Sir John Mills was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portrayed guileless, wounded war heroes. In 1971, he received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Ryan's Daughter.
Jessie Margaret Matthews was an English actress, dancer and singer of the 1920s and 1930s, whose career continued into the post-war period.
Geoffrey Toone was an English character actor and former matinee idol, born in Ireland. Most of his film roles after the 1930s were in supporting parts, usually as authority figures, though he did play the lead character in the Hammer Films production The Terror of the Tongs in 1961.
Basil Dearden was an English film director.
The Black Sheep of Whitehall is a 1942 British black-and-white comedy war film, directed by Will Hay and Basil Dearden, starring Will Hay, John Mills, Basil Sydney and Thora Hird in her screen debut. It was produced by Michael Balcon and Ealing Studios.
The Good Companions is a 1933 British comedy film directed by Victor Saville starring Jessie Matthews, John Gielgud and Edmund Gwenn. It is based on the 1929 novel of the same name by J.B. Priestley.
Climbing High is a 1938 British comedy film directed by Carol Reed and produced by Michael Balcon with a screenplay by Sonnie Hale, Marion Dix and Lesser Samuels. It stars Jessie Matthews, Michael Redgrave, Noel Madison, Margaret Vyner and Alistair Sim, and was first released in the U.K. in November 1938.
Orders Is Orders is a 1933 British comedy film starring Charlotte Greenwood, James Gleason and Cyril Maude about an American film crew who move into a British army barracks to start making a film, much to the commander's horror. Much of the film concerns the interaction between the American crew and the British officers. It is based upon the 1932 play Orders Are Orders by Ian Hay and Anthony Armstrong. It was shot at the Lime Grove Studios in London with sets designed by the art director Alfred Junge.
The Man from Toronto is a 1933 British romantic comedy film directed by Sinclair Hill and starring Jessie Matthews, Ian Hunter and Frederick Kerr. After an inheritance is left to them if they marry, an Englishwoman and a Canadian must meet for the first time to investigate the other - with comedic results. Matthews was considered a rising film star at the time of the production, and she quickly became one of Gainsborough Pictures' leading names.
There Goes the Bride is a 1932 British comedy film directed by Albert de Courville and starring Jessie Matthews, Owen Nares, Carol Goodner, Basil Radford and Roland Culver. The screenplay concerns a woman who breaks off her an engagement and escapes to Paris. It is a remake of the German film Mary's Start in die Ehe, also known as Ich bleib' bei dir (1931). David Niven makes his film debut in a tiny uncredited role.
The White Lilac is a 1935 British mystery film directed by Albert Parker and starring Basil Sydney, Judy Gunn, Claude Dampier and Percy Marmont. It is based upon the play of the same name by Ladislas Fodor. It was made at Wembley Studios as a quota quickie by the British subsidiary of Fox Film.
Meet Me at Dawn is a 1947 British romantic comedy film directed by Peter Creswell and Thornton Freeland and starring William Eythe, Stanley Holloway and Hazel Court. The screenplay concerns a very skilled pistol shot who hires himself out to fight and duels in early twentieth century Paris.
No Blade of Grass is a 1970 apocalyptic dystopian film co-written, directed and produced by Cornel Wilde and starring Nigel Davenport, Jean Wallace, and John Hamill. It is an adaptation of John Christopher's novel The Death of Grass (1956) and follows the survivors of a plague that has hit London in the not too distant future. When London is overwhelmed by food riots caused by a global famine, a man tries to lead his family to safety to a remote valley in Westmorland.
Top of the Form is a 1953 British comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Ronald Shiner, Anthony Newley and Harry Fowler. The film draws inspiration from Will Hay's 1937 classic Good Morning, Boys. The film was released in black-and-white.
The High Road is a comedy play by the British writer Frederick Lonsdale which was first staged in 1927. It opened in the West End at the Shaftesbury Theatre, and ran for 234 performances. The following year, it opened on Broadway at the Fulton Theatre, where ran for 144 performances, with Alfred Drayton and Frederick Kerr from the London cast.
The 1978 New Year Honours in New Zealand were appointments by Elizabeth II on the advice of the New Zealand government to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. The awards celebrated the passing of 1977 and the beginning of 1978, and were announced on 31 December 1977.
The Midshipmaid is a 1931 British comedy play by Ian Hay and Stephen King-Hall, which ran for 227 performances at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London's West End. The following year Hay wrote a novel based on the play.
As part of the British honours system, Special Honours are issued at the Monarch's pleasure at any given time. The Special Honours refer to the awards made within royal prerogative, operational honours and other honours awarded outside the New Years Honours and Birthday Honours.
