--- name: "John Mills" canonical: "https://film.one/person/john-mills" fi1m_id: "john-mills" imdb_id: "nm0590055" tmdb_id: 11859 wikidata_id: "Q315728" roles: ["Actor"] born: "22 February 1908" died: "23 April 2005" reviewed_on_fi1m: 7 average_fi1m_score: 74 average_as: "actor" average_over: 7 updated: "2026-10-05T00:35:42.442964+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # John Mills ## Identity John Mills - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/john-mills - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** john-mills - **IMDb ID:** nm0590055 - **TMDB ID:** 11859 - **Wikidata ID:** Q315728 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mills, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q315728, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0590055/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/11859 Actor. Born 22 February 1908 in The Watts Naval Training College, North Elmham, Norfolk, England, UK. Died 23 April 2005. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 22 February 1908, The Watts Naval Training College, North Elmham, Norfolk, England, UK - **Died:** 23 April 2005 - **Active:** 1939–1997 - **Also known as:** Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, Sir John Mills, Sir John Mills, CBE, Johnny Mills, Джон Миллз - **Frequently works with:** [Bernard Miles](https://film.one/person/bernard-miles.md), [David Lean](https://film.one/person/david-lean.md), [Kay Walsh](https://film.one/person/kay-walsh.md) - **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won) - **Average Fi1m score:** 74, as actor, over 7 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 82 (1), 1940s 79 (2), 1950s 63 (1), 1980s 73 (1), 1990s 70 (2) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 74 to 72 across 7 titles - **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 4 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 2 of 4 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Drama 5, Romance 3, Adventure 2, Comedy 2, Family 2, Fantasy 1 - **Screen time:** 18 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $384m across 7 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mills, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q315728, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0590055/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/11859 ## Streaming the US now - **HBO Max:** [*Great Expectations*](https://film.one/film/great-expectations.md) (84), [*In Which We Serve*](https://film.one/film/in-which-we-serve.md) (74) - **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Gandhi*](https://film.one/film/gandhi.md) (73) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on John Mills > John Mills makes quiet courage believable without making it look easy. We rate him most highly as an ordinary man under pressure; the romantic Pip and the showier later parts are less persuasive uses of his gifts. As Pip in *Great Expectations* (1946), John Mills remains engaging even when the love story becomes difficult to believe. We rate him for that steadiness: he can hold our interest without insisting that every feeling be large or conspicuous. Yet his appeal is not enough to make the adult romance work, and the film makes that limitation unusually clear. David Lean gets more convincing awkwardness from the childhood scenes, with Jean Simmons's assured young Estella making the young Pip's uncertainty painful to watch. We were frustrated by the adult pairing, because Mills and Valerie Hobson do not give us enough reason to feel the attachment the story requires. Walter Goehr's music supplies warmth that the performances do not always earn. Mills is not the sole difficulty here: Hobson's Estella is harder to understand, and his likeability still gives us someone to follow. The film remains an easy recommendation for us, though Mills's performance is only a partial success within it. His 1940s stardom grew through war films as well as Pip, and the ordinary man under pressure became his most convincing territory. *In Which We Serve* (1942) and *Ice Cold in Alex* (1958) draw on his ability to make endurance credible; Captain Anson in the latter pushes that familiar courage