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A naive young woman from a rural area moves to London to pursue a teaching career, where she lodges with a bickering married couple and is pursued by a man determined to seduce her. The lecherous fellow's more easygoing friend offers to introduce her to city life - while discreetly trying to woo her himself. Comedy drama based on the novel by Kingsley Amis, starring Hayley Mills and Oliver Reed
1970
Comedy
General
Literary Adaptation
Movie/Drama
Cast & Crew
Hayley Mills
(Actor)
.. Jenny Bunn
Oliver Reed
(Actor)
.. Patrick Standish
Noel Harrison
(Actor)
.. Julian Ormerod
John Bird
(Actor)
.. Dick Thompson
Sheila Hancock
(Actor)
.. Martha Thompson
Aimi MacDonald
(Actor)
.. Wendy
Geraldine Sherman
(Actor)
.. Anna Le Page
Ronald Lacey
(Actor)
.. Graham McClintoch
Jonathan Miller
(Director)
More Information
Did You Know..
Hayley Mills
(Actor)
.. Jenny Bunn
Born:
April 18, 1946
in
London
Best Known For:
Being John's daughter.
Early-life:
Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills was born on April 18, 1946, in London. She's the middle child of actor John Mills and writer Mary Hayley Bell's three offspring. Elder sister Juliet is also an actress, while younger brother Jonathan is writer and producer. Spending lots of time with her parents and their famous friends as a child made her precocious, although her boarding school peers claim she was shy among people her own age. However, she found solace appearing in school plays.
Career:
Mills' bright personality inspired director J Lee Thompson to cast her in Tiger Bay in 1959. Walt Disney's wife, Lilian, saw the film and suggested she should play the lead in Pollyanna. It made her a global star, and won her a special Oscar. Mills became the most popular child star of the era thanks to films such as The Parent Trap, Whistle Down the Wind and That Darn Cat! The controversial nature of 1966's The Family Way hurt her wholesome image, and although she's worked steadily ever since on stage and screen, Mills' career never reached its former heights again. From 2007 to 2012, Mills played Caroline in ITV drama Wild at Heart.
Quote:
'Acting is just a natural thing in my family. Other boys and girls go into the family business. So do we.'
Trivia:
Mills made her stage debut in a 1966 West End revival of Peter Pan.
Oliver Reed
(Actor)
.. Patrick Standish
Noel Harrison
(Actor)
.. Julian Ormerod
John Bird
(Actor)
.. Dick Thompson
Born:
November 22, 1936
in
Bulwell, Nottinghamshire
Best Known For:
Being a satirist, actor and comedian.
Early-life:
John was born in Bulwell, Nottinghamshire, on November 22, 1936. He went on to attend King's College, Cambridge, where he met John Fortune. He first made his mark in the 1960s on the satirical comedy series That Was the Week That Was.
Career:
As an actor, Bird has starred in Dick Turpin, Educating Marmalade, Danger: Marmalade at Work, A Very Peculiar Practice, Yes, Prime Minister, Inspector Morse, Joint Account, EL C.I.D., Chambers, and Absolute Power. His film credits include Jabberwocky (1977). He is best known for his work with John Fortune and Rory Bremner in the Channel 4 satirical TV series Bremner, Bird and Fortune.
Quote:
'Over the years, I've had the chance to work with some wonderful actors and directors.'
Trivia:
In 2008, he was the patron of the Mole Valley Arts Alive Festival.
Sheila Hancock
(Actor)
.. Martha Thompson
Born:
February 22, 1933
in
Blackgang, Isle of Wight
Best Known For:
Her roles in a string of hit TV programmes and plenty of stints on the stage.
Early-life:
Born Sheila Cameron Hancock on February 22, 1933, in Blackgang, Isle of Wight, but was brought up in London where her parents worked in pubs. During the Second World War, she was evacuated to Berkshire. At only eight years old, she found the experience traumatic and was bullied by the local children. Once back with her parents, Sheila won a grammar school scholarship, where she began acting. She went on to study drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada).
Career:
For nine years after leaving Rada, Hancock worked in theatre. Her breakthrough came in 1960s sitcom The Rag Trade. Other early productions include Carry On Cleo, But Seriously, It's Sheila Hancock, and How I Won the War. Roles in Brighton Belles, The Buccanneers, Love and Death on Long Island, Bedtime and EastEnders propelled her further into the spotlight. She took a break from acting when her husband John Thaw fell ill, but returned with Fortysomething in 2003. Hancock continues to work on stage and screen, and in 2010 was a judge alongside Andrew Lloyd Webber on talent search Over the Rainbow. She's also written two acclaimed memoirs. She also regularly works in radio.
Quote:
'I can't be bothered to go through the process of getting to know somebody and to pretend you are something else or whatever you do for them. I like my privacy now, I like my freedom.'
Trivia:
Hancock's first husband Alec Ross died of oesophageal cancer in 1971. Two years later, she married actor John Thaw, who was killed by the same disease in 2002. Sheila and John each had a daughter from their previous marriages, and one between them - all three girls are actresses.
Aimi MacDonald
(Actor)
.. Wendy
Geraldine Sherman
(Actor)
.. Anna Le Page
Ronald Lacey
(Actor)
.. Graham McClintoch
Jonathan Miller
(Director)
Born:
July 21, 1934
in
London
Best Known For:
Beyond the Fringe.
Early-life:
Jonathan Wolfe Miller was born in London on July 21, 1934. He attended St Paul's public school before studying natural sciences and medicine at St John's College, Cambridge. Qualifying as a doctor in 1959, he intended to become a neurologist but the lure of the stage - he'd been a member of the university's famous Footlights entertainment group - proved too strong.
Career:
Miller was part of the Tony award-winning satirical revue group Beyond the Fringe, alongside Peter Cook, Dudley Moore and Alan Bennett, which ran successfully in the West End and on Broadway. From there, he launched his showbusiness career, and in 1964 became editor of BBC Two's Monitor documentary series, and was later Laurence Olivier's right-hand man at the National Theatre. He's also directed numerous stage productions, including plays and opera, enjoys sculpting, and has written and presented various TV documentaries, such as the highly acclaimed The Living Body and Jonathan Miller's Brief History of Disbelief. In 2009, after a break of 12 years, Miller returned to the English National Opera to direct La Boheme.
Quote:
'I'm not really a Jew; just Jew-ish, not the whole hog.'
Trivia:
He was awarded a CBE in 1983 and knighted in 2002.
