Product Description

This biography contains original contributions from over 30 actors/actresses including Sir Ian McKellen, Ronnie Corbett, Ian Carmichael, Derek Fowlds, John Standing, George Cole, Stephen Fry and John Fisher (who produced a film on Alastair Sim in his series: 'Heroes of Comedy'). It is supported by extensive research including an interview with the playwright Christopher Fry, information from people who worked on the film sets with Alastair, material from the Theatre museum archives and original reviews from theatre magazines, newspapers and various other publications. It examines Alastair's roles in the Quota Quickie films of the 1930s/40s before he became established as the most idiosyncratic star of screen in such famous British comedies as The Happiest Days of Your Life and the Belles of St Trinians. It goes on to explain why his popularity suddenly waned as the cinemagoers taste for the risque evolved during the latter part of the 1950s. This book also explores Alastair's life outside of films including his marriage to Naomi Sim - whom he first met when she was 12, his extensive work on stage, including his theatrical endeavours with James Bridie, his champion of the 'youth' and his stalwart refusal to sign autographs. It is the only book in the market dedicated to Alastair Sim, and includes a bibliography and film section. The author has a large collection of memorabilia which will hopefully be suitable to use to illustrate the book.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #64183 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-27
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

About the Author
Mark Simpson is a government auditor, and an Alastair Sim enthusiast. He is experienced in giving talks/ lectures and is keen to help promote this book in any way that he can.

Customer Reviews

A flawed account of a wonderful actor
Alastair Sim is one of my very favourite actors, one of those rare talents who only needs to turn up in a film for me to start smiling. Capable of great drama but more often hilarious comedy, Sim remains an inspiration to me.

Simpson's book is certainly better than any biography of Sim we're likely to get and it must be difficult to research and interact with the life of a man who refused all media attention, not giving interviews or autographs. However, this book reads like one of those hour-long retrospective documentaries you catch on Channel 4 or BBC2: a nice, fairly warm account of a comedian's life with lots of talking heads and a basic chronology of everything that happened in his life, but that ultimately lacks something. You never really feel as if you're getting to grips with Alastair Sim as a human being - you don't get inside the actor's head and feel his dreams and desires - and Simpson's basic prose style doesn't convince you that he's especially enthusiastic to write about the man (despite the 10 years of research) making for an informative but not especially entertaining read.

The book feels rushed: An Inspector Calls is barely discussed, despite being one of Sim's most celebrated roles, and Sim's declining health and eventual death are glossed over with no thought given as to what Sim must have made of his life and successes. I'm definitely glad this book was written as next to nothing is known of this great performer but Simpson's handling of the material is sorely lacking compared to such works as Graham McCann's biography of Frankie Howerd.

I'd rate it as a 7/10, though I give it an extra half star purely out of gratitude that Simpson attempted this book in the first place.

Dosen't do the subject justice
It is interesting that the author, or more likely I guess, the publishers, felt that this account of the life of Alastair Sim required a sub-title: 'The star of Scrooge and the Belles of St Trinian's' as though, without this reminder of two of the actor's best known films, the reading public, or, at least, those under forty, would not know who he was.

And yet, during the 1950s, Sim was a very popular and much loved actor. This is the first biography to appear since his widow published her own memoir in the 1980s. I wish I could say this new book was worth waiting for, but for many reasons it is unsatisfactory.

To be fair, the author Mark Simpson had two problems to contend with: Sim guarded his privacy carefully and never gave interviews, so the amount of documentation available is small; and the fact that many of the actors, directors and producers who worked with Sim are no longer alive.

It is a competent account of Sim's life. Comments on films and plays are pithy, though in some cases, I would have liked rather more in-depth analysis. Simpson is also quite candid about Sim's limited acting range and his choice of roles in some poor films, though I suspect this might have been a deliberate ploy on Sim's part to make him stand out from his fellow actors. More information on James Bridie and his plays which formed such an important part of Alastair Sim's career would also have been helpul, particularly as Bridie is a forgotten playwright nowadays. The author touches on the reasons why Sim's film career declined after the 1950s, but again, I feel this subject could have been explored more fully.

The publisher's blurb informs us that the author spent ten years reseaching this biography and I am tempted to ask: what did he spend the ten years doing? It is a slim volume and yes, we have comments from actors who worked with Sim, but these are few and far between. There are singular omissions in this area, Patricia Routledge being the obvious example.

The author gets himself in a bit of a lather about those aspects of Sim's private life which have drawn comment over the years, viz his promotion of young actors and speculation about his sexuality. He almost apologises for not finding any salacious tittle-tattle.

Fans of Alastair Sim will be grateful to Mark Simpson for writing this biography and it is an enjoyable read. It just needs fleshing out more.

Lovely job
Simpson should be lauded, not just for eloquently filling a significant gap in British film biography, but for spending ten years researching his subject and eventually turning out a measured, intelligent and - above all - extremely readable account of the life and work of Alastair Sim.

Straining vainly to rake up scandal in its review of the book (young wife, young actors as proteges...) the Daily Mail has only made itself look as befuddled and ridiculous as one of Sim's own masterly comic creations. Even a cursory glance at the text shows that the author has dealt clearly and calmly with such nonsense. Instead he focuses on, and carefully dissects, the personality and talent of what must have been a ferociously difficult subject.

Simpson deals equally well with both Sim's more familiar outings, such as Scrooge and St. Trinian's, and the far less well-known theatre work; in particular the rich and brilliant partnership with the playwright Bridie.

Overall then, this is a highly-readable account of one of Britain's best-loved performers. Simpson shares with Michael Parkinson, the rare talent of being able to allow the star subject to dominate the centre stage; whilst, at the same time, maintaining a thoughtful, sensitive probing to reveal the creative person behind the public perception. Quite superb. This is how film biography SHOULD be written.