John Mills
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Bibliography
Notes
Named Commander of Order of the British Empire in 1961
Knighted by Queen ELizabeth II in 1976.
Biography
Although his has been knighted and won acting awards, John Mills has been seemingly overshadowed by his contemporaries (i.e., Alec Guinness, John Gielgud, James Mason) many of whom delivered showier performances in contrast to his more stoic, low-key turns. Whatever accounts for the discrepancy, when one reviews the extraordinary career of this actor (who continued to turn in neat cameos after some sixty years in showbiz), one is amazed at the range and scope of the material and the dazzling versatility displayed by the actor.
Raised in Suffolk where his father was working as a school headmaster, Mills and his family (including older sister Annette who later found fame on British TV as a puppeteer) eventually settled in London. His mother managed the box office at the Haymarket Theatre and Mills was intrigued by an acting career. He began appearing in amateur theatricals while earning a living as a clerk and traveling salesman. After training at Zelia Raye's Dancing School, Mills made his stage debut as a chorus boy in the "The Five O'Clock Girl" (1929). Later that year, he joined the performing troupe the Quaints and toured India and Asian in such plays as "Journey's End," "Mr. Cinders" and "Hamlet." Returning to England, Mills continued his stage career offering a comic turn in "Charley's Aunt" then displaying his dramatic capabilities in Noel Coward's "Cavalcade." In 1939, he won plaudits for his dynamic turn as George in the stage adaptation of John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men." By then, the actor was well on his way to a successful film career.
After making his debut supporting Jessie Matthews in the lightweight but entertaining "The Midshipmaid/The Midshipmaid Gob" (1932), Mills first garnered notice as Lord Dudley in the period drama "Tudor Rose/Nine Days a Queen" (1936) and as one of the numerous Peter Colleys who were students of Robert Donat's in "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" (1939). The actor began a fruitful association with director David Lean with the acclaimed war drama "In Which We Serve" (1942), which was co-directed by and starred Noel Coward. Lean further used Mills' reliability and unprepossessing solidity in such efforts as "This Happy Breed" (1944, adapted from a Coward play), as the adult Pip in "Great Expectations" (1946) and as the competitive son-in-law of Charles Laughton in the delightful "Hobson's Choice" (1954). Among his other notable features of the period is the superb war drama "The Way to the Stars/Johnny in the Clouds" (1945, as a pilot unwilling to commit to his lover) and "The October Man" (1947), a tidy thriller about a man with a brain injury (Mills) who becomes the prime suspect in his neighbor's murder.
Mills added producer to his credits with a pair of films in which he starred under the direction of Anthony Pelissier, "The History of Mr. Polly" (1949) and "The Rocking Horse Winner" (1950). The latter is reputedly the first film adapted from a D.H. Lawrence work and offered a meaty role as a groomsman. The actor added another military man to his gallery as a POW in "The Colditz Story" (1955) then tackled the role of a Russian peasant (complete with British accent!) in "War and Peace" (1956). Mills acted opposite his real-life daughter Hayley in several efforts, most notably "Tiger Bay" (1959, as a detective questioning the child about a murder) and "The Family Way" (1966, as her father-in-law). He also made his feature directorial debut with "Sky West and Crooked/Gypsy Girl" (1966), starring Hayley.
Paired with Alec Guinness, Mills offered one of his greatest film performances as a British martinet who clashes with his rival over the comportment of a regiment in "Tunes of Glory" (1960). Despite this fine portrayal, much of his film work during the 60s was in subpar fare. Mills received a Tony nomination for his Broadway debut in "Ross," a play based on the life of T E Lawrence in 1961 and later made his American TV series debut in "Dundee and the Culhane" (CBS, 1967). The latter cost him a chance to direct the film version of "Oh! What a Lovely War" (1969), a series of vignettes about British involvement in the Great War. Turning over the reins of the film to Richard Attenborough, Mills did make a cameo in the film (as did his other actress daughter Juliet). Reteaming with David Lean for the disappointing would-be epic romance "Ryan's Daughter" (1970), the actor offered a scene-stealing turn as the drunken village idiot and earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar that was as much for his career achievements as for that particular role. Still agile and capable as he aged, Mills continued to find challenging roles, although the overall quality of the vehicles varied wildly. He was at his best as men of rank and prestige (i.e., "The Quartermass Conclusion" 1979; "Gandhi" 1982). and continued to turn in incisive cameo appearances as the 90s wound down, most notably in the comedy "Bean" (1997) and as Gus the Theatre Cat in the direct-to-video release of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Cats" (1998).
