Well, of course, the film stars of the day did have a life outside of movie land – and generally they were all family people as these pictures show.

They went about their business as normal and then relaxed in whatever way they each wanted to.

ABOVE – Richard Greene and his wife Patricia Medina at their Hollywood home when he was filming ‘Forever Amber’

They later divorced and Patricia Medina  went on to marry Joseph Cotton – and they had one of the happiest marriages in Film Land over many years.  Patricia said in an intyerview that her and Joseph Cotton had spent only one night apart during their thirty years of marriage and she said that it was terrible for them  to be apart.

They loved one another to the day he died – and she continued to love him after he had gone.

ABOVE – Glynis Johns took Director Ken Annakin’s Daughter Snicky, to see the Sea Lions during the filming of ‘Miranda’ at the London Zoo

ABOVE:  Phyllis Calvert and her five year old daughter Auriol

ABOVE : Ava Gardner selects another record

ABOVE:  Ann Todd walking with her daughter Francesca

ABOVE: Lauren Bacall with her pet

ABOVE:  Rosamund John star of ‘Fame is the Spur’ with her son John. Her husband Russell Lloyd having fun joining in.

I am puzzled however by this picture because within a short time of this picture being taken Rosamund John had divorced Russell Lloyd and married the politician John Silkin who she had met through her interest in politics. He was nearly ten years younger that Rosamund but they soon had a child – a son – and went on to live a long and very happy life together. He became an MP and was in the Labour Government of Harold Wilson – she frequently attended Parliament to listen to him speak.

I can’t find any mention of the son John, pictured above.  I will look further into that.

ABOVE: Paramount star Gail Russell studied commercial art before she entered the world of films

What a charming gem of a film this is – with Eddie Calvert’s haunting melody played to great effect throughout the film and at it’s climax.

The story is quite well known – of two young children who run away to watch the Queen’s Coronation in 1953 – and the many adventures that they have in London.

When it becomes apparent that their parents can’t take them they run away together to London and the film is the story of their adventures and the things that happened to them, and the characters that they meet along the way – Excellent British actors and actresses who brought humour and sensitivity to the characters – Colin Gibson and Lesley Dudley were ideally cast as the children.

ABOVE – The Film Premiere  

Australian actor Vincent Ball also had a small part along with Moira Lister, Noelle Middleton, Syd James, Megs Jenkins, Constance Cummings, Wilfred Hyde Whyte, Peter Sellers and the brilliant Colin Gordon The background music for the film is very wonderful – recorded by Eddie Calvert – the man with the Golden Trumpet.

ABOVE – With a very much younger Andrew Cruickshank – than when he appeared for all those years as Dr. Cameron in Dr.Finlays Casebook on  BBC Television in England – one of my all time favourite programmes

Lovely to watch this heart warming film as I have so many times over the years If you would like an enjoyable, satisfying and nostalgic look into the Fifties – a simpler world but a lovely one at that – then just see this film. It is  one of my own  favourite films even today after fifty years.

Just imagine the scene – a Lancaster Bomber swoops low over a small town and as it does the crowds below are thrilled with the sound of those iconic Merlin Engines which become louder as the large Bomber speeds away.  The Scene from a War time film you would say – and it well could have been.

I actually filmed the Lancaster as it swooped low right above the main street but I cannot seem to upload it here

 In fact this happened yesterday at 40’s Weekend held in in the beautiful town / village of Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire.

This is very close to Coningsby where  the Lancaster has its home – so it would not have far to come.

ABOVE:  The Iconic Petwood Hotel at Woodhall Spa – Home of the Officers Mess of 617 Squadron – The Dambusters – in Wartime

American Vehicles at the Petwood Hotel

ABOVE – The  famous  Kinema In The Woods over this weekend was showing among other Films – The Dam Busters and Lancaster Skies

Maybe because the cast have just finished filming ‘Treasure Hunt’ one of the stars Martita Hunt is obviously feeling hungry – and celebrates with an ideal meal.

This film which also starred Jimmy Edwards was made by Romulus Films and this picture appeared in a magazine towards the end of 1952.

Her role in Great Expectations (1946) would be her most famous .   As Miss Havisham, she had reprised her role from a  1939 stage adaptation.   Her performance in the film met with great acclaim – in a film which was wonderfully well cast throughout – her performance was at the very top of the list.

On critic wrote that she dominated the film’s early scenes, playing Miss Havisham as a  shabby figure, dressed in crumbling lace and linen.

She appeared in so many films and stage plays throughout her career – She was memorable as Queen Eleanor in Walt Disney’s The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men.

