Lucky breaks propelled actor to stardom
If there is a film archive to delve into this lockdown, the one belonging to Ray Milland – the first Welshman to receive a Best Actor Oscar – is a prime contender, as Robert Lloyd reports
HE WON his Oscar for a riveting performance as the alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend (1945).
He went on to star in classics such as Beau Geste and Dial M for Murder.
And now one super-fan film writer is working to polish Ray Milland’s faded star for a new generation of film fans,
James (Jim) McKay has been working on a trilogy of filmographies paying tribute to three of his favourite stars from the ‘Golden Age’ of cinema. Dana Andrews and Victor Mature have already been featured in published works – and now the trilogy is complete with a volume dedicated to Ray Milland.
Mr McKay said: “I’m a huge fan of the Welsh actor/director Ray Milland and have spent the past several years researching his impressive and varied film legacy, culminating in a new filmography titled Ray Milland: The Films 1929-1984.
“I think a lot of people tend to forget that Milland was the first Welshman to receive a Best Actor Oscar, hence it was lovely to see his memory revived in 2015 when the Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff celebrated his work with a season of films.
“The actor will, of course, be remembered for his many fine performances, including Beau Geste (opposite Gary Cooper), the DeMille seafaring epic Reap the Wild Wind (billed over John Wayne), The Major and the Minor (opposite Ginger Rogers), The Uninvited (a classic ghost story), Fritz Lang’s Ministry of Fear, John Farrow’s The Big Clock (both classic noirs) and Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder (opposite Grace Kelly), to mention just a few.
“In an attempt to further raise awareness of his fine body of work, I have recently made contact with Talking Pictures, the British free-to-air vintage-film and nostalgia television channel, to see if they would consider devoting a day to his memory as they did with that other great Welsh actor, Stanley Baker.
“They think that it is great idea, but would first need to see if they could license some more of his films.”
Milland was a handsome leading man who became one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars. During his career, he made more than 120 movies – from light comedies to dark psychological thrillers, Westerns, and even cult sci-fi and horror movies.
Ray Milland did not have the typical actor’s life; his original career was in the Army.
But a chance meeting in a London club would set him on the path to Hollywood where he would work with some of the biggest names in movies, and give what must be the shortest Oscar acceptance speech in history – he simply picked up the famous golden statue, bowed, and walked off the stage.
Milland was born Reginald Alfred John Truscott-Jones in Neath in 1907.
He grew up with his three sisters, and attended the local Gnoll school.
His parents were Alfred Jones, a former soldier who fought in the Boer War and later worked in a managerial role in a steel mill, and Elizabeth Truscott.
Although he passed his entrance exams to the University of Wales, he followed his father into the Army, joining the Household Cavalry, where he apparently excelled at horsemanship and shooting, and also learned to fly.
He began going to London clubs and mixing with artistic and theatrical types. But it was during a visit to the theatre that he met American actor Estelle Brody, who invited him to see a film studio, and it was talking to her that first got the young cavalryman interested in acting. In 1929, after threeand-a-half years in the Army, he bought himself out of his commission and got himself an agent.
For a while, nothing happened. He recorded how his daily routine would involve popping in to see his agent in the morning to check if there was any work before going to the cinema or to tea dances at the Savoy Hotel.
But then came a lucky break – literally.
A film called The Informer was being shot at the Elstree studios in London, and a German sharpshooter had been recruited for the shooting scenes. The man apparently arrived by train at Victoria Station and stepped straight out into the road having looked left rather than right – and was hit by a bus.
The producer of the film had heard about the young, Welsh would-be actor who had had shooting experience, and invited him to the studio – after demonstrating his skills with a rifle, he was taken on for eight weeks’ work. And it was while working on that film he got his second lucky break.
On the neighbouring lot to the The Informer a film called The Flying Scotsman was being shot. When one of the actors
broke his leg in car crash, the Welshman was asked to audition – the audition involved swearing.
In his autobiography, Milland recalled how during his time in the Army he had “acquired quite a vocabulary” – and after several minutes of demonstrating his repertoire, he got the part of the fireman on the famous express train.
While at the studio one day he met an “egg-shaped individual with a pontifical manner who bowed with a slow 17th century grace” working on another film who introduced himself as Alfred Hitchock, and he seemed to have made an impression on the boy from Neath: “I left the stage with one thought, ‘I’m out of my depth.’ I’ve got to get out of this business, because if they’re not mad, then I must be.”
Though not the main role, he did get third billing on the credits – and with that came the issue of a stage name.
Apparently, the name Reginald Alfred
John Truscott-Jones wasn’t considered suitable for the movies, so there was some discussion on what he should be called.
