David Niven . . . . . . . . . .Yul Brynner
Burt Lancaster . . . . . . . . . . Robert Taylor
Spencer Tracy . . . . . . . . . . Stewart Granger
James Mason . . . . . . . . . .Clark Gable
Cary Grant . . . . . . . . . . Robert Mitchum
Peter Cushing . . . . . . . . . .Sir John Mills
Sir Ralph Richardson . . . . . . . . . . Felix AylmerDavid Niven:
"Bonjour Tristesse" 1958
"Separate Tables" 1958
"Eye of the Devil" 1967
"Casino Royale" 1967
"Prudence and the Pill" 1968
Yul Brynner:
"The King and I" 1956
"The Journey" 1959
Burt Lancaster:
" From Here to Eternity " 1953
" Separate Tables " 1958
" The Gypsy Moths " 1969
Robert Mitchum:
" Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison " 1957 - Deborah Kerr's favourite film and one of John Huston's best, a sort of sideshoot from his own The African Queen. Instead of a missionary and a riverboat skipper, Huston gives us a nun - Deborah's first appearance 'in habit' since BLACK NARCISSUS 10 years before - and a tough US Marine - Robert Mitchum, perfectly cast, - shipwrecked on a Pacific island during World War Two. Virtually a duologue between the two, with lots of action, adventure and drama to hold the interest. Huston's film has moments of high pathos, excitement and tenderness, all in superb settings, as the director and his photographer - the great Oswald Morris - skilfully convey the humid, lush atmosphere of a small tropical island that might be a parasise in other circumstances. The tensions between Deborah and Bob Mitchum are cleverly written and their performances are first-class. Ultimately, though, it's the unusual qualities of the story that probably contribute more than anything else to the film's cuccess.
Tender are the Nights
( for Deborah Kerr and Robert Mitchum in 'Mr. Allison' )
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" The S u n d o w n e r s " 1960 - Tender story of the travels of a happy-go-lucky Australian sheep farmer, with a wife who desperately wants to settle down. Director Fred Zinnemann captures a whole panorama of Australian outdoor life, and his commonplace tapestry is enriched by a series of wonderful character studies from Ronald Fraser, Mervyn Johns, and especially Glynis Johns as a faintly blowzy widow with sights firmly set on Sir Peter Ustinov's rascally Venneker. Robert Mitchum's Australian accent is well-nigh impeccable and his portrayal one of his finest achievements. Deborah Kerr's warm but worn-down wife gave her a sixth, last and probably unluckiest unsuccessful Academy Award nomination in an amazing 12-year run. It's a film that really makes you feel for the characters it presents.
Tender are the Nights
( for Deborah Kerr and 'Bob' Mitchum in 'the S u n d o w n e r s' )
!$&RRRR
" The Grass is Greener " 1960 - A polished but ultimately boring romantic comedy with a quartet of major stars. Most of the wit in this one is packed into the first hour as Cary Grant, Robert Mitchum, Deborah Kerr and Jean Simmons play a stately homes version of romantin musical chairs. Deborah and Jean are treated well by Hardy Amies and Christian Dior respectively, but not so well by the script, and the best performance in the film comes from Moray Watson as the family butler - a droll in the best Tony Randall style. You may start yawning in the latter half of the film but keep yourself awake for the final duel scene, drily played by Cary, Bob Mitchum and Watson.
" Reunion at Fairborough " 1985 - Most notable for the fourth pairing of Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr, this tevee movie, filmed in England, is a bittersweet romance about an American flyer who returns to Britain 40 years after World War Two and rediscovers his old love. Robert not only finds that he had a daughter, who is now dead, but also an anti-American, anti-nuke granddaughter - Judi Trott. As the film was made in the mid-Eighties, much is made of the anti-Cruise missile protests of the time and this conflict reflects the stormy relationship between grandfather and granddaughter. The film, though watchable, is verbose, though, and lacks much of the spark that Bob and Deborah shared in their heyday in such films as Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison.
