Now in Paperback! Ronald Neame's autobiography takes its title from one of his best-loved films, The Horse's Mouth (1958), starring Alec Guinness. In an informative and entertaining style, Neame discusses the making of that film, along with several others, including In Which We Serve, Blithe Spirit, Brief Encounter, Great Expectations, Tunes of Glory, I Could Go on Singing, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Scrooge, The Poseidon Adventure, and Hopscotch. Straight from the Horse's Mouth provides a fascinating, first-hand account of a unique filmmaker, who began his career as assistant cameraman on Hitchcock's first talkie, Blackmail, and went on to direct Maggie Smith, Judy Garland, Walter Matthau, and many other prominent performers. The book includes tales of the on-and-off-the-set antics of comedian George Formby, and original accounts of his experiences working with Noel Coward and David Lean. This is not simply an autobiography, but rather a history of British cinema from the 1920s through the 1960s, and Hollywood cinema from the 1960s through the present. Aside from Neame's own writing, the book contains original commentary by many of his contemporaries and associates including Alec Guinness, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Shirley MacLaine, Walter Matthau, John Mills and Shelley Winters. Includes more than 40 photos!

When a luxury liner is upturned by a tidal wave on New Year's Eve, ten survivors struggle to stay alive as they seek a means of escape. Resourceful man of the cloth Reverend Frank Scott (Gene Hackman) assumes responsibility for his fellow passengers, who include a pop singer, an elderly Jewish couple and a New York detective.

In this Noel Coward comedy, cynical writer Rex Harrison asks a medium (Margaret Rutherford) to hold a seance in his house so he can collect material for his latest book. No one is more surprised than the medium when she inadvertently conjures up the ghost of Harrison's first wife (Kay Hammond). The ghost refuses to go away, preferring to taunt her less sophisticated replacement (Constance Cummings).

Now in Paperback! Ronald Neame's autobiography takes its title from one of his best-loved films, The Horse's Mouth (1958), starring Alec Guinness. In an informative and entertaining style, Neame discusses the making of that film, along with several others, including In Which We Serve, Blithe Spirit, Brief Encounter, Great Expectations, Tunes of Glory, I Could Go on Singing, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Scrooge, The Poseidon Adventure, and Hopscotch. Straight from the Horse's Mouth provides a fascinating, first-hand account of a unique filmmaker, who began his career as assistant cameraman on Hitchcock's first talkie, Blackmail, and went on to direct Maggie Smith, Judy Garland, Walter Matthau, and many other prominent performers. The book includes tales of the on-and-off-the-set antics of comedian George Formby, and original accounts of his experiences working with Noel Coward and David Lean. This is not simply an autobiography, but rather a history of British cinema from the 1920s through the 1960s, and Hollywood cinema from the 1960s through the present. Aside from Neame's own writing, the book contains original commentary by many of his contemporaries and associates including Alec Guinness, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Shirley MacLaine, Walter Matthau, John Mills and Shelley Winters. Includes more than 40 photos!

Noel Coward co-directed, wrote and starred in this patriotic World War II drama about a destroyer, told through flashbacks and the reminiscences of the surviving crew after their beloved ship is torpedoed. Coward was awarded a Special Oscar for 'outstanding production achievement'.

David Lean directs this classic adaptation of Dickens's novel about a young orphan who develops 'great expectations' after a mysterious benefactor pledges to sponsor his transformation into a gentleman. Pip (Anthony Wager) is visiting the graves of his deceased parents when he finds himself confronted by an escaped convict, Magwitch (Finlay Currie). Unfortunately for Pip, Magwitch isn't the only frightening adult he becomes acquainted with. When Miss Havisham (Martita Hunt), an eccentric old woman still dressed for the wedding at which she was abandoned by her groom years ago, seeks a playmate for her charge, Estella (Jean Simmons), it is Pip who is sent for. The boy quickly falls in love with Estella, though his hopes seem forlorn due to the gap in social standing between the two. When an older Pip (John Mills) discovers that he has a benefactor, he feels that Estella may be won, but has he read the situation correctly?