towards neurosis. With Lean again in *Hobson's Choice* (1954), Willie Mossop allows his apparent meekness to develop into resolve. His understated playing can be dismissed as ordinary, but in these parts it gives the pressure time to register. The movement towards more troubled men is clear in *Tunes of Glory* (1960), where he plays the repressed Lieutenant Colonel Basil Barrow opposite Alec Guinness. By the late 1960s, supporting and cameo roles were becoming more prominent, with *Ryan's Daughter* (1970) taking him into showier character work. That sort of display is less persuasive evidence of his ability than the precision of the quieter parts. For a second film after *Great Expectations*, choose *Hobson's Choice*, where Lean gives his modest manner a comic purpose. ## Biography Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 1908 – 23 April 2005) was an English actor whose career spanned seven decades. He appeared in more than 120 films, as well as numerous stage and television productions. After training as a dancer, he made his stage debut in 1929 and worked in revues and plays before entering films in the early 1930s. Mills played Pip in David Lean’s *Great Expectations* (1946). Other notable film roles include those in *Ryan’s Daughter* (1970), for which he received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, *Gandhi* (1982) and *Bean* (1997). He was appointed CBE in 1960 and knighted in 1976. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, britannica.com, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (7) - *Bean* (1997), Fi1m 60, as Chairman — [page](https://film.one/film/bean.md) - *Hamlet* (1996), Fi1m 81, as Old King Norway — [page](https://film.one/film/hamlet.md) - *Gandhi* (1982), Fi1m 73, as Lord Chelmsford — [page](https://film.one/film/gandhi.md) - *Around the World in 80 Days* (1956), Fi1m 63, as London Carriage Driver — [page](https://film.one/film/around-the-world-in-80-days.md) - *Great Expectations* (1946), Fi1m 84, as Pip — [page](https://film.one/film/great-expectations.md) - *In Which We Serve* (1942), Fi1m 74, as Ordinary Seaman Blake / Shorty Blake — [page](https://film.one/film/in-which-we-serve.md) - *Goodbye, Mr. Chips* (1939), Fi1m 82, as Peter Colley as a Young Man — [page](https://film.one/film/goodbye-mr-chips.md) ## Complete filmography (134) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Bright Young Things* (2003), as Gentleman - *The Many Lives of Richard Attenborough* (2003), Actor - *The Gentleman Thief* (2001), as Arthur Rosehip - *A Profile of In Which We Serve* (2000), as Interviewee - *Cats* (1998), as Gus the Theatre Cat - *Bean* (1997), as Chairman — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/bean.md) - *Hamlet* (1996), as Old King Norway — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/film/hamlet.md) - *The Grotesque* (1995), as Sir Edward Cleghorn - *Martin Chuzzlewit* (1994), series, as Mr Chuffey - *Deadly Advice* (1994), as Jack the Ripper - *Frankenstein* (1993), as De Lacey - *Harnessing Peacocks* (1993), as Bernard Quigley - *The Big Freeze* (1993), as Dapper man - *Night of the Fox* (1990), as Brig. Dougal Munro - *Perfect Scoundrels* (1990), series, as Praeger - *A Tale of Two Cities* (1989), series, as Jarvis Lorry - *Around the World in 80 Days* (1989), series, as Faversham - *Ending Up* (1989), as Bernard - *The Lady and the Highwayman* (1988), as Sir Lawrence Dobson - *Who's That Girl* (1987), as Montgomery Bell - *Hold the Dream* (1987), series, as Henry Rossiter - *When the Wind Blows* (1986), as Jim Bloggs (voice) - *The Wind and the Bomb* (1986), Actor - *Murder with Mirrors* (1985), as Lewis Serrocold - *A Woman of Substance* (1985), series, as Henry Rossiter - *The Masks of Death* (1984), as Dr. John H. Watson / Narrator - *Sahara* (1983), as Cambridge - *Gandhi* (1982), as Lord Chelmsford — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/gandhi.md) - *Hotel* (1982), series, Actor - *Young at Heart* (1980), series, as Albert Collyer - *Quatermass* (1979), series, as Bernard Quatermass - *The Quatermass Conclusion* (1979), as Prof. Bernard Quatermass - *Zulu Dawn* (1979), as Sir Henry Bartle Frere - *Tales of the Unexpected* (1979), series, as Sam