James Robertson Justice: What's the Bleeding-Time?

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 (4/7 people found this helpful)

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 (5/5 people found this helpful)

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.

And Justice for All... (6/6 people found this helpful)

I am a huge fan of the 'Doctor' series of films. Indeed, they inspired me to pursue a career in medicine. To discover that someone had, at long last, written a biography of JRJ was an absolute joy. He is one of those actors that everybody recognises instantly yet, bizarrely, knows precious little about.
Mr. Hogg and his co-authors have done a fantastic job of researching and collating this extraordinary life. Here is the story of someone who seemed to treat his 'profession' with a degree of disdain, preferring to fly his hawks on the Scottish moors, stand for Parliament under an assumed Gaelic name or belittle Barbara Cartland at social functions!
I cannot recommend this work highly enough. As a record of a truly underrated legend of British cinema, and of the British film industry itself, it is without equal.

James Hogg, Robert Sellers, Howard Watson

Reader Reviews:

Great Read (0/0 people found this helpful)

Sub judice (4/7 people found this helpful)

Brilliant man, brilliant book (5/5 people found this helpful)

And Justice for All... (6/6 people found this helpful)

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