Writers:
James Kennaway
(screenplay) and
Wilfred Greatorex
(screenplay) ...
Cast
Harry Andrews ... Senior
civil servant
Michael Caine ...
Squadron Leader Canfield
Trevor Howard ... Air
Vice Marshal Keith Park
Curd Jürgens ... Baron
von Richter (as Curt
Jurgens)
Ian McShane ... Sgt.
Pilot Andy
Kenneth More ... Group
Capt. Baker
Laurence Olivier ... Air
Chief Marshal Sir Hugh
Dowding
Nigel Patrick ... Group
Capt. Hope
Christopher Plummer ...
Squadron Leader Colin
Harvey
Michael Redgrave ... Air
Vice Marshal Evill
Ralph Richardson ... Sir
David Kelly (British
minister to Switzerland)
Robert Shaw ... Squadron
Leader Skipper
Patrick Wymark ... Air
Vice Marshal Trafford
Leigh-Mallory
Susannah York ... Section
Officer Maggie Harvey
Michael Bates ... Warrant
Officer Warwick
A cast of
thousands with plenty of
work.
I’d been in the
business for a couple of
years by now and was
getting my s Share of
work, I wouldn’t get
rich but it worked out I
could earn enough to live
on.
You would meet a lot of
the same faces on the
sets and sometimes go for
a pint at lunchtimes or
after work finished.
A lot of them had
nicknames which I will
mention as I go along.
A quick mention of Reg
(the actor) Thomason who
did a great acting job on
this film...
The next week he was back
in the
‘’crowd’’
dressing room with us.
Well done Reg..
EDIT…Date
20/9/03….I have just
had the sad news that Reg
has died….God
bless….
ASSASSINATION
BUREAU…Director
Basil Dearden.
Cast Inc…Oliver
Reed…Diana
Rigg…Telly
Savalas…
A few days filming in
Black Park and
studio…Pinewood…
Aitch and Dennis Plenty
playing German
soldiers…
THREE
SISTERS…
Directors:
Laurence Olivier
John Sichel
Writers:
Moura Budberg (writer)
Anton Chekhov (play)
Cast
Jeanne Watts ... Olga
Joan Plowright ... Masha
Louise Purnell ... Irina
Derek Jacobi ... Andrei
Sheila Reid ... Natasha
Kenneth MacKintosh ...
Kulighin
Daphne Heard ... Anfissa
the nana
Harry Lomax ... Ferrapont
the watchman
Judy Wilson ... Serving
maid
Mary Griffiths ...
Housemaid
Ronald Pickup ... Baron
Tusenbach
Laurence Olivier ... Dr.
Ivan Chebutikin
Frank Wylie ... Maj.
Vassili Vassilich Solloni
Alan Bates ... Col.
Vershinin
Richard Kay ... Lt.
Fedotik
Dressed
and made up as The Devil
and Sir Laurence Olivier
wishing me good luck as I
was about to go onto the
set....( It doesn't get
much better than that)
RANDALL
AND HOPKIRK (DECEASED)…Directors…Roy
Ward Baker…Ray
Austin…
Jeremy Summers…Les
Norman………………..
Cast Inc…Mike
Pratt…Kenneth
Cope…Annette
Andre…
Central Casting sent me
to A.B.P.C. Studios to do
some tests on a series
they were about to make.
It was tests for special
affects to be tried out
such as walking through
walls etc.
I was to be Randall and a
chap called Doug Lockyer
was to be Hopkirk.
We did the tests over a
period of a week and the
following Monday the
series got going for
real..
I was asked
‘’Would you be
a stand/in for Mike Pratt
if he gets on with
you..’’
Now I’m going to say
no to a years work. (Not)
We got on like a house on
fire from the first day.
Mike told me that he and
Lionel Bart wrote all of
Tommy Steel’s early
songs, (Handful Of Songs,
Rock With The Caveman and
many more)
With all the years I
spent with the bands we
had something in common.
We used to have a sing a
long in the dressing
rooms or where ever we
could.
Douglas stood/in for
Ken…
We did twenty six
episodes over the next
year and Mike, Ken and I
became good friends.
I would read the other
actors lines in the
script so Mike could
learn his.
Every two weeks we would
get a new guest cast and
I really wish I had saved
all the call sheets with
all the cast names on. I
wonder how many went on
to greater things.
One I do remember was a
wild looking man called
Dudley Sutton.
He went on to play Tinker
in Lovejoy and we still
send cards at Christmas
time.
(Merry Christmas Dudley,
it saves a card.)
Every episode I would
have to double for Mike
for his driving shots or
walking in and out of
London buildings. We used
a second unit camera team
(small crew) for this as
it was better for Mike to
be in the studio saying
the words.
Although I appeared in a
few crowd scenes during
the series my claim to
fame are those immortal
words I say to the
onlookers as Hopkirk is
run down by the bad guys
car.. I compose myself
and utter "He’s
dead!"
I had a
few fan letters in after
that scene was shown on
TV suggesting I go back
in
the timber game.. (It
wasn’t even my
voice, it was dubbed..)
When Mike had days off I
had to find other film
jobs to do.
We was only paid £5 a
day and you only got paid
if you worked
Lucky for me they were
making other series in
the studio and I would go
in the bar and find an
A.D. from Department S.
or the Avengers and see
if they could use me for
a couple of days till
Mike was back. So look
out for me in other
series playing a
French/German/Spanish/American
cop/waiter/soldier/sailor/crook
etc…
I’ve been all around
the world but I’ve
never left English
shores.
