Hayley Mills had one of the great child star careers - she came out of nowhere to play a scene stealing role in Tiger Bay and might have drifted back into anonymity (no British producers offered her roles) had not Disney wanted to sign her to a seven year contract. Disney promised to do well by her and he did - Pollyanna, The Parent Trap, In Search of the Castaways, The Moon Spinners, Summer Magic That Darn Cat.
She managed to alternate things with interesting films such as Whistle Down the Wind and The Chalk Garden.
Her parents/Disney turned down parts in Exodus, The Children's Hour and Lolita - the latter especially was galling to her. All three films did have notably sadistic, or at least retake-retake-retake directors so maybe they were being protective. But it bugged her - Lolita especially (though Sue Lyons' career wasn't that amazing.)
Her post Disney career started well enough with The Family Way and The Trouble with Angels. But then she had a string of rotten films - Pretty Polly, Sky West and Crooked, Take a Girl Like You, Mr Forbush. Many of these were made by/with her husband and/or father - you could argue they helped damage her career. But it's not as though there were other roles going. Mills grew up very pretty and charming but as an adult she lacked the X factor she had as a child performer.
This is a well written memoir full of interesting stories, like joining her father in Australia when he was making Summer of the Seventeenth Doll - they went to a party with the touring English side, everyone was boozy, Ann Baxter lost an earring in the pool and everyone jumped in to find it. Stewart Granger bullied her at a party, teasing her about the paper in her bra. I can see him doing that.
It goes up until her leaving Roy Boulting. Odd decision - surely there was at least a chapter on Leigh Lawson and making Parent Trap 2 and films like Appointment with Death?
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