Sarah Miles is a British actress who was super popular in the 1960s-70s, and you can see why with her Twiggy looks. I only really knew her from one or two things, but she keeps popping up in new-to-me productions, so I thought it was time for a roundup!
As always, there’s one production I can’t find any images for:
- Sissi, La Madre in I giorni dell’amore e dell’odio (2001)
Otherwise, here’s her historical roles:
Patricia Rawnsley in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes (1965)
A comedy film about the early days of aviation, set in 1910.
Rosy Ryan in Ryan’s Daughter (1970)
Loosely inspired by Madame Bovary, this version is set in 1917-18. Miles was nominated for an Oscar for her performance.
Lady Caroline Lamb in Lady Caroline Lamb (1972)
A biopic about the English aristocrat who fell in love with Lord Byron, which didn’t end well.
Catherine Crocker in The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (1973)
A Western about a man looking for revenge for the murder of his wife.
Estella in Great Expectations (1974)
An adaptation of the Dickens novel.
Pepita Jiménez in Bride to Be (1975)
Set in 1874, “A rich land owner in Spain has a mistress. She falls for his son who is about to become a priest” (Wikipedia).
Jennifer Blackwood in Dynasty (1976)
“The story of a pioneer family in the early 1800s that seeks its fortunes on the Ohio frontier,” per IMDB.
Film Star in Priest of Love (1981)
A biopic about British author D.H. Lawrence and his wife Frieda.
Mary Durrant in Ordeal by Innocence (1984)
A feature film adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel, set in the 1950s.
Lady Ashley in Harem (1986)
In the early 20th century, a British girl is kidnapped and sold into a Sultan’s harem. I’m so tempted to watch this based on the costumes and ludicrous concept, except I know it will be a racist shit-show.
Lady Sybil Rumsey in Queenie (1987)
A fictionalized biopic loosely based on the life of Anglo-Indian actress Merle Oberon.
Grace in Hope and Glory (1987)
During World War II, a family stays with their extended family in the country to avoid the Blitz.
Alice in White Mischief (1987)
A fictionalized take on a true story, about 1930s British expats in Kenya who get up to no good.
Emilie/Mme. Bluet in A Ghost in Monte Carlo (1990)
An adaptation of a Barbara Cartland novel, with an ingenue navigating late-19th-century Monte Carlo.
Catherine Armstrong in Dandelion Dead (1994)
Base on a true story about a solicitor who murdered his wife in 1922.
Lucy Angkatell in Poirot: “The Hollow” (2004)
Obligatory Agatha Christie TV series appearance!
What’s your favorite Sarah Miles frock flick role?
That orange gown from Ryan’s Daughter – did that get re-worn by Barbra Streisand in Hello Dolly, or visa versa?
Maybe On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, lol?
https://frockflicks.com/snark-week-on-a-clear-day-you-can-see-forever/
I don’t remember it in the Ryan’s Daughter movie – maybe it was borrowed for a promotional photoshoot?
Gosh, I can hear her voice: she seemed to be everywhere back in the 1970s. But why so certain ‘Harem’ was a ‘racist shit-show’. Slavery in the Arab world was wide spread and lasted well over a thousand years: it was only banned in Turkey in 1924 and in Saudi Arabia in 1962. Over a million white slaves were kidnapped from Europe and from ships captured by Barbary pirates. Certainly far less likely to happen in the 1920s, but not impossible. Still, the romantic plot is a bunch of hooey.
Sure, slavery existed in the Ottoman Empire, but I feel like a 1986 TV movie about an Englishwoman being kidnapped as an Ottoman sex slave and then falling in love w/ her kidnapper contains every stereotypical trope ever? But hey, I haven’t watched it, maybe it’s a nuanced exploration of the topic! ;)
I was never a fan, but in “Hope and Glory,” Miles got to shed her Brit sexpot image and have a good time; I enjoyed her then.
If I have to be honest, I had enjoyed Miles the most in “Hope and Glory”.
Also, “White Mischief” was set around 1940-42, not the 1930s.
Any plans to do a WCW on Susannah York? She was also in quite a few Frock Flicks (A Man For All Seasons, Jane Eyre, etc.). TBH, I used to mix her up with Sarah Miles when I was younger. :)
We can do that! :)
Yay! Thank you so much. :)
Definitely my favourite is Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines. Balloons and blunderbusses for the win!
I honestly can’t recall seeing any of these films except White Mischief. I guess I had better get going, some of these listed do appeal to me, like Hope & Glory. Especially since Michael Kitchen is in it too.
And for a second I thought that 2nd photo of Ms Miles was Emily Watson (from Gosford Park era). The two actresses look similar to me, except for the character Elsie’s hair color.
Oops, I mean I must see Dandelion Dead with Michael Kitchen.
I have a special affection for that version of “Great Expectations” because it was the first adaptation that I saw. I might have had a crush on Michael York at the time (Musketeer hangover). Looking at the stills – the hair. Oy. I did see “Hope and Glory,” but it’s been a long time. I remember thinking it was a really natural looking treatment of the cast – the clothes looked lived in, the situations were sometimes humorous, sometimes sad, but it was a good film all around. Can’t say that I’ve seen any of the others, although I’m curious about “Lady Caroline Lamb” because of Richard Chamberlain.
I have a vague memory of seeing Sarah Miles in something decades ago and deciding that she left me cold. I don’t know if it was overacting or underacting, but I was never impressed. I suppose I need to watch her again and see if my more mature self has a better opinion.
That said, the wedding dress in Bride to Be (1974) reminds me of the flight attendants’ headgear in 2001 (1968). It’s the same kind of helmet! Check it out in this picture from IMDB:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062622/mediaviewer/rm3888090112/
I saw her in ‘Ryan’s Daughter’ when it first came out (heaven knows why two 13 year olds were allowed to see it, talk about adult content!) and my best friend & I agreed Miles was terrible, especially as a purported teenager. I haven’t changed my view. But I have to say she’s really good in ‘Hope and Glory’.
I originally saw ‘Hope and Glory’ with a Dutch friend. The settings and costumes were so period-authentic in feel that it brought up memories she didn’t know she still had. It hadn’t occurred to me that she’d been a child in the Netherlands towards the end of WW2 (she always looked much younger) but she’d been about the same age as the smallest child in the movie – about 3. Thankfully it was more interesting than traumatising to her to see herself in that child, about because when I later went and looked up what happened in the Netherlands at that time…I’m just grateful she and her family even survived.