Noel Coward co-directed, wrote and starred in this patriotic World War II drama about a destroyer, told through flashbacks and the reminiscences of the surviving crew after their beloved ship is torpedoed. Coward was awarded a Special Oscar for 'outstanding production achievement'. Also included is a 'making of' documentary.

Collection of British musicals from the 1930s. In 'Facing the Music' (1933), directed by Harry Hughes, Stanley Lupino stars as Jack who has fallen head over heels in love with Nina (Nancy Burne). In his pursuit of her, Jack discovers that she is the niece of an opera singer looking to bolster her fame. When Jack proposes a fake jewel robbery to Nina during one of her aunt's shows she agrees, but when the jewels really do go missing Jack must recover them before the end of the performance. Thomas Bentley directs 'Sleepless Nights' (1932) in which Lupino stars as Guy Raynor, a reporter in Nice who pretends to be the wealthy husband of Marjorie Drew (Polly Walker) to stop her from running away with a crook. Paul Merzbach directs 'A Star Fell from Heaven' (1936) in which a musical film star suddenly loses his voice. An aspiring singer dubs over his performances and becomes unexpectedly famous in the process. In 'The Student's Romance' (1935), directed by Otto Kanturek, young student Max (Patric Knowles) and Princess Helene (Grete Natzler) fall in love, but must overcome the barrier of her royal status if they are to be together.

Gregory Peck stars in this classic adaptation of Mark Twain's short story of the same name. When American sailor Henry Adams (Peck) comes across two wealthy brothers who have, with the help of the Bank of England, developed a single note with a value of one million pounds, he finds himself part of an unusual wager.

Collection of ten classic films from the award-winning British director. In 'The Sound Barrier' (1952), Ralph Richardson stars as an aircraft manufacturer whose all-consuming passion with making the ultimate supersonic jet kills both his son and son-in-law and almost destroys him and the rest of his family. In 'Hobson's Choice' (1953), Lancashire bootmaker Henry Horatio Hobson (Charles Laughton) keeps a tight rein on his three daughters until his eldest, Maggie (Brenda De Banzie), marries his assistant, Willie Mossop (John Mills), and sets him up in his own bootmaking firm. To Hobson's consternation, Willie has soon become his father-in-law's main business rival. In 'Blithe Spirit' (1945), cynical writer, Charles Condomine (Rex Harrison), asks a medium (Margaret Rutherford) to hold a seance in his house so he can collect material for his latest book. No one is more surprised than the medium when she inadvertently conjures up the ghost of Condomine's first wife (Kay Hammond). The ghost refuses to go away, preferring to taunt her less sophisticated replacement (Constance Cummings). In 'Brief Encounter' (1945), a respectable, happily married doctor (Trevor Howard) comes to the aid of an equally upstanding housewife (Celia Johnson) when a passing train blows cinder into her eye. Thus begins a tentative romance, conducted in the tearooms and railway cafe of a small English town. In 'Great Expectations' (1946), orphan, Pip (Anthony Wager), befriends an escaped convict before being elevated to higher circles as the companion of Miss Havisham and her niece, Estella (Jean Simmons), with whom the boy quickly falls in love. When the adult Pip (Mills) discovers a mysterious benefactor has paved the way for him to become a gentleman, he assumes Miss Havisham is responsible. In 'Oliver Twist' (1948), Oliver (John Howard Davis) is a young orphan boy who is expelled from the workhouse run by Mr Bumbel (Francis L. Sullivan). After becoming an apprentice to an undertaker, Oliver decides to run away to London, only to meet the Artful Dodger (Anthony Newley) and fall amongst his gang of thieves, led by the scheming Fagin (Alec Guinness). In 'Madeleine' (1949), Madeleine (Ann Todd) is the eldest daughter in a respectable Victorian Glasgow family. She begins an affair with Frenchman, Emile L'Anglier (Ivan Desny), without her father's knowledge. Meanwhile, Madeleine's father insists on her seeing various suitors. When Madeleine becomes engaged to William Minnoch (Norman Wooland), Emile threatens to reveal their relationship. 'The Passionate Friends' (1944) is an episodic tale of an average working class family in the interwar years. The story traces the melodrama caused by illicit affairs, family bereavement, the first ripples of women's liberation and political instability in the country during the General Strike. It highlights the fact that these internal wranglings are all happening in one house in an average street, and that each average house has its own dramatic stories to tell. Finally, 'In Which We Serve' (1942) is a World War II drama about a destroyer, told through flashbacks and the reminiscences of the surviving crew after their beloved ship is torpedoed.

