A Vision of Albion

A Vision of Albion
Flickers
Cecil Hepworth 1874-1953
Rescued By Rover (1905)
Through Ealing's Eyes. I
Sir Michael Balcon
Through Ealing's Eyes.II
"Just Room For One Inside Sir..."
Comedy
Other Eyes, Other Visions
British Film At War
A Canterbury Tale (1944)
The Post-War Years
Brighton Rock (1947)
London Belongs To Me (1948)
Scott of The Antarctic (1948)
Tiger Bay (1959)
Whistle down the Wind (1961)
Sir John Mills (1908 - 2005)

'it is forever England'

'Their Very 'Englishness'

Malvern Hills looking towards Herefordshire

The subtitle and headline caption sum up perfectly what this website is all about, the vision of Britain, particularly England, it's places, people and events, as seen through the eyes of the film camera, the directors, producers and scenarists. Many of these films were adapted from novels, themselves  personal visions of England. Two film adaptations immediately come to mind which illustrate. the 'Very Englishness', one of community and one of the darker, seamier side of English life, they are Brighton Rock, made in 1947 and starring a 24 year old Richard Attenborough as the vicious teenage gangster, Pinkie , from the novel by Graham Greene, who also wrote the screenplay, and the wonderful tale of a community on a street in London, the 1948 film,
London Belongs to Me, again starring Richard Attenborough, this time as Percy Boon, a boy with ambitions, but very little else, from the novel of the same name, by Norman Collins, the screenplay was by the film's director,Sidney Gilliat, and J.B. Williams. We'll be looking at both these films, each will be given its own page on this website.
Actually there is one more film we should mention here, and that is the brilliant character study, or studies of a family, again in London, this time the film is adapted from a play, by Noel Coward, it is This Happy Breed made in 1944 and was the first film  that was solo directed by David Lean, with a screenplay by Ronald Neame and Anthony Havelock-Allan and starring
Robert Newton, Celia Johnson and John Mills.
Alot of ground to cover, alot of films to sort through, the links list, to your right, is just a hint of where we're going, what we'll be looking at, and what we'll be looking for. As to whether this Vision of Albion was a true one....isn't that rather up to the individual who views these films? We think so.

This website is dedicated to

Sir John Mills 1908 - 2005
.

Sir John Mills (1908 - 2005)
He was one of Britain's best known and best loved actors, and he died on, Saturday, 23 April, 2005  
aged 97  after a short illness

Veteran British actor Sir John Mills, one of the country's most beloved and best-known screen stars, died, at 6:30am (12:30 a.m. CDT) aged 97 after a short illness, a member of his staff said. The former song-and-dance man, who appeared in more than 100 films in a 70-plus year career, was among the most notable of British film stars, winning a best supporting actor Oscar in 1971 for "Ryan's Daughter".
 
"Sir John Mills died peacefully at home after a short illness," a member of his staff said.

The actor's family was travelling to Britain from the United States and was expected to arrive by Monday, the BBC reported.

Mills, whose daughter Hayley has also had a highly successful acting career, was born on Feb. 22, 1908 in Felixstowe, eastern England, John Lewis Mills started in the theater at the age of 19, helped in part by his friendship with Noel Coward.  His output in the 1940s and 1950s was prolific. During his long career he appeared in more than 100 films

Mills made his name in patriotic films during and after World War II including "The October Man," "Scott of the Antarctic," "Dunkirk" and "Ice Cold in Alex."

Handsome and dapper, he embodied to many the archetypal British war hero, either as the cool-headed gentleman officer or the resigned working class soldier.

His first big break came in 1946, when he played Pip in a film version of Charles Dickens' novel "Great Expectations."

He always maintained his favorite movie was the 1960 production "Tunes of Glory," in which he co-starred with Alec Guinness as a highly-strung English officer given the job of leading a hostile Scottish army battalion.

He won the best actor award at the Venice Festival for the film and went on to take an Oscar as best supporting actor a decade later for "Ryan's Daughter," directed by David Lean.

A versatile actor, Mills had a minor role in the 1987 film "Who's that Girl?" and made his final film appearance in 2003 in "Bright Young Things," directed by British comedian Stephen Fry. In it, at the age of 95, he had a cameo role as a man snorting cocaine at a party.

He fathered one of Britain's leading theatrical families. Both his daughters, Juliet and Hayley, are successful actresses who found their stage feet at an early age in some of their father's productions. Sir John starred with Hayley in the 1959 film Tiger Bay.

Mills, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1977, was divorced from his first wife, the actress Aileen Raymond, in 1940 after nine years of marriage. He is survived by his second wife, Mary Hayley Bell.

Great Expectations(1946)

Let George Do It ! George Formby. [1940]

Meet the West Midlands' trio
who helped put British films
on the world stage.
from the BBC

funny ha ha and funny peculiar.
from 1895 to Today
these web pages are once more
from screenonline, and though
some of the films are outside
of this website's timeline, we
felt the link needed to be included

mainly 1930-1950, but with other
odds and ends too.
from the wonderful folk at
wickedlady.com 

British Cinema in the 1950s and 1960s

Daisy and her husband decide to
enter a face-pulling competition, but..
This wonderfully daft comedy
was released in 1914.
you have see this to believe it.

pictures, interviews, articles
about and with members of
Britain's film industry
fom screenonline @
the British Film Institute

an early directing effort by
Victor Saville, is a
charming period piece, first
performed on the stage in 1912,
and was thought to be
controversial at the time.
this was the first sound version
of the film.

our website on historical
events and people as portrayed
in film, including an alternate
version of the
Scott of The Antarctic page,
found on this website

British Films of the 30s, 40s and 50s
 

a two part article by John Aldred
on London Film Productions
and the man whose
name loomslarge in British film
Sir Alexander Korda 

Absolutely fascinating photographs
of 1950s British cinema advertising

a good listing with some timeline
overlapping that which
this website is covering
 an essential guide for those,
interested in British and
Irish directors. from screenonline
at the British Film Institute

one of the earliest British films
and one actually viewed by us.
its wonderful, in an odd sort of way.
the page is at screenonline, part
of The British Film Institute website

a treasure trove of film
from the
British Film Institute
and the place alot of the
links on this website
go to
Highly Recommended

some of Steve's screen captures
of film titles appear on this website,
most notably on the Tiger Bay
and Whistle down the Wind
pages. Steve, not enough thanks
can be given, keep up the great work!

an incredible and invaluable 
resource site
on all things silent film

Alistair Sim stars in this early
British mystery chiller

welcome to the
Creative Archive Licence Group,
a pilot project by the
British Film Institute,along
with the BBC, Channel 4 and
the Open University featuring
video clips made available
for free download to users
in the United Kingdom
to stimulate creative re-use for
 non-commercial purposes.
 

Who's Who Of Victorian Cinema

 The It Is Forever England Website
and Cinema Show 
 © 2004/2005/2006/2007.
All Rights Reserved