1968
HOSTILE
WITNESS…Shepperton
Studios…
Ray Milland…
ATTACK ON THE
IRON COAST…Director…Paul
Wendkos…
Cast Inc…Lloyd
Bridges…Andrew
Keir…
I remember this film
quite vividly. It’s
a Second World War film
about a raid on a German
docks. The idea is to ram
our ship into the docks
and to cause as much
havoc and mayhem to slow
the Germans down as much
as possible.We set the
shot up and rehearse
running down the
gangplank firing our guns
and screaming like
banshees.
‘’The ship will
not explode until you are
all off it’’??
After a few more
rehearsals we hear.
‘’Lets go for a
take’’
Now, we are filming in
the London Docks in the
middle of the night and
it’s cold and dark.
There are about a hundred
Extras & twenty
Stuntmen plus some Stunt
doubles
For the main Artists...
‘’ACTION’’
Yells the 1st A.D. Now
we’re all running to
get off the ship,
shouting and screaming.
(I’m screaming for
people to get out of my
way). Small explosives go
off
To add to the excitement
and danger on screen...
We’re near the
gangplank now and I turn
to see how many people
are still behind me.
(Gulp) Nil, Zero,
I’m the last one.
(All the others must have
been trained sprinters to
get in front of me)
I’m halfway down the
gangplank and
there’s no more
screaming from me (the
mouth has dried up.) Then
up she goes.
!!!!!BANG!!!!!…
(They say people pay a
lot of money to have
their hair singed.)
THE CHARGE OF THE
LIGHT BRIGADE…Director…Tony
Richardson…
David
Hemmings…Filmed at
Greenwich.
(I’m not too keen on
this charging game as you
can tell by my last
film.)
CARRY
ON UP THE KHYBER…
Directed as usual by
Gerald Thomas.
I’m on the film for
three weeks.
Week one I’m dressed
as an Arab (Burpa)
guarding the Karsey of
Baghdad (Kenneth
Williams) and firing
shots down on the rebels
in the city square...
Week two I was dressed
and used in various
scenes.
Week three I was dressed
as a rebel firing shots
up at the Karsey of
Baghdad whose arab guards
were firing down on us.
(I wonder if I shot
myself??)
WELL AND TRULY UP
THE KHYBER…68…
WHERE EAGLES DARE…Director…Brian
G Hutton…
Cast Inc…Clint
Eastwood, Richard Burton.
Played a German soldier
for a few days.
STAR…Director…Robert
Wise…Richmond
Theatre…
Cast Inc…Julie
Andrews…Richard
Crenna…
Sat in the audience
watching Julie sing and
dance for a week. (Nice)
OLIVER…Lionel
Bart’s
Masterpiece…Director
Carol Reed…
Shepperton Studios…
Cast Inc…Ron
Moody…Oliver
Reed…
I was on this film for
weeks and was in awe of
the whole production.
The first day was as an
extra on the
‘’Who Will
Buy’’ set and I
could not believe what I
was seeing.
The dancing, the sets,
the hundred or so extras
all dressed in costume
was as much as I could
take in, I thought to
myself how lucky I was to
be on such a film and
would have worked on the
film for no wages. (Then
I thought of the wife and
kids at home so the first
thought went right out of
my head.)
Art for art’s sake
but money for the kid's
sake…(old English
proverb)
DRESSED TO KILL
ON
‘’OLIVER’’
THE BLISS OF MRS
BLOSSOM…Joseph
McGrath…
Cast Inc…Richard
Attenborough…James
Booth…
Filmed for a week at
Alexandra Palace North
London dressed as a
fireman.
Lots of girls on Kirby
wires hoisted up in the
air as their bra’s
inflated.
A young Bob Monkhouse
looking very hippy. (It
was 68)
THE VENGEANCE OF
SHE…Director…Cliff
Owen…A.B.P.C.
Studios Elstree…
Cast Inc…John
Richardson…Olinka
Berova…
This was a kind of follow
on to the film
‘’SHE’’
of a few years earlier.
About fifty Supporting
Artists were dressed up
as cave dwellers (Rags
and fur) and in one scene
we had to run through the
caves in unison and chant
out, ‘’Um pa,
Um pa’’.
(Of course we had the
joker in the pack that
added ‘’Stick
it up your
jumper’’ (Me)
I could get to like this
business.
CHITTY, CHITTY
BANG, BANG…Director
Ken
Hughes…Pinewood…
Cast Inc…Dick Van
Dyke…Sally Ann
Howes…
And he never said
‘’Gawd
‘elp me Mary
Poppins’’ once)
A good film to work on
with plenty of hot sunny
days…
DRIVING THE
ACTUAL
‘’CHITTY’’
1968…………..
2001
A Space Odyssey…Director
Stanley Kubrik…MGM
Elstree…
I’m on the film for
one day doubling for one
of the main actors.
All I had to do was walk
across the Moon surface
in a spacesuit.
It took me twelve hours
(multi takes) but It was
still a year away before
the
American’s did it
for real in 69…
SALT AND PEPPER…Peter
Lawford & Sammy
Davies
Jnr…Shepperton…
I had some lines to say
to the two main actors. I
was dressed as a
policeman.
(If only the boys in my
local could have seen me)
TOP
LEFT…CHITTY BANG,
BANG…TOP
RIGHT…ASSASSINATION
BUREAU…
BOTTOM RIGHT…SALT
AND PEPPER…
LEFT… ME IN
1966…
ISADORA…Director…Karel
Reisz…
Cast Inc…Vanessa
Redgrave…James
Fox…
I remember seeing Vanessa
sitting in a car with a
long scarf found her
neck.
INADMISSABLE
EVIDENCE…Director…Anthony
Page…
Cast Inc…Nichol
Williamson…Eleanor
Fazen…
I’m sitting in a
police van next to Nichol
for the day…
THE DEVIL RIDES
OUT…Director…Terence
Fisher…
Cast Inc…Christopher
Lee…Patrick
Mower…
Another Hammer horror and
I think Patrick still had
his milk teeth.. (He was
young)
PRUDENCE AND THE
PILL…Director…Fielder
Cook…
Cast Inc…Deborah
Kerr…David
Niven…
We spent a nice few days
filming at Brands Hatch
watching a girl stunt
double for
Ms Kerr crossing the race
course as the cars
flashed by at break neck
speed.
(Rather her than me) For
some reason I like the
directors name.
NEXT
- 1969
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