Robert Oxton Bolt
Robert Oxton Bolt, the famous playwright, author and screenwriter, was born in 1924 at 13 Northenden Road, Sale, and lived there, above his father’s furnisher’s shop until around 1928, when the family moved to live at 68 School Road. A commemorative plaque was placed on these premises in June 2000.
An English dramatist and screenwriter. He wrote several historical plays, including “A Man for All Seasons” in 1960, widely considered to be his most important play, which was made into a film in 1966.
He also did many screenplays including for David Lean’s film of “Lawrence of Arabia” in 1962, and “Dr Zhivago” in 1965, both of which won Academy Awards. In 1970 he wrote the screenplay for “Ryan’s Daughter “, and for “Lady Caroline Lamb” in 1972, which starred his wife, Sarah Miles, in the title role – he also directed this film.
Later, in 1984 he wrote screenplays for the remake of “The Bounty” which starred Mel Gibson, and in 1986, “The Mission” starring Robert de Niro and Jeremy Irons.
Bolt demonstrated outstanding skill in the dramatisation of political and moral issues, and was an expert in the use of dramatic structure, strong characterisation, and expressive dialogue.
This was demonstrated further in “Vivat Vivat Regina” in 1970, which well illustrated his ability to bring history to life.
His “Revolution” in 1977, though not a popular success, showed his ability to tackle intellectually ambitious topics and to deal with them authoritatively.
