Bryan Forbes

[smudge]

(Rennie @ Mar 20 2006, 04:43 PM)

Dislike name dropping, but as it now seems the vogue on this discussion board here is the answer straight from the horses mouth. Bryan Forbes, who is always on hand to help me in my research, has kindly e-mailed the answer:-



".................The answer is that there are two little girls (not one girl and a

boy) sitting by the bandstand in The Wrong Box. One is our daughter Sarah and the other was a school friend. Hope this answers you. Bryan Forbes"

Curious....



What's the object of your research Rennie ? If it's a book on Mr. Forbes, I'd love to know more about his spell managing Elstree...



SMUDGE

[Rennie]

(smudge @ Mar 20 2006, 06:45 PM)

Curious....



What's the object of your research Rennie ? If it's a book on Mr. Forbes, I'd love to know more about his spell managing Elstree...



SMUDGE

Sorry Smudge, I am not researching Bryan Forbes. Over the years he has assisted me on bits and pieces, and I have always found him to be one of the most approachable and helpful actors I have ever contacted. I am sure if you wrote to him, he would willingly assist you on any queries. I am sure you will understand that I am unable to divulge his contact e-mail address.

[Steve Crook]

A lot of famous people are very nice really



Steve

[Geoffers]

Fascinating! Yes, I, too, have written to Bryan on occasions and always got a prompt and helpful response.



I watched the film on Sunday and was very impressed with the print quality - far better than my video, and in widescreen. I wondered if a DVD might be on the way?

[Geoffers]

(Steve Crook @ Mar 20 2006, 10:12 PM)

A lot of famous people are very nice really



Steve

Indeed they are! Talking of Bryan I just received the disappointing (though not unexpected) reply from the NFT:



Dear Geoff



Thank you for contacting us with your proposal regarding the possibility of a season celebrating the work of Bryan Forbes in his 80th year: we were able to discuss this at a recent forward planning meeting.



I am sure you appreciate that we have many seasons to consider for potential inclusion in our programme, all with merits and with a variety of audiences to consider. On this occasion we are not able to take up your suggestion to follow through in forward planning.



Thank you for approaching us. I trust that you will discover other seasons of interest at the NFT in the coming months.

[stevie boy]

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

[batman]

In 1969 Forbes got the job of production chief at EMI, but apparently it wasn't a success and he left in 1971. A few years after this he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis which forced him to reduce his work rate, although he did the occasional directing stint and became quite a successful novelist.



Bats.

[Windthrop]

He always had a erratic career - fine directing work in the 60s but as Bats said the EMI debacle didn't help him (though he did turn in a profit and greenlighted The Go-Between). He virtually invented the modern party political broadcast for Edward Heath which made him distrusted by the film unions which didn't help him at EMI (he subsequently lost the presidency of a film union on a technicalitybecause of his tory associations). He directed the infamous Peter O'Toole Macbeth at the Old Vic which again didn't help him.



He hasn't directed for TV since his adaptation of his own novel The Endless Game in 1990 which I thought was quite good and he directed Tom Conti for a regional tour of a play a couple of years ago. A sad waste of an interesting and talented man though he is still writing and had a good career directing TV commercials. His books are very readable, both the fiction and non-fiction.



So yes it was health to some extent and being a tory in the arts world possibly didn't help in those days. His films were interesting and generally small scale and not epics or blockbusters. He turned down Dr No and Where Eagles Dare so he wasn't concerned with making conventional box-office fodder.



It is sadly ironic that it was the tories' abolition of the net book agreement that led to the closure of his little bookshop in Virginia Water.

[Freddy]

A few years after this he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis which forced him to reduce his work rate, although he did the occasional directing stint and became quite a successful novelist.



Bats.

There was an article some years ago which mentioned the MS and that his wife Nanette Newman had put him on a gluten free (no wheat, rye...) diet which is of some help. The reasoning was at the time that she noticed MS was quite rare in places where wheat wasn't a main part of the diet. Some MS web sites report that the diet could be of some help.



Freddy

[Windthrop]

There was an article some years ago which mentioned the MS and that his wife Nanette Newman had put him on a gluten free (no wheat, rye...) diet which is of some help. The reasoning was at the time that she noticed MS was quite rare in places where wheat wasn't a main part of the diet. Some MS web sites report that the diet could be of some help.