He wrote in his autobiography: “I was tired, and the bloom was going, and I wanted to be back with [Aunt] Luisa. I wanted to catch shrimp with my hands again, I wanted to swim in the warm-wartered pools of the mill lands, I wanted! That was the name I wanted! Mill Land!”
A few months later the newly renamed Milland was approached by a talent scout from the famous MGM studio who offered him a short-term contract – and a ticket to America.
Author Mr McKay, who lives in Northwich, Cheshire, is a self-confessed film buff.
He said: “I’ve been an avid fan of stars and films from the ‘Golden Age’ (1930s, 40s, 50s & 60s), since childhood, inheriting my passion from my late father, who was also a film enthusiast.
“Ray Milland was brought to my attention when he beat John Wayne to the girl in that other DeMille classic, Reap the Wild Wind (1942).
“Interestingly, Wayne took second billing to Milland in that seafaring epic, which included a great finale with two deep sea divers and a giant squid!
“Milland, initially a charming debonair in the mould of Cary Grant, had many shades to his screen persona, which made him facinating to watch on screen, and was equally at home in most film genres from romantic comedy, adventure to film noir, and later horror and science fiction, including two with cult filmmaker Roger Corman.
“Milland took the directorial reins in several of his starring vehicles in the 1950s, notably the stylish western A Man Alone (1955).
“I use my extensive film book/magazine library to research the books as well as sourcing all the movies, which can be a great challenge in itself – more than 140 for Milland, alone.
“Typically, I watch the films up to three times each to get a clear feel for the actors style and nuances before putting pen to paper.
“Working full-time, my writing is very much a spare time passion – snatching an hour here and there. To do justice to the subject matter each book, depending on the star’s film output can take several years to complete, so it’s not for the faint-hearted – but can be therapeutic if you’re passionate about the subject matter – very much a ‘labour of love’ as they say.”
Milland’s first role in America was a small speaking part in Cecil B DeMile’s The Squaw Man – but it did not go well.
The moment he opened his mouth the director tore into him and nonetoo-politely suggested he should go back to whatever country he came from and stop wasting the studio’s time.
After voice coaching, Milland landed his first credited Hollywood part in a film called Bachelor Father, but his career was still far from set, and money was tight – with America still in the midst of the Great Depression – at one stage his car was repossessed, and he took a job as an assistant manager at a petrol station.
But while at a bridge party in Hollywood he saw the woman that would become his wife, Muriel Webber – though it was a week later that they were introduced when a friend took him to her family home.
Milland and Webber went on to marry, and would remain together for more than 50 years until his death. Over the following years, the Welshman began to build a steady career, shooting four or five films a year.
By 1934 he was with Paramount studios, and his career began to take off with leading roles in films including The Jungle Princess, Bulldog Drummond Escapes, Easy Living, Beau Geste, and Arise My Love – a film he considered his “first real step to stardom”.
When the Second World War came Milland tried to enlist in the United States Air Force but an old hand injury caused by an accident with circular saw put an end to that. Instead he spent the war years making movies, entertaining US troops in the Pacific, and working as a civilian flight instruct with the Army in Arizona.
In 1944, he was offered the part that would show the world what he was capable of, and make history – the lead role in The Lost Weekend, a dark and disturbing portrait of four days in the life of an alcoholic.
At first it seems he did not know if he should take it, as he confided to his wife: “It’s going to call for some pretty serious acting and I don’t know whether I’m equipped for it”. But take the part he did – and his performance won him a best actor Oscar.
In his book, he recalled the moment his name was read out from the envelope at the Oscar ceremony: “I don’t remember much of what happened after that. Everything was a jumble of handshakes, microphones, people with notebooks and pencils, and flashing camera bulbs.
“I thought of the 16 years since I had first seen Sunset Boulevard in 1930, when all I had was curiosity and not much purpose, when the world seems one big candy box.”
Over the next decade, Milland also became a regular face on American TV screens with made-for-television movies, the crime series Markham – where he played the eponymous private investigator and lawyer Roy Markham – and even his own sitcom Meet Mr McNutley, which was renamed The Ray Milland Show for the second series.
During the 1960s and ’70s he turned to sci-fi and horror films, and starred in a series of cult films including The Premature Burial, X: The Man With X-Ray Eyes, Terror in the Wax Museum, and The Thing With Two Heads.
Milland also appeared in hit TV series including Charlie’s Angels and Hart to Hart.
Reflecting on his career, the actor was typically modest.
He wrote: “I have felt needling touches of guilt because – let’s face it – I’ve had the most wonderful life and as far as I can see have done very little to deserve it.”