Morrissey, William Perkins, The Man - *The Thirty Nine Steps* (1978), as Scudder - *Dr. Strange* (1978), as Thomas Lindmer - *The Big Sleep* (1978), as Inspector Carson - *The Devil's Advocate* (1977), as Monsignor Blaise Meredith - *The Love Boat* (1977), series, as Bertram MacDonald - *Trial by Combat* (1976), as Colonel Bertie Cook - *The Human Factor* (1975), as Mike McAllister - *The Zoo Gang* (1974), series, as Thomas "The Elephant" Devon - *Oklahoma Crude* (1973), as Cleon Doyle - *Lady Caroline Lamb* (1972), as Canning - *Young Winston* (1972), as General Kitchner - *Dulcima* (1971), as Mr. Parker - *Ryan's Daughter* (1970), as Michael - *Adam's Woman* (1970), as Sir Philip MacDonald - *Nanny and the Professor* (1970), series, as Uncle Alfred - *Run Wild, Run Free* (1969), as The Moorman (Colonel) - *Oh! What a Lovely War* (1969), as Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig - *Emma Hamilton* (1968), as Lord William Hamilton - *A Black Veil for Lisa* (1968), as Inspector Franz Bulon - *Dundee and the Culhane* (1967), series, as Dundee - *Chuka* (1967), as Colonel Stuart Valois - *Africa: Texas Style!* (1967), as Wing Commander Hayes - *The Family Way* (1966), as Ezra Fitton - *The Wrong Box* (1966), as Masterman Finsbury - *Sky West and Crooked* (1966), Director - *King Rat* (1965), as Smedley-Taylor - *Operation Crossbow* (1965), as General Boyd - *The Truth About Spring* (1965), as Tommy Tyler - *The Chalk Garden* (1964), as Maitland - *Tiara Tahiti* (1962), as Lt. Col. Clifford Southey - *The Valiant* (1962), as Captain Morgan - *Flame in the Streets* (1961), as Jacko Palmer - *The Parent Trap* (1961), as Mitch Evers' Golf Caddy (uncredited) - *The Singer Not the Song* (1961), as Father Michael Keogh - *Swiss Family Robinson* (1960), as Father - *Escape to Paradise/Water Birds* (1960), Actor - *Tunes of Glory* (1960), as Lt. Col. Basil Barrow (Battalion Commander) - *Summer of the Seventeenth Doll* (1959), as Barney - *Tiger Bay* (1959), as Superintendent Graham - *I Was Monty's Double* (1958), as Major Harvey - *Ice Cold in Alex* (1958), as Captain Anson - *Dunkirk* (1958), as Cpl Tubby Binns - *The Vicious Circle* (1957), as Dr. Howard Latimer - *Town on Trial* (1957), as Supt. Mike Halloran - *It's Great to be Young!* (1956), as Dingle - *Around the World in 80 Days* (1956), as London Carriage Driver — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/film/around-the-world-in-80-days.md) - *The Letter* (1956), as Robert Crosbie - *War and Peace* (1956), as Platon Karataev - *The Baby and the Battleship* (1956), as Puncher Roberts - *Escapade* (1955), as John Hampden - *Above Us the Waves* (1955), as Commandant Fraser - *The End of the Affair* (1955), as Albert Parkis - *The Colditz Story* (1955), as Pat Reid - *Producers' Showcase* (1954), series, as Robert Crosbie - *Hobson's Choice* (1954), as William Mossop - *The Long Memory* (1953), as Phillip Davidson - *The Gentle Gunman* (1952), as Terence Sullivan - *Mr. Denning Drives North* (1951), as Tom Denning - *Morning Departure* (1950), as Lt. Cmdr. Armstrong - *The Rocking Horse Winner* (1949), as Bassett · Producer - *The History of Mr. Polly* (1949), as Alfred Polly - *Scott of the Antarctic* (1948), as Captain R.F. Scott R.N. - *The October Man* (1947), as Jim Ackland - *So Well Remembered* (1947), as George Boswell - *Great Expectations* (1946), as Pip — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/great-expectations.md) - *Land of Promise* (1946), as The Voice - *The Way to the Stars* (1945), as Pilot Officer Peter Penrose - *Waterloo Road* (1945), as Jim Colter - *Total War in Britain* (1945), as Narrator (voice) - *This Happy Breed* (1944), as Billy Mitchell - *Information Please* (1944), as British Flyer - *Victory Wedding* (1944), as Bill Clark - *We Dive at Dawn* (1943), as Lt. Taylor RN - *The Sky’s the Limit* (1943), as Tom - *The Young Mr. Pitt* (1942), as William Wilberforce - *In Which We Serve* (1942), as Ordinary Seaman Blake / Shorty Blake — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/in-which-we-serve.md) - *The Black Sheep of Whitehall* (1942), as Bobby Jessop - *The Big Blockade* (1942), as Tom - *Cottage to Let* (1941), as Flt·Lieut. Perry - *Old Bill and Son* (1941), as Young Bill - *All Hands* (1940), as Jack - *Goodbye, Mr. Chips* (1939), as Peter Colley as a Young Man — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/goodbye-mr-chips.md) - *Happy Family* (1939), as Fred - *The Green Cockatoo* (1937), as Jim Connor - *O.H.M.S.