Freddy

It's a controversial theory and those that go on it and lose their MS symptoms are never considered 'cured' by conventional medicine - they are in 'remission' which is not quite the same thing from, let us say, an insurance point of view. Still looking at Forbes in his recent appearances he does look very well for a man well-stricken in years and doesn't show the outward appearance of someone who has lived with a diagnosis of MS for 30 plus years. Long may his 'remission' continue.

[batman]

It's a controversial theory and those that go on it and lose their MS symptoms are never considered 'cured' by conventional medicine - they are in 'remission' which is not quite the same thing from, let us say, an insurance point of view. Still looking at Forbes in his recent appearances he does look very well for a man well-stricken in years and doesn't show the outward appearance of someone who has lived with a diagnosis of MS for 30 plus years. Long may his 'remission' continue.

Well said Windy!



Bats.

[DB7]

A few years after this he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis which forced him to reduce his work rate,

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

[batman]

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

That's an interesting point ... it's certainly something I had never thought of. I haven't read it but his autobiography ( A Divided Life ) contains a section about his illness so he may have written about it in the book.



Bats.

[Windthrop]

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

According to his biogs it was during the film of The Slipper and the Rose that he was diagnosed.

[Steve Crook]

According to his biogs it was during the film of The Slipper and the Rose that he was diagnosed.

One of my "guilty secret" favourite films.



Steve

[Rennie]

I am occasionally in correspondence with Bryan Forbes.



I note the members' interest in his career, and have just asked him if he would be prepared to answer members' questions on his film career. Here is his (as always) humourous reply. Moderators: I trust you will accept the non censorship?



Dear *****, I wonder if any of your group have looked at the BAFTA web site which has been running a film about my career because Last year they honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Of course i would be willing to answer direct questions as long as they are not too onerous. I remember when I was a prison visitor many years ago and gave a lecture of some pith and moment(or so I believed) about the film industry and then asked for questions. A hand went up immediately, and the question was "Is Lana Turner a good fuck?" I saw then that my erudition had fallen on stony ground. Regards Bryan Forbes



So, if anyone would like to ask him a question, please contact me by PM or on the thread. Don't forget...'not too onerous'.

[Steve Crook]

So, if anyone would like to ask him a question, please contact me by PM or on the thread. Don't forget...'not too onerous'.

Just to say "Thank you" for all his great work.



Oh, and ...

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?



Steve

[christoph404]

To Bryan Forbes,

I would like to ask about "The Man Who Haunted Himself" First of all great film as we all know, its rightly held in high esteem here at Britmovie, and I really enjoyed the DVD commentary . As uncredited writer producer I would be interested to know of the scale of your involvement and contribution or any background information you wish to share about the film.Why no credit? ( "Trumpers" as featured in the film is in Curzon Street BTW though there is a small version in Jermyn Street and next time you see Roger remind him it was a Lamborghini not a Masserati. )

Also any thoughts on "Deadfall",the photography is superb, good performances and music, an underrated sixties film in my opinion. What was it like working with Eric Portman, there have been discusions here about what little is kown about him as a person and a lack of biography, any comments or thoughts on that? Thanks very much.

[stevie boy]

Bryan



I am a great admirer of your work and could ask many questions, but I will stick with one.



Your screenplay on the League of Gentlemen was superb in its entirety. But focusing on the Bunny Warren entrance what came first, the casting of Coote or the words?? You cannot imagine anyone else playing that role??. What a cast and what a time you must have had filming this classic.



Keep well



Steve

[Geoffers]

I am occasionally in correspondence with Bryan Forbes.



I note the members' interest in his career, and have just asked him if he would be prepared to answer members' questions on his film career. Here is his (as always) humourous reply. Moderators: I trust you will accept the non censorship?



Dear *****, I wonder if any of your group have looked at the BAFTA web site which has been running a film about my career because Last year they honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Of course i would be willing to answer direct questions as long as they are not too onerous. I remember when I was a prison visitor many years ago and gave a lecture of some pith and moment(or so I believed) about the film industry and then asked for questions. A hand went up immediately, and the question was "Is Lana Turner a good fuck?" I saw then that my erudition had fallen on stony ground. Regards Bryan Forbes



So, if anyone would like to ask him a question, please contact me by PM or on the thread. Don't forget...'not too onerous'.

Thanks so much for this - I cannot believe I missed hearing about his BAFTA LAA until now. Thoroughly deserved of course. Bryan was very helpful to me when I was writing a biography of John Barry back in the early nineties, readily answering questions by letter and phone. I wish he was still directing films.