When a luxury liner is upturned by a tidal wave on New Year's Eve, ten survivors struggle to stay alive as they seek a means of escape. Resourceful man of the cloth Reverend Frank Scott (Gene Hackman) assumes responsibility for his fellow passengers, who include a pop singer, an elderly Jewish couple and a New York detective.

Three classic films adapted from novels by Charles Dickens. In 'A Tale of Two Cities' (1958), Sydney Carton (Dirk Bogarde) is a frivolous London barrister, hopelessly in love with Lucie (Dorothy Tutin), even after she marries Charles Darnay (Paul Guers), who is descended from an unpleasant French aristocrat. Darnay is lured back to France as the Revolution gets into swing where he is arrested and awaits execution. Sydney, seeing Lucie's despair, goes to France, frees Charles and takes his place in the queue for the guillotine. In 'Oliver Twist' (1948), Oliver (John Howard Davis) is a young orphan boy who is expelled from the workhouse run by Mr Bumble (Francis L. Sullivan). After becoming an apprentice to an undertaker Oliver decides to run away to London, only to meet the Artful Dodger (Anthony Newley) and fall amongst his gang of thieves, led by the scheming Fagin (Alec Guinness). Finally, in 'Great Expectations' (1946), orphan Pip (Anthony Wager) befriends an escaped convict before being elevated to higher circles as the companion of mad Miss Havisham (Martita Hunt) and her niece, Estella (Jean Simmons), with whom the boy quickly falls in love. When the adult Pip (John Mills) discovers a mysterious benefactor has paved the way for him to become a gentleman, he assumes Miss Havisham is responsible.

As the grandson of actress Ivy Close and son of director Ronald Neame (Straight from the Horse's Mouth; Scarecrow, 2003), Christopher Neame's roots in the film business were already firmly established by the time he joined the family profession. In his first memoir, Rungs on a Ladder, Neame gave readers an insider's look into a number of productions of the 1960s and 70s produced by Hammer Studios. Christopher followed this with A Take on British TV Drama, in which he recounted the challenges and rewards of working on some of the most distinguished works of British television, including The Flame Trees of Thika, Monsignor Quixote, and Danger: U.X.B. In Principal Characters, Neame fills in the gaps of his illustrious career by providing brief intimate portraits of the many important film figures he has worked with. In this charming collection of anecdotes, he asks and answers questions about the stars, who reveal both their carefree and vulnerable moments alike: Was Richard Harris really such a hell-raiser as a young man? What was Peter Sellers like to work with? How did Robert Mitchum find himself in trouble? How many faces did Alec Guinness have? What was behind Peter O'Toole and a bomb threat in Paris? Looking behind the camera lens, Neame captures director Karel Reisz (This Sporting Life) wearing a producer's hat, marvels at cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth 'painting' Cabaret with light, discloses Kenneth Tynan's unusual predilection, and weighs in on the culinary skills of Ismail Merchant (A Room with a View). Throughout these accounts, Christopher looks both acutely and often amusingly at many who are household names, and when he feels it is appropriate to do so, he doesn't pull punches. This work is a fitting conclusion to an autobiographical "trilogy," and will be of interest to all those curious about the film industry and especially the stars and directors Christopher Neame has worked with over the years.