We finished shooting the
series in 1969 and had a
huge party to celebrate.
(It took me a week to get
over it)
I’d like to say
hello to the three main
Stuntmen on the show,
Rocky Taylor, Les
Crawford and Frank (
Elstree Cowboy ) Maher.
Also my best regards to
all the crew for making
it a wonderful year.
MIKE…AITCH…KEN…1969.
MIKE PRATT DIED IN
1976…LONG LIVE MIKE
PRATT…
Video
interview with Aitch
about his time on Randall
and Hopkirk Deceased
ONE
MORE TIME…Cast
Inc…Peter
Lawford…Samy Davies
Jnr……
Director:
Jerry Lewis
Writer:
Michael Pertwee
(screenplay)
Cast
Sammy Davis Jr. ...
Charles Salt
Peter Lawford ...
Christopher Pepper
John Wood ... Figg
Dudley Sutton ... Wilson
Maggie Wright ... Miss
Tomkins
Ester Anderson ... Billie
(as Esther Anderson)
Percy Herbert ... Mander
Anthony Nicholls ...
Candler
Allan Cuthbertson ...
Belton
Edward Evans ... Gordon
Sydney Arnold ... Tombs
Leslie Sands ...
Inspector Grock
Moultrie Kelsall ...
Minister
Glyn Owen ... Dennis
Lucille Soong ... Kim Lee
I get a
phone call from Dudley
Sutton asking if I’d
stand/in for him on the
above named film
I was glad of the work
and I meet Dudley in the
MGM canteen for breakfast
on our first day. Dudley
is to play a not so
bright crook.
After breakfast we sit at
the back of the set and
wait for the two main
artists to arrive.
A couple of minutes later
they walk on, laughing
and chatting to the crew.
Sammy Davies Jnr, Peter
Lawford and the
Director….
( SHOCK, DOUBLE SHOCK )
It’s HIM, It’s
the Man, It’s the
Main Man.
This is the man I watched
in the cinema for all of
my teenage years. ( And
beyond )
I used to sit in the
cinema from 1pm till 10pm
and get three showings of
his films.
(Me and my very good
friend Freddie Simms..)
We even took lunch with
us.
The Director is one of
the greatest comic actors
ever………
MR. JERRY LEWIS..
My thoughts again turn to
working on this film for
free, (But like thoughts
I’d had
Before they soon passed.)
All through the filming
there was only one man I
was watching and it
wasn’t
The actors.
We filmed in the studio
and on location and one
Sunday we filmed in a
square in London’s
West End. To say that
there was a crowd of
onlookers there is
putting it mildly. All
the stand/ins and Central
Casting crowd were acting
as security.
I’d phoned up
Freddie Simms the night
before and he came along
with his wife to see the
main man work.
( Jerry, you made two
good old boys very happy
)
As well as standing/in
for Dudley I got used
half a dozen times in the
crowd including some
stuff at Ledbury Castle
in the West Country…
When the film wrapped Mr.
Lewis and Co donated a
gym to a local school.
Well done, ONE MORE TIME
Team…
MR. JERRY LEWIS.
It’s
the end of 69 and
I’m now trying to
sell a script that
I’d written.
After all the scripts
I’d read through
with Mike Pratt I now
knew how to set them out
and to time them. All I
needed was a story (which
I had) and to expand on
it in script form.. It
was called ‘’
IT’S A HARD LIFE
AIN’T IT
‘’
I was called to an office
in the West End to talk
to a Producer. I thought
to myself This is it,
I’m the next Harold
Pinter.
The woman producer
thanked me for coming in
and told me
‘’This is a
good story but it needs a
lot of work on it and
it’s not for
us’’
She could have told me
that on the phone and
saved me three bob bus
fare.
She asked me what else I
did and I thought
‘’Nothing lost,
nothing
gained’’ I said
proudly
‘’I’m an
Actor’’
She asked me what
I’d done and I went
on about all the films
I’d had lines in.
‘’Was I
fit’’ she
asked, ‘’As a
butchers dog ‘’
I replied.
Then she went on that she
needed a tough looking
man to chase the hero of
the film she was already
making around the streets
of the West End.
It seems he was having it
off with my wife and I
was going to catch him
and beat him up. (With
the help of a Stuntman.)
There were no scripted
lines but I might have to
ad lib. Oh yes, and could
I do the Job tomorrow.
(Instant Casting)
THE
FREELANCE…
Director: Francis Megahy
Writers: Bernie Cooper
(written by)
Francis Megahy (written
by)
Cast
Ian McShane ...
Mitch
Gayle Hunnicutt ... Chris
Keith Barron ... Gary
Alan Lake ... Dean
Peter Gilmore ... Boss
Luan Peters ... Rosemary
Peter Birrel ... Jeff
Elizabeth Proud ... Gwen
Charles Hyatt ... McNair
John Hollis ... Hartley
David Graham ... General
Peter Baldwin ...
Assistant Manager
Noel Davis ... Derek
Nellie Hanham ...
Landlady
Frederick Treves ... Car
Driver
Harry Fielder ... Husband
Now me and
Dave Brandon (stuntman)
spent the next day
chasing Ian McShane
(later to become Lovejoy)
around the West End
Streets of London. And
the climax is I never get
to catch him. He jumps in
a cab and I kick out at
that, miss it and fall on
my arse..
(I'm not to good at this
running game as you read
earlier. I'll have to
give the smokes a miss.
CROMWELL…
Director Ken Hughes…
The late, great Richard
Harris.
I had a few days on the
film and it was a joy to
watch Mr. Harris work.
