's no worry on that score.

His career covers nearly the entire time that movies talked in his native Great
Britain. Credits go all the way back to the early thirties. American audiences
first became conscious of him as Peter Colley in Goodbye Mr. Chips. He might
have stayed in America afer that one, but he probably made the wise decision to
go back to Britain. He made a fine and idealistic William Wilberforce in The
Young Mr. Pitt.

The Forties was when Mills hit his stride and rose to the very top of his profession with parts in such great films as In Which We Serve, The Happy Road,
Great Expectations and The Rocking Horse Winner. Maybe he's best known again as
the idealistic and brave Robert Falcon Scott in Scott of the Antarctic, a true
hero for all times.

It didn't stop for him in the Fifties. He did wonderfully well as Willie Mossop
in Hobson's Choice, more than held his own with Charles Laughton, no easy task.
The year 1960 brought him the role I like him best in, Colonel Basil Barrow in
Tunes of Glory. You'd be hard pressed in that film to say who topped who in the
acting honors, Mills or co-star Alec Guinness. Why either of both of them were
not given Oscar nods is beyond me and for that matter why some of the cast which was absolutely perfect weren't given Supporting player nominations.

His daughter's success with Walt Disney got him a good role as the father in
Swiss Family Robinson. But here in America he was Hayley's father and later
Juliet's as well after she made a success in Nanny and the Professor.

That might have changed after John Mills got a best supporting actor for Ryan's
Daughter. Ironic though that a man possessed with a fabulous speaking voice
muted that instrument to gain an Oscar playing the village idiot. Talk about
casting against type.

His career lists film releases all the way to up to this year. It was only a
few days ago that I read he was blind and that his wife Mary Hayley Bell suffers from Alzheimer's. Having had a few relatives who've had that and others who had to live with it, my heart goes out to Hayley and Juliet.

Sir John Mills, RIP, I'll bet that William Wilberforce and Robert Falcon Scott
are proud of the way you portrayed them and are telling you so right now.


Bureaucrats need love

Re: John Mills 1907-2005

I first heard of John Mills 4 or 5 years ago, reading a very tatty old paperback of his autobiography that my parents wanted to sell on ebay (convinced that he was dead). Then I realised how many films I'd seen him in, not just war films. Great man; a very human actor.

In Donald Sinden's autobiography, I find the only strand of vanity in Sir John, which was an account of his technique of clenching his teeth when the camera was on somebody else, so the viewer would subconsciously notice a slight movement of muscle in his face, and look at him.

daniel.

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Re: John Mills 1907-2005

I saw Ice Cold in Alex in theatres when it first came out. It was playing as
the second half of a double bill. Hard to believe Anthony Quayle was a German. And those that have never seen it, the title refers to the beer they
hope to get when they reach Alexandria.


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Re: John Mills 1907-2005

Now the first time I saw him was in Walt Disney's Swiss Family Robinson with
Dorothy McGuire and all those Disney contract players and Sesssue Hayakawa
being a marvelous Malay pirate.

But Tunes of Glory is for me his best work.


Bureaucrats need love

Re: John Mills 1907-2005

John Mills was fine in both the films you mentioned. I loved The Swiss Family Robinson as a kid, saw it four times in the theater; and Mills' gentle yet solid performance was just wonderful (the kind of father we'd all like to have). In Tunes Of Glory, well, Sir Alec steals the show, but to be fair to both actors I think that Mills, rightly, rather handed the film over the Guinness. It was correct for him to do that, assuming that it was intentional. This was the story the film told. Mills' Barrow character needed help badly, and what he got, in his fragile state, shouldn't happen to a dog.
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