The Loudest Whisper

Last weekend, we heard of the death of the American actor James Garner at the ripe old age of 86. He was on TV often all through my childhood and teen years – as cowboy Bret Maverick, and Private Investigator Jim Rockford – both programmes I watched avidly

In 1963, he made two great films – with Doris Day in the ridiculous comedy “Move Over Darling”, and the unforgettable “Great Escape” alongside Attenborough, McQueen, McCallum, Pleasence, Jackson et al.

Just ten years ago, in his 70s, he was back on TV as granddad in the SitCom 8 Simple Rules

But of all James Garner’s many roles, the one which sticks in my mind is the 1961 film he made with Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine. Called “The Loudest Whisper” when released in the UK, in the States it was called “The Children’s Hour”

This powerful MGM film was directed by William Wyler from a play [also called The C H ] by Lillian Hellman  based –rather loosely - on a true incident which happened in Scotland in 1810. The poster says it all “One simple lie destroyed everything they had”

Recently I was reading someone’s blogpost about gossip, and I thought of this film.

RIP James Garner – thanks for your legacy of entertainment. I wonder if your Mum named you after the biblical James, who wrote these wise words…

 A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it! It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.