* (1937), as Cpl. Bert Dawson - *Tudor Rose* (1936), as Lord Guilford Dudley - *First Offence* (1936), as Johnnie Penrose - *Broadway Gondolier* (1935), Actor - *Brown on Resolution* (1935), as Albert Brown - *Royal Cavalcade* (1935), as Young Enlistee - *Blind Justice* (1935), as Ralph Summers - *Car of Dreams* (1935), as Robert Miller - *Charing Cross Road* (1935), as Tony - *Doctor's Orders* (1934), as Ronnie Blake - *The Lash* (1934), as Arthur Haughton - *A Political Party* (1934), as Tony Smithers - *Those Were the Days* (1934), as Bobby Poskett - *The Ghost Camera* (1933), as Ernest Elton - *Britannia of Billingsgate* (1933), as Fred Bolton - *The Midshipmaid* (1932), as Golightly ## Gallery - ![John Mills](https://film.one/media/person/59128/gallery-5b601169d270.jpg) John Mills — N/A studio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Vintage_photo_of_John_Mills_circa_1958%3B_I_Was_Monty%27s_Double_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Photograph from the production of the film Desert Attack (1961), which was the North American release of the 1958 British film Ice Cold in Alex. In North Africa](https://film.one/media/person/59128/gallery-d0b694271c2e.jpg) Photograph from the production of the film Desert Attack (1961), which was the North American release of the 1958 British film Ice Cold in Alex. In North Africa — Photographer unknown. Copyright by 20th Century-Fox 1960., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/DesertAttack60-PublicityStill152.jpg/1280px-DesertAttack60-PublicityStill152.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![The area of London where UK film premieres take place. With loads of cinemas. Various hand prints in Leicester Square of various film stars. These ones were don (2009)](https://film.one/media/person/59128/gallery-8e06b2809662.jpg) The area of London where UK film premieres take place. With loads of cinemas. Various hand prints in Leicester Square of various film stars. These ones were don (2009) — Elliott Brown from Birmingham, United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ee/Hand_prints_in_Leicester_Square%2C_London_-_Sir_John_Mills_%284039259589%29.jpg/1280px-Hand_prints_in_Leicester_Square%2C_London_-_Sir_John_Mills_%284039259589%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![John Mills Dundee and the Culhane 1967 CBS publicity photo](https://film.one/media/person/59128/gallery-154053c6e942.jpg) John Mills Dundee and the Culhane 1967 CBS publicity photo — CBS Photo Division, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/John_Mills_Dundee_and_the_Culhane_1967_CBS_publicity.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![John Mills](https://film.one/media/person/59128/gallery-2be6ab033abd.jpg) John Mills — Image via TMDB - ![John Mills](https://film.one/media/person/59128/gallery-6fdeec553a3e.jpg) John Mills — Image via TMDB - ![John Mills and Brooke Shields in the film Sahara. (2013)](https://film.one/media/person/59128/gallery-65fbe6ac2c58.jpg) John Mills and Brooke Shields in the film Sahara. (2013) — Yoni S.Hamenachem, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A7_%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%9C%D7%93%D7%A1_%D7%91%D7%A1%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%94.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) ## Awards ### Academy Awards — 1 won - 1971: Best Supporting Actor (won), for *Ryan's Daughter* ### Other awards — 4 won, 1 nominated - Disney Legends 2002: Disney Legends (won) - Knight Bachelor 1976: Knight Bachelor (won) - Silver Shell for Best Actor 1967: Silver Shell for Best Actor (won) - Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play 1962: Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play (nominated) - Commander of the Order of the British Empire 1960: Commander of the Order of the British Empire (won) *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/john-mills