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Misc. Crew (Short)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1929
London stage debut as a chorus boy in the musical "The Five O'Clock Girl" at London Hippodrome
1929
Toured India and Asia as a member of the performing troupe, The Quaints, acting in "Journey's End", "Mr. Cinders" and "Hamlet" among other plays
1930
First character part onstage, Lord Babberly in "Charley's Aunt"
1931
Acted in Noel Coward's "Cavalcade" in London
1932
Film acting debut in "The Midshipmaid", opposite Jessie Matthews
1933
Reteamed with Coward for "Words and Music"
1934
Signed contract with Gaumont-British
1936
Portrayed Lord Dudley in the historical drama "Tudor Rose/Nine Days a Queen", opposite teen actress Nova Pilbeam
1939
Breakthrough stage role as George in "Of Mice and Men"
1939
Had role as student Peter Colley going off to war in the drama "Goodbye, Mr. Chips", starring Robert Donat; first US film
1942
Acted in and co-directed (with Bernard Miles) "Men in Shadow", written by second wife Mary Hayley Bell
1942
Appeared in "In Which We Serve", co-directed by Noel Coward and David Lean
1944
Co-starred in "Waterloo Road"
1946
Reteamed with Lean to play Pip in "Great Expectations"
1947
Starred in the suspense thriller "The October Man"; first onscreen appearance with duaghter Juliet
1947
Directed and starred in the stage play "Angel", also written by Bell
1948
Had title role in the biopic "Scott of the Antarctic"
1949
Producing debut, "The History of Mr. Polly"; also starred
1954
Reprised role of Lord Babberly in revival of "Charley's Aunt"
1954
Co-starred as Charles Laughton's son-in-law in "Hobson's Choice", directed by Lean
1956
American TV debut in production of "The Letter", directed by William Wyler
1956
Played a cab driver in "Around the World in 80 Days"
1957
Formed John Mills Productions Ltd
1959
Appeared with daughter Hayley in "Tiger Bay"
1960
Offered one of his best performances as a British officer bent on restoring order to a regiment in "Tunes of Glory", co-starring Alec Guinness
1961
Made Broadway debut in title role of "Ross", based on the life of T E Lawrence; received a Tony Award nomination
1966
Acted with daughter Hayley in Roy Boulting's "The Family Way"
1966
Feature directorial debut, "Sky West and Crooked/Gypsy Girl", starring daughter Hayley and co-written by wife Mary Hayley Bell
1967
Starred in the CBS series "Dundee and the Culhane"
1970
Earned Best Supporting Actor Oscar playing the village idiot in "Ryan's Daughter", directed by David Lean
1971
Made guest appearance on "Nanny and the Professor", starring daughter Juliet
1972
Essayed role of General Kitchener in "Young Winston"
1973
Portrayed Faye Dunaway's father in the drama "Oklahoma Crude"
1975
Co-starred with Lilli Palmer and Barry Morse in the NBC series "The Zoo Gang"
1977
Headlined London revival of Terrence Rattigan's "Separate Tables"
1978
Acted in the remake of "The 39 Steps"
1979
Starred in the four-part British TV series "Quartermass"; episodes were re-edited and released theatrically under the title "The Quartermass Conclusion"
1982
Portrayed the viceroy in Richard Attenborough's "Gandhi"
1984
Had featured role as Henry Rossiter, advisor to Emma Harte (Jenny Seagrove and Deborah Kerr) in the syndicated miniseries "A Woman of Substance"
1986
Reprised role of Henry Rossiter in the syndicated sequel "Hold That Dream"
1986
Starred in the stage production "The Petition"
1987
Last Broadway role, co-starring in revival of "Pygmalion"
1987
Supported Madonna in the comedy "Who's That Girl"
1989
Co-starred in the multi-part adaptation of "A Tale of Two Cities" (PBS)
1989
Acted in the NBC miniseries version of "Around the World in 80 Days"
1993
Co-starred in the British TV-movie "Ending Up"; aired in USA on PBS (filmed in 1989)
1994
Portrayed Old Chuffey in the British miniseries "Charles Dickens' 'Martin Chuzzlewit'" (aired on PBS in 1995 in the USA)
1996
Made cameo appearance as Old Norway in Kenneth Branagh's full-length feture version of "Hamlet"
1997
Appeared as the Chairman in the comedy "Bean"
1998
Played Gus the Theatre Cat in the direct-to-video release "Cats", adapted from the successful Andrew Lloyd Webber stage musical; production also aired on PBS stations in USA
Photo Collections
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Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
Named Commander of Order of the British Empire in 1961
Knighted by Queen ELizabeth II in 1976.
Along with his wife, named Boston Univeristy fellow in 1977
