Product Description

This biography of James Roberston Justice celebrates the secret life and glittering career of one of British cinema's finest and most recognisable screen personalities. With his unforgettable presence and his trademark bulk, whiskers, and fierce bark, James Robertson Justice made a treasure chest of classic British movies. He is best remembered as the bombastic Sir Lancelot Spratt in Doctor in the House (1954), but also starred in many wonderful films, both comedies and drama, often portrayed as a domineering (if frequently soft-centred) ogre. His on-screen temper tantrums often resembled those of a gigantic, irate toddler. This book unravels for the first time, through detailed research and original interviews with those close to him, the myriad complexities of one of Britain s finest actors. The book is fully illustrated with many rare photos. A must buy for fans of classic British films. Throughout the fifties and sixties he built a career on scene stealing performances in comedies and action thrillers. A bittersweet fling with Hollywood even landed him the enigmatic role of Vashtar, architect of the Great Pyramid, in Howard Hawks historical epic Land of the Pharaohs (1955). However, for his many fans, Justice's true metier remained farce. A pivotal role in the creation of his recognisable screen persona was the punctilious, 'thrash happy' Dr. Grimstone in Vice Versa (1948). It was from this seed of a condescending Victorian headmaster that a succession of characters flourished, epitomised by Lord Scrumptious in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968). Woe betide anyone who attracted his beetle-browed displeasure. From Dirk Bogarde, through Stanley Baxter and Dick Van Dyke, JRJ was the towering authority figure par excellence, releasing a hilarious barrage of vitriolic slap downs and insults. His recurring role as fathers to beautiful ingénues, such as Sir Beverly Grant in Father Came Too! (1963) and Charles Chingford in Ken Annakin s The Fast Lady (1962), offered older cinema goers a reassuring bulwark against the (would be) excesses of the 'permissive society'. James Robertson Justice was a "brilliant raconteur, indifferent to money" -- part Walter Mitty, part Sir John Falstaff. There is no actor we can think of with a life story that screams so loudly for a biography. This is the definitive story of one of Britain's greatest actors.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6904 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 207 pages

Cinema Retro Magazine, March 2008
James Robertson Justice: "What's The Bleeding Time?" A Biography, by James Hogg (assisted by Retro's regular columnist and author Robert Sellers, and also Howard Watson) is a wonderful insight into the life of this amazing and charismatic actor.

If you thought the lives of David Niven and Peter Ustinov were fascinating, then add James Robertson Justice to this elite bunch of theatrical raconteurs. Long-time friend of the Royal family, Justice saw action in both the Spanish Civil War and WWWII. He was a racing driver, a professional ice hockey player, and was elected Rector of Edinburgh University twice! However, it is his screen performances that we all remember and associate him with; those where he played a commanding figure in high authority, like the head of a college, or surgeon general of a hospital, especially that of Sir Lancelot Spratt in the famed British comedy `Doctor' series.

I'm not going to divulge anymore, for this is a book you must read. Tomahawk Press, one of the best independent publishing houses of niche market title books in the world, are to be applauded for bringing this excellent tome to add to our library of movie books. Superbly researched, handsomely illustrated (both B&W and colour), I cannot highly recommend this enough. So far, my best book of the last six months. If you love British film history and British film comedy, plus want to read about the most eccentrics of actors, then this is for you. Oh, and when I said he was a `friend' of the Royal family, then one only has to look to the foreword - it's by H.R.H. The Duke Of Edinburgh. Need I say more? - Dave Worrall

www.motorbar.com, April 2008
With a complete filmography, as well as both colour and black-and-white photographs throughout, 'What's the Bleeding Time?' is a superb biography. As Ken Annakin says in his Afterword: "...this book is a fine tribute".

TV Cream, April 2008
We've mentioned this book before, but shamefully it's only now we've got round to reading the blighter. And we're delighted to report that James Robertson Justice: What's the Bleeding-Time? is no disappointment.

This biography of the bibulous falconer, wildfowl nut, huntsman, wine bibber, friend of the Duke of Edinburgh and sometime accidental actor is a straight-down-the-middle factual account, but then with such a rich and
hitherto unexamined life as JRJ had, that's exactly what you want.

It's a life well worth recounting. Hunter, falconer, socialist, best mate of Prince Philip (who provides the book's foreword, no less) and, last and (by his own estimation) least, actor, the man led one of those ebulliently demented, incident-packed lives actors seemed to stop bothering with some time during the early 1980s, preferring to spend more time cultivating their
portfolio of share options. You wouldn't get a tenth the anecdotal goodness out of Whiffy Day Lewis as you would from Jimmy. Justice fights in the Spanish Civil War! Justice bests Diana Dors in a speed typing contest!
Justice plays the bagpipes in the nude! It's all duly documented here, in a fantastic job of research.

Dammit man, we give What's the Bleeding Time? four punt guns out of five!

Customer Reviews

Great Read
This book is one of those rare books that made it difficult for me to put it down, JRJ had many jobs and interests and he never classed himself as an actor, he said he never acted just played himself on screen and thankfully this book focuses more on the man and not the movies, what a life he had, well worth reading and I strongly recommend this book.

Sub judice
Credit must go to the authors for undertaking a study of one of the most memorable players the British cinema ever saw.

It's undoubtedly an enjoyable read but it is also flimsy and quite disappointing on details of the films JRJ made.

So whilst we are given lots of details on JRJ's country pursuits and love of all things Caledonian, the work he did and is famous for is often overlooked.

There's also a tendency on the part of the author(s) to go into extraneous detail: eg JRJ made a film with Valerie Hobson so then we get a paragraph about her future career, Jack Profumo and the infamous scandal, and then what he did after he was sacked! This happens all the time, and you get the effect that JRJ is a supporting player in his own book...

I wanted to know why JRJ ended up penniless, what happened on his occasional forays into Hollywood, why he started working in Europe in the early 60s and what his legacy as an actor was. You'll have to read between the lines to discover that here.

I don't want to sound too harsh as I did enjoy the book but I think it was a missed opportunity.

Brilliant man, brilliant book
This is a long overdue biography of an eccentric and highly enigmatic man whose acting abilities wre only a relatively small part of a hugely complex multi talented human being. James Hogg has made a superb job of researching every aspect of Jamesa Robertson Justice's life, which cannot have been easy since he was so often a closed book and a law unto himself, and many people only ever knew whatever part of them he chose to make available at any given time. The result is a very full account which is also very readable. Highly recommended.