From yesterday’s Grauniad:
Trevor Howard, the star of the 1945 movie Brief Encounter, earned the respect of his peers recounting his brave military past, parachuting into Nazi-occupied Norway and taking part in the Allied invasion of Sicily. After his death, Public Record Office files revealed that he had been invalided out of the army and judged to be mentally unstable with a “psychopathic personality”.
“psychopathic personalityâ€.
So that’s how he landed the “Sir Henry” role..
Typecasting at it’s best…
“Sir, I am a bulldog and you will know my bite is worse…”
Frank, I remember reading an account of Ronald Reagan’s wholly fictional war-memories. Long after his Presidency and during the twilight years of his life he would enjoy regaling his friends with detailed reminiscences of his days fighting for the stars & stripes. The man who would be President had never served a single day in the army (unless you count the various entertainment corps of which he was an itinerant member).
Instead, in his befuddled state he found himself recounting the mis-remembered plots of the various war movies and westerns to in which he featured during his early career as a B-list actor.
Now then,
last night, whilst in rehearsal with my rock n’ roll beat combo, the film Brief Encounter was mentioned…
I trotted out your Trevor Howard fascinating fact…
Our drum & washboard operative responded by saying, “My mother was discharged from the Wrens because of her psychopathic personality”…
Once again ornithology rears it’s ugly head..