Broad appeal: Kenneth More
Credit: Alamy
In the Fifties, Kenneth More was the most famed and acclaimed film actor in Britain, with a string of major hits to his credit. That decade was a golden era for cinema lovers, and More had broad appeal. He could act tough, gentle or romantic: whatever the script demanded. Yet in the years since his death in 1982, he has become somewhat forgotten. Now, a new book called More, Please! by Nick Pourgourides aims to repatriate one of Britain’s biggest film stars.
More first became a household name in 1952, when he appeared at London’s Duchess Theatre in Terence Rattigan’s drama The Deep Blue Sea. He played Freddie Page, a boozy ex-RAF pilot who jilts his older mistress, the wife of a respected judge – with devastating results. His performance was met with wild acclaim; many critics referred to him as “a discovery”.