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A Presbyterian minister's son, softly-spoken, intellectual-looking Alexander Knox received his education from the University of Western Ontario where he studied English literature. An excellent elocutionist (a member of the university's Hesperian Club) he had his first fling with dramatic acting playing the lead in "Hamlet". His professional theatrical debut began on the Boston stage in 1929 while simultaneously earning an income as a journalist for the Boston Post. After just one year he went looking for better acting opportunities in England, specializing in 'serious' classical parts which required just the right measure of 'gravitas'. During another journalistic stint with the London Advertiser he made the acquaintance of noted stage director and producer Tyrone Guthrie who helped him to make a name for himself on the London stage at the Old Vic. As the decade progressed, Knox appeared opposite such theatrical icons as Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier (in "The King of Nowhere"), and in plays by James Bridie and George Bernard Shaw.

Movie work followed in 1938 with appearances in The Phantom Strikes (1938) and a bit part in The Four Feathers (1939). However, the outbreak of World War II prompted his return to America. In 1940, Knox got his big break on Broadway cast in the role of Friar Laurence in "Romeo and Juliet", written and staged by Olivier and starring Vivien Leigh as Juliet. A later leading role in "The Three Sisters" (1942-43) -- a turn-of-the-century drama set in Russia -- saw him as Baron Tuzenbach opposite Katharine Cornell and Judith Anderson. With a brace of good critical notices, it became only a matter of time before the screen beckoned again. In 1941, Knox made his Hollywood film bow and was perfectly cast as the quiet intellectual Humphrey Van Weyden, protagonist of Jack London's maritime classic The Sea Wolf (1941). His performance was somewhat overshadowed by those of his co-stars, Edward G. Robinson (in the titular role of Wolf Larsen) and the dynamic John Garfield (as chief mutineer George Leech) but it led to further work as a reliable lead character player.

For most of his career, Knox tended to be typecast as men of integrity (though he did play the odd villain): stern authority figures, psychiatrists, academics and politicians - undoubtedly, this was because of his inherently sincere, though rather somber on-screen personality. It was also a consequence of having been cast in the starring role of Woodrow Wilson, the 28th U.S. President, in Darryl F. Zanuck's over-ambitious biopic Wilson (1944). Bosley Crowther commented for The New York Times (August 2, 1944): "Much of the film's quality is due to the performance of Alexander Knox in the title role. Mr. Knox....draws a character that is full of inner strength - honest, forceful and intelligent, yet marked by a fine reserve... The casting of Mr. Knox, a comparative unknown, in this role was truly inspired". Despite the excellent personal notices, 'Wilson' was a rather slow and ponderous affair, a flop at the box office and one of Zanuck's most conspicuous failures. His personal reputation intact, Knox had several leading roles come his way in the wake of 'Wilson', even a rare comedy part in The Judge Steps Out (1948) as a starchy, but likeable Boston judge. However, in 1952, his career suffered a serious setback when he was blacklisted by HUAC for alleged left-wing affinities and forced to leave for England.

From 1954, Alexander Knox appeared in scores of British films and was particularly good in two productions for the director Joseph Losey (who had also been black-listed in Hollywood): The Damned (1962) and Accident (1967). Glimpsed as Secretary of Defense in the James Bond thriller You Only Live Twice (1967), he was also a memorable spook (the ill-fated 'Control') in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979) on television. Knox made a successful return to the London stage, frequently in plays by Henrik Ibsen and Clifford Odets. Outside of his principal occupation he was finally able to devote himself wholeheartedly to his long-standing literary ambition, as the author of plays ("Old Master", "Trafalgar Square"), screenplays and five adventure novels set in the wilds of 19th century Canada. Knox died in his adopted home in Berwick-Upon-Tweed, England, in 1995 at the age of 88.

Lovely blonde stage actress Doris Nolan, a one-time model, was born on July 14, 1916, in New York City and raised there. The daughter of an importer, she first appeared in plays at New Rochelle High School. Invited to join the Provincetown Players in 1933 following graduation, she worked as a secretary to the director as compensation for her tuition. She then played summer stock in plays such as "The Late Christopher Bean."

Nolan's first movie contract was with Fox Film Corporation. Set to make her debut with a small role in the Shirley Temple vehicle Our Little Girl (1935), Doris kept blowing her scene to the point it was deleted from the film and Fox quickly dropped her. Undeterred, Doris sought out Broadway and took her first bow in 1935 with the mystery "Night of January 16th" as the femme fatale lead. Other plays followed including "Arrest That Woman," "Tell Me Pretty Maiden" and "Lorelei."

Doris' Broadway stage visibility led to a return to films and she won a Universal contract. This time she made a distinct impression starring in two "B"-level Universal pictures directed by Ralph Murphy. The first, a drama The Man I Marry (1936), paired Doris opposite Michael Whalen; the second was a musical comedy Top of the Town (1937) that had her co-starring with song-and-dance man George Murphy. She then starred in the romantic comedy As Good as Married (1937) alongside John Boles. Doris' best-remembered role, by far, was in the second lead category, as Katharine Hepburn's chic, high-society sister in the delightful Columbia comedy classic Holiday (1938).

Doris would alternate between the stage and film after this film success. Returning to her theatre roots, she appeared in "Cue Passion" and "The Cat Screams" before co-starring successfully in the long-running New York war-era hit "The Doughgirls" for two years (1942-1944). As for the large screen, she returned to second-string filming co-starring as cop Charles Bickford's girlfriend in the crime drama One Hour to Live (1939). She then moved down the credits line in the Anna Neagle/Ray Milland musical romance Irene (1940); had the second femme lead as Dorothy Lamour's romantic rival in Paramount's adventure comedy Moon Over Burma (1940); and then abruptly ended her film career co-starring with Wendy Barrie in the minor musical Follies Girl (1943).

Doris met and married Canadian actor Alexander Knox in 1944. He wrote a play for them, "The Closing Door," which they starred together on Broadway in 1949. In the early 1950's, the couple moved permanently to England after he was blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Slowing down considerably, Doris would be occasionally glimpsed in a few British films (The Servant (1963), Juggernaut (1974), The Romantic Englishwoman (1975)), but would appear more prominently as a guest on TV ("The Adventures of Robin Hood," "The Saint," "The Third Man," "Emergency Ward-10," "Boy Meets Girl"). Her last on-camera credit was a 1981 episode of the mini-series "Brideshead Revisited."

Doris later worked for an art gallery. She suffered a major family tragedy when their only child, 39-year-old actor Andrew Knox, died in 1987, a probable suicide. Doris' husband Knox died in 1995 and she would follow him in death a couple weeks after her 82nd birthday on July 29, 1998, in Northumberland, England.

Eric Lomax was born on 30 May 1919 in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. He was a writer, known for The Railway Man (2013), Enemy, My Friend? (1995) and The Making of 'The Railway Man' (2013). He was married to Patti Lomax and Agnes. He died on 8 October 2012 in Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England, UK.

Shawn Elestren was born on 24 September 1980 in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. He was a producer and director, known for Shawn Is on the Trail (2012), Shawn's Dark Xmas (2012) and Shawn4Ever (2012). He died on 17 August 2020 in Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England, UK.