There was a wonderful scene in this film actually Sherwood Forest ( Burnham Beeches)  where her party were ambushed by soldiers posing as Robin’s outlaws – and when she climbs from her carriage, she, in regal style, speaks to one of the ‘outlaws’ and says ‘ Down on Your Knees you treacherous dog’

At this point Robin  and the real outlaws speed onto the scene and rescue the Royal party.

This film, has really good  performances from Debra Paget as a princess,  Michael Rennie as the villain, and a handsome young Jeffrey Hunter.

The film is a  colourful adventure – the sort of thing we all loved in those days – and maybe still do.

There was also a very good supporting cat of classically-trained actors such as Michael Ansara, Edgar Barrier, Wally Cassell, Jack Elam and Dona Drake not normally found – you would think – together in one “B” film ;

This is the film that made Debra Paget a star, and rarely has an actress dominated a film so completely. From the moment she is first revealed–practicing an exotic dance, no less–to the the last scene of the film, Debra Paget remains the apple of the camera’s eye. Whether dancing seductively before spellbound soldiers, bargaining with duplicitous courtiers, or swinging a scimitar she brings the film’s  character to life with a cinematic charisma that is  spellbinding.

While the film is generally remembered as a showcase for Debra Paget’s performance  and impact, it is in fact a fine all-round action film.

Jeffrey Hunter and Michael Rennie are effective as the story’s hero and villain, and their rivalry builds to it’s inevitable conclusion. There’s never a dull moment either, and between the marauding soldiers under Rennie’s banner,  and a bunch of  heroic thieves, the story moves on at a pace.

 A

BOVE – with Jeffrey Hunter Princess of the Nile 1954

An excellent adventure from the days of classic Hollywood, Princess of the Nile is as enchanting as it is exciting and a colourful showcase for the wonderful talents of Debra Paget.

Debra  Paget should have had a longer career. She appeared in some well known  films such as  “The Ten Commandments,” “Love Me Tender,” “White Feather,” “Demetrius and the Gladiators,” and the list goes on – I had almost forgotten ‘Broken Arrow’ with James Stewart.

White Feather – again with Jeffrey Hunter ABOVE

As all of us – of a certain age – know here in England we had quite a lot of Comics that came out weekly – Dando, Beano, Eagle to name just a few and some of them were film themed – maybe some came from the USA but we still got them.

The ABOVE comic – Eagle – was one of the best and in truth a little ‘up market’ on the others of the day. Well drawn and imagined with a variation of stories throughout.

ABOVE – Just seen this Rod Cameron comic – I can’t remember this one at all. I wouldn’t have thought he would be in a comic. He seemed a bigger star but maybe they just cashed in on  the success of these publications.

Casey Ruggles ABOVE. There was no film connection here. This character to my knowledge did not appear in a film but I have included it here because – with a name like that – he really should have done. It is a name that seems ‘made to measure’ for the many B Westerns of that era.

ABOVE – Lash Larue – Now here is someone who had the most famous and popular of all the ‘film themed’ comics for quite a few years. He invented a style and developed it in a range of films that did well at the Box Office and when these comics came out they proved to be one of the most successful ones – if not THE most successful.  They are still very collectable today.

ABOVE: Wild Bill Pecos  – Again a very good name but no films

That great actor of Stage and Screen – Freddie Jones has died. He was 91 years old and had been appearing in a main role in Emmerdale on TV for some years. In fact he was acting up until the end almost

He made many film, stage  and TV appearances – however I remember him mostly as the mad bomber on the cruise ship in the film ‘Juggernaut’ in 1974 with Richard Harris and Omar Sharif.

A number of bombs have been planted on an ocean liner. The man who has planned and put all this into place is played by the great Mr Freddie Jones and it is the best portrayal of a psychopath I have ever seen in films.

Freddie Jones in Juggernaut” is the madman’s madman. Clever,conscience – free and ruthless. He brings to the part a quiet confidence – a masterclass in emotional detachment and studied indifference.

When I had first seen the film  – and when I see it again now – the character and the performance that Freddie Jones gives is the one we remember long after we have forgotten the other actors. When I think of Juggernaut – I immediately think ‘Freddie Jones.’

An interesting picture here of Richard Todd with his first wife Catherine and two children Peter and Fiona.

They look to be on holiday – possibly Ibiza where he owned a holiday property in the days before the island became popular – they all look happy here.

