An Officer And A Gentleman

Just heard of the death, aged 90, of the classic British actor, Richard Todd. He had a very diverse career on stage and screen, a distinguished service record in WW2 but a rather sad private life.

In his later years he did a lot of charity work for both Age Concern and the Royal British Legion, as well as the St Barnabas Hospice near his home in Lincolnshire.

I am not sure which of his films I enjoyed most

'The Dambusters' was well made [great music too!]

All those historical ones were fun [Robin Hood and his Merrie Men, Rob Rob the Highland Rogue etc] and then there were all the other war movies [Operation Crossbow, The Longest Day, D-Day 6th June etc] which I confess seem all the same to me in many ways!

And then there was this one...

Its a biopic about the Scottish minister who ended up as Chaplain to the US Senate, and died at the age of 47. It's based on the book written by his wife Catherine. I read the book when I was about 11, and it made a great impression on me. The film was a bit romanticised though! Not sure how it would go down with today's cynical audiences, but when the film came out, it got some good reviews and an Oscar nomination.

 

They don't make films like that any more...