Windthrop

Get both volumes

Thats the joke that killed the Music Hall !

Piccadilly

Bryan Forbes made some fantastic films in the early sixties - Whistle Down The Wind and Seance On A Wet Afternoon being my choices. The latter movie has very sinister undertones, I find. Very well-directed, though.

The Beaver Films moniker always generates a puerile chuckle too

Windthrop

It will do - the name was taken from Beaver House where Atty lives. Deborah Winger refers to him as 'Lord Dick of Beaver'

Thats the joke that killed the Music Hall !

stevie boy

Hi have you sent the questions out yet ???

stevie boy

Hi Rennie, what is the latest ???

jacobean

Didnt realise there were 2! I will certainly get both if I find the other one

stevie boy

What is the latest on this Rennie ??

Rennie

Hi everyone.

Firstly my sincere apologies for all the delay in sending your questions to Mr Bryan Forbes. Other than bad health, I have no excuses.

You will all (hopefully) be pleased that I have just this minute sent BF a list of ALL your questions (just over 30). I must be honest and say that I had a dilemma as whether or not to censor questions on your queries regarding other film celebs, and those regading his BF's health, particularly as I had no idea he had been unwell.

In the end, I thought 'to Hell with it', I just polished up some of the worse grammatical errors (I'm kidding!!), and set them pretty well uncensored. I knw Mr Forbes is a very laid back person.

I have suggested to Mr Forbes that he might well answer them in stages.

Once again, I am very, very sorry for the inexcusable delay in completing my task, and will be in touch when I receive his answers.

Rennie

Yesterday I finally got around to sending your questions off to Bryan Forbes. Incredibly, within six hours he sent back his answers to all the 30+ questions sent in by 24 members. I think you will find a couple of eye openers (Richard Attenborough:Tony Hancock).

All your questions were uncensored, and BF's answers are sic. No jokes please!)

I apologise, if for any reason, I inadvertently missed anyone's questions.

You will note that some of Mr Forbe's answers are pretty concise, but we must be grateful to him for taking up his valuable time. It is reassuring that a man of BF's immense calibre can still be approached by his admirers. Great man!

I am awaiting BF's response, but I am sure he will agree to clearing up any points he has answered.

I do like his comment 'I have no wish to remake my life'.

I have decided to post the Q&A over four weeks. If you want the rest sooner......HOLLER!!

Once again, apologies for the delay.

'Granger'

PS: Phwwwww. It certainly has been an exercise in saving and pasting!!

BRYAN FORBES Q&A

PART 1 (OF 4)

Dear Barry, Whew! I did not know that I was to be faced by so many intelligent questions from your members, but I will have a go at answering them all, listing them in the numbers you have given.
Bryan Forbes.

1.

a). Have you considered making your very prescient novel The Twisted Playground into a screenplay for TV/Film production? I think it would work very well in either of those mediums and thought the novel horribly plausible and was ahead of its time.

b). A second question (if I may be permitted) - If you were remaking The League of Gentlemen who would you cast in the main roles? (hope that's not too onerous)

1.

a) Many of my films and novels have been ahead of trends and The Twisted Playground is a case in point, for it was written a decade ago and anticipated the hideous growth of child abuse on the internet. I would love it if somebody had bought it for a film or TV but, alas, nobody did.

b) I get a request nearly every month from somebody who wants to remake The league of Gentlemen but most of them are bereft of any original idea how to do it. I don't know who I would cast because I have no ambition to remake my life.

2.

Hi, I hope my questions are not too trivial to be worth considering. I am very interested in Eric Portman. The questions are not onerous and require no erudition, just a good memory!

a) I have read that he was unwell during the filming of Deadfall, what form did this take? Was it dramatic? Was he also unwell at the time of The Whisperers? Did they meet again after 1967 for 'official' reasons or socially, no details required just did they? Other than I presume at the premiere of Deadfall. Did Bryan go to the funeral in Cornwall or just the Memorial Service?

b) Of secondary importance (to me). Are there any observations he is prepared to make about Eric the man rather than the actor, I don't mean salacious gossip, there's enough of that available. For example. Did he like him, would he have called him a friend. I'd very much like to know if they ever discussed Kim Stanley, with their very different points of view!

As I say, I hope you don't regard the above as too trivial? I'm in your hands but will be very grateful for anything.....

Susan

2.

a) Yes, he must have been unwell for he died shortly afterwards. I believe he died of a heart attack but I am not sure. On the Whisperers he was fine. I did not go to the funeral but I gave the address at the memorial (I think I did, that is - I have given so many addresses it has almost become a secondary career)

b) Eric was a somewhat sad and tragic character who should have been honoured, but never was, possibly because at that time his homosexuality was a strike against him (though not for Gielgud, Rattigan, Guinness and Coward). A fine actor, a neglected actor in many ways, whom I admired and liked as a person. He had his faults, (don't we all?) and was perhaps too fond of the cocktails. I don't recall that I ever discussed Kim Stanley with him and in any case he was the very reverse of the Method School, being an instinctive actor who didn't need all that garbage.

3.

I would like to know if BF has any special memories of working with the diverse trio of Steiger / Gould / Moore on The Naked Face.

Thanks,
Dave.

3. Gould was strange - he went walkabout at the beginning of the film in Chicago and we couldn't find him for four days - sweet man really, but barking. I loved Rod Steiger even though, again, he wasn't easy to direct . Roger is one of my oldest friends and an easy go lucky character. I loved Chicago and my crew and it is sad that the film never took off mainly because Canon Films were locked in battle with MGM and so MGM never got behind the film. It was a nightmare to direct because we were always running out of money - basically because Canon were dishonest with me. C'est La Vie.

4.

When you look at Forbes body of work as an Actor, Writer, Director why did he fade out in the early to mid seventies? His work on films such as The League of Gentlemen, Seance on a Wet Afternoon, The Whisperers, L Shaped Room is outstanding. Why did he drop of the radar? was it health, politics, personal choice?4.

Why did I fade out? I stopped being flavour of the month I guess and most of the new breed who now ran the studios had either neither heard of me or seen my films. I didn't fade by reason of choice - I was just dropped.


5.

Was Raging Moon a coincidence or produced when Forbes knew/feared he was ill?

5. Raging Moon was just a good subject I wanted to make and it came some years before I was diagnosed as being ill.

6.

His first known acting credit is the dying gunner in Powell and Pressburger's The Small Back Room. It's only on screen for a few minutes but it's a crucial part and very well done. Any particular memories of that one?

Steve6.

I was contracted for one day at £50, but because various things went wrong( nothing to do with me) I did a second day and so made £100 - a fortune in those days.

7.

Sorry if I'm asking a stupid question, but did Mr Forbes make an interview of Alfred Hitchcock at the NFT in 1969?
In that case, I would be interested in asking him if he has any reminiscences of the event?

Thanks
Best,

Alain Kerzoncuf
(France)

7. Yes, I did interview Hitchcock at the NFT and thought he was pompous and ill mannered in that he never once acknowledged that I was also a director - a deliberate snub. Didn't like him.

batman

More please!

"Do you know why fattries are called fattries .... it's because they are big and people make things in them."

Windthrop

Here here !

Thats the joke that killed the Music Hall !

DB7

Well done Barry. Love the Hitch comments.

Rob Compton

What a top man BF is! This is so interesting, many thanks and -- more please!

rgds
Rob

stevie boy

do not apologise about the delay, this is well worth waiting for, absolutely fabulous stuff, look forward to the rest, thanks again and also Bryan

Brooksey13

agreed. priceless stuff here from old Forbsey! Shit, the answers are so good (ie honest), i wish i'd have asked him more questions.