On the other hand it could be during the filming of ‘Don’t Bother to Knock’ in 1961 but looking again the two children look older than they would have been in 1961 when this film was made,  although they don’t look too warm here.    If it was during the filming of Don’t Bother to Knock then this would be at West Wittering in Sussex.

As only Fiona of the above is still alive, it may be something that we will never know.

It is funny that when doing an article for this Blog, how a picture like the one above leads to speculation as to where it was taken, a nd then linking that to a film and after that coming up with a NEW Cinema IN Sheffield   – with its very first film ‘Don’t Bother to Knock’  – as below:

The ABC Sheffield was opened on May 17th 1961 with Richard Todd in “Don’t Bother to Knock”. It was the most modern cinema of its day, fully equipped with 70mm facilities and full six track stereophonic sound system with a 60ft wide screen (one of the largest in the UK). For the opening week, a Hammond portable organ was installed and was played by Albert Brierley.

Built in a stadium style with a large stalls area and more steeply raked lounge area with more luxurious seats at the rear, the total seating capacity was 1,327. The yellow house tabs spread half way along the side walls and were illuminated with concealed fluorescent lighting, while the silver screen tabs were illuminated with flood lights along the deeply curved stage edge and coloured lighting up the sides.

ABOVE A scene from Don’t Bother to Knock’

This film opened in Sheffield at the New ABC Cinema – and as Richard Todd said the audience reaction was very good – but at a previous London showing the Press hammered the film. Coupled with that Richard Todd who had produced the film decided on  a Summer release – it turned out to be a lovely summer and the crowds did not go to the cinema – certainly not to see this one.

He had turned down an Easter release which is usually good for film takings – so it just makes you think ‘stick to what you are best at’

Richard Todd may have been a gifted actor and a successful and, I would say, a lucky one – however this ability and luck did not seem to follow him into the world of business

BECAUSE OF YOU 1952

An injured soldier, Jeff Chandler, falls for nurse Loretta Young and the two soon wed and have a lovely daughter. Sounds typical with a poor girl marrying a rich, handsome businessman like Jeff. However she hides a dark secret – Loretta was in jail as no one believed her innocence in the participation of a robbery.

She never told Jeff about her former life. Years later, the guy who led her down this path, suddenly shows up one afternoon and kidnaps her with the child. After another robbery, there is a high speed chase and the guy is killed instantly. Loretta and daughter survive the wreck physically-but there are plenty of emotional problems as a result. An enraged Jeff accuses Loretta of being a tramp and immediately files for divorce and gains full custody of the child.

Loretta takes a job as an entertainer for children’s parties. Her sister-in-law takes her in but  since this is years later, the child does not know that Loretta is her mother. Unexpectedly, Jeff comes home and there are fireworks.

The  film is really well  done with Chandler showing that he was a good actor. His emotional outbursts are believable. Loretta Young is subdued but as always turns in a competent performance.

About making the film, Loretta Young said she found Jeff Chandler very attractive and he told her that he was falling in love with her. She further stated that the relationship never progressed beyond hand-holding outside their love scenes, “but I think until he died, we both felt it. If I’d see him on the street I’d walk the other way because I didn’t want to spark anything.”

HORIZONS WEST 1952 In Technicolor from Universal

This was a British Film made in Colour – and I say this because, as we all remember, at that time it was a big attraction when a film was in Technicolor.

The title in a way is intriguing and appealing and yet it is difficult to discern what it is until you either read about it or see the film

The film starred John Gregson, Muriel Pavlow and Kieron Moore

 The film is splendidly English with villagers taking on the might of the Royal Air Force over nesting birds. Against this background “Conflict of wings” portrays the people of the beautiful county of Norfolk at odds with the Authorities over the potential damage to their bird sanctuary.

The RAF personnel are cast as the not very bad bad guys using an area frequented by nesting birds as a firing range.

The film makes its point and has  excellent performances in the British tradition and a wonderful support cast including ex – RAF pilot Humphrey Lestocq – at the time  as already mentioned on the Blog. on BBC children’s’ TV “Whirligig” with Mr Turnip.

“H.L.” as he was known, had a  career in film acting and Radio. P

lane enthusiasts  will love the shots of the Vampires and Meteors.   

If you love that quintessentially English county of Norfolk the scenery of its beautiful northern coast will enchant you.  “Conflict of wings” is rural England and its inhabitants coming together  

A Vampire Jet roars overhead

ABOVE – John Gregson and Harry Fowler with a Meteor Jet

  ABOVE – Actors again with a  Meteor Jet ABOVE – Niall MacGinnis and Muriel Pavlow play a scene together