Youthful precocity developed into an all-round talent which has occasionally
moved the cinema forward. As an actor Forbes was usually cast in baby-faced
service roles - although when auditioning for The
Cruel Sea (1953) he was told that he was not officer material. His
short tenure of office as Head of Production at Elstree gave momentary
hope that an indigenous British film industry could become properly
established, but regrettably the tycoons had the last word. Forbes career
was divided between acting, producing, screenwriting and directing -
making films as diverse as The
League of Gentleman (1960), The
L-Shaped Room (1962), Only
Two Can Play (1962), Seance
on a Wet Afternoon (1964) and The
Wrong Box (1966),
