Mr. Gillie (1950)
James Bridie's play calls upon us to view the life of an obscure Scottish schoolmaster, as seen by a heavenly Judge and Procurator who speak the Proglogue and Epilogue. Before the play opens, Mr. Gillie has in fact been knocked down and killed by a furniture van, and the flashback on his life in the Scottish village of Crult is the evidence on which he is ultimately allotted a place in Heaven next to no other than Abraham Lincoln. (Theatre World June 1950). The play is marked by Mr. Bridie's customary dry humour and penetrating wit, and Alastair Sim, who also produces the play, gives a most sensitive and telling performance as the remarkable Mr. Gillie. Full synopsis or Gallery