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Bill wrote to director Val Guest. And out of the blue Val telephoned from
the USA. At 93, Val spoke with great clarity but could only recall the one
Just William film he made at Southall Studios in 1947 -1948. Val’s
autobiography has the director pictured (top right) on the set of Just
William's Luck with future wife Yolande Donlan. Sadly Val passed away on
10th May 2006 at his home in Palm Springs, California. |
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Terence Alexander phoned. Many will remember him as Charlie Hungerford from "Bergerac" on TV. Little Southall memory remains with
Terence but nevertheless was very interesting to chat to. The still is from "The Runaway Bus".
Terence Alexander, born on March 11, 1923. Died on May 28,
2009, aged 86.
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We receive a reply from Virginia McKenna. From her scrapbook she sent us
some reviews of "The Oracle". ‘Most of the film was shot on location
with only the interiors done at Southall’ Virginia concludes.
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News of John Bentley came from
his wife. At 88, John is bedridden with arthritis and any Southall
recollections have entirely disappeared from the actor’s memory.
Policing the East African territory of Kenya was the theme and setting
for "The African Patrol" series which starred John.
John Bentley,
born 2nd December 1916. Died on 13th August 2009 aged 92. |
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Although it was more than fifty years ago, Rona Anderson recollects the
films, "Double Exposure" and "The Twenty Questions Murder Mystery", both
with Robert Beatty.
"You must remember those B films were usually made in three weeks - here
and gone pretty quickly".
Rona searched her archives but unfortunately could not provide us with
any further information.
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’As a jobbing actor I often had bit parts requiring one day’s shooting.
The only Southall film I can recall was "Time Gentlemen Please" from
1952’. The letter was signed Ian Carmichael.
Ian Gillett Carmichael born 18 June 1920.
Died 5 February 2010 |
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William Tell, aka Conrad Phillips, wrote from France where
he now lives. Most of Southall had slipped Conrad’s memory except"The
Last Man to Hang?"from 1956 with actor John
Schlesinger before he became a famous director.
Conrad Phillips went on to star in the black-and-white ITV series
"William Tell". |
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Not long after, actor John Horsley rang bringing to life reminiscences
about "The Runaway Bus" starring Margaret Rutherford and Frankie Howerd;
one of five films he made at Southall.
Viewers will recognise John as "Doc" from the 1976 BBC series "The Rise
and Fall of Reginald Perrin" which also starred Leonard Rossiter.
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In July 2008 we had
correspondence from Reg Varney/Jeanne Marley.
Reg Varney, actor, was born on July 11, 1916.
He died on
November 16th, 2008, aged 92 |
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TV soap viewers will immediately recognize Richard Thorp from
ITV’s Emmerdale. But viewers may not be aware that back
in 1957 he had a small role in Southall’s comedy film
There’s Always a Thursday. In the summer of 2008
Richard spoke to us recalling the strong performance from the
lead, Charles Victor.
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In her letter of September 2008 Dilys Laye remembered her part
as a young girl on a telephone in Torment. Sadly Dilys
passed away in February 2009. Prunella Scales remembered
Laxdale Hall and her small part as a schoolmistress and
the location work near Loch Carron.
September also brought a phone call from Peter Sallis. He told
us about his first film,
Child's Play from 1954 directed by Australian
director Margaret Thompson. |
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Wishing us well were Harry Towb, Lionel Jeffries, Harry Fowler
and Honor Blackman.
Despite appearing in Southall films they were unable to supply
any specific recollections. However Harry Towb later recalled
his experiences on Quiet Woman, 1950. His description
summarises Southall’s production schedule
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'We went on location to Rye Harbour. To say it was shot on a
shoestring is putting it mildly, the production manager
borrowed John Horsley's car to ferry the actors to and fro!
We shot the last scene with Dora Bryan under great pressure
because the budget couldn’t stand an extra hour's filming!'
Harry Towb, born July 27, 1925. Died on July 24, 2009, aged
83.
Lionel Jeffries, born June 10 1926. Died February 19 2010,
aged 83.
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September 2009: We receive a letter from Ronnie Corbett.
“You're Only Young Twice, (1952) was in fact my first ever job
in the business. We shot it all on location at Glasgow
University … (and) … I did some work at Southall Studios, I
lived in strange little digs nearby.
I think the studio had been refurbished by John Grierson who
had something to do with my film. I have a clip of my
appearance so it meant a lot to me, as much as it does to you:
and if I can help in any further way I would be only too
pleased but the memories are vague.” |
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Jonathan Kydd, actor, musician and voiceover expert carries on
the family surname. He wrote to us informing us about his
father, Sam who was a prolific character actor appearing in
over 200 films including 12 made at Southall Studios including
Blackout, 1950, Cheer the Brave 1951, The
Steel Key 1951 and The Embezzler 1954.
Sam, born Belfast 15 February, 1915. Died London 26 March,
1982. |
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We are indebted to Christopher Guest who e-mailed publicity
stills from Southall’s 1935 film Children of the Fog.
The film was adapted from the novel of the same name by his
grandmother, Carmel Haden Guest. |
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By early 2010 Eddie Graham, the original William in Val
Guest's 2 Just William films, (1947/1948) had been in
touch. After National Service he was a dancer at the Windmill
theatre, London then toured around the UK in variety and
pantomime. His agent was Joe Collins, Joan's father.
At 78 he is now enjoying retirement in Devon. |
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Kate Lees the granddaughter of Arthur Dent founder of
Adelphi Films Ltd. made contact. She confirmed several
titles, including some previously unknown to us, made at Southall
Studios, between 1948 and 1952. |
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More letters and e-mails followed in March 2010 following our
request placed in the Magazine of The British TV and Cinema
veterans.
An electrician who worked on Tommy Steele's first film
Kill Me Tomorrow, 1957 shared his memories of Lois Maxwell
and the stars culminating with an end of shooting party.
A former employee of Pearl & Dean outlined his 2 years at
Southall making commercials for TV & the cinema before moving
to Walton then Merton Park studios.
An assistant director recalled working on The Lyons
films, The Gay Dog and End of The Line.
Boris Karloff apparently was a real charmer, according to a
former production manager to Hannah Weinstein who worked on
the first few episodes of the TV series Colonel March of
The Yard, 1953 - 54.
He
remembers paying John Schlesinger £15 daily and other actors
less if he could get away with it! Budgets were set at £3500
per episode, frequently using sets from other productions at
Southall. Boris Karloff moved skillfully around the flimsy
sets but when more grand interiors were required Hannah’s
house was used.
Terence Fisher directed some of the episodes. |
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John Legard contacted me in July 2010. John was film editor on
Child's Play but is best known for editing most of the
British Transport documentaries. |
