Very sad news over the weekend that the legend that is Sir John Mills passed away on Saturday at the age of 97.
The BBC carried tributes from the Queen, Prime Minister and stars alike:
“He was unequalled as a world [and] British movie star,” his close friend Lord Richard Attenborough said.
His career was vast across stage and screen and starred in more than 100 films.
Perhaps the most successful partnership was with David Lean. They first worked together on Noel Coward’s tale of a destroyer under attack off Crete, In Which We Serve, with Coward himself playing the ship’s captain. They went on to make another four films together, including some of Mills’ best work…Great Expectations in 1946, in which he played Pip…Hobson’s Choice in 1954, in which he played a cheeky chappy, Willie Mossop…And in 1970 there was his memorable part as the village idiot in Ryan’s Daughter, for which Mills won an Academy Award – it was, as he used to observe, a little ironic that after a lifetime learning lines he should win an Oscar for a role in which he didn’t speak and scarcely made a sound beyond whimpering.
For me, despite the plethero of roles to choose from, there was only one that will always stand out for me. Ice-Cold in Alex portrayed him as a fading soldier struggling with alcoholism and trapped in a journey across the desert. A journey that brings them to an extremely memorable destination and closing scene.
I certainly think many a glass of cold lager has been downed in celebration of that movie. Cheers Sir John Mills.
