CREDITS A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS, 1966 dir: Fred Zinnemann Paul Scofield Robert Shaw Leo McKern John Hurt Wendy Hiller Orson Welles Susannah York Wendy Hiller Vanessa Redgrave

“This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man’s laws, not God’s. And if you cut them down, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I’d give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety’s sake!”

Fred Zinnemann's adaptation of Robert Bolt’s play isn't exactly cutting-edge cinema, but it's intelligent and, naturally, well-acted – grabbing six Oscars, including Best Film and Best Direction, as well as Best Actor for Paul Scofield.

Scofield plays Sir Thomas More, confidante of King Henry VIII (Robert Shaw), facing a crisis conscience over the King's determination to divorce Catherine of Aragon.

Despite what guide books may claim, there was no filming at Hampton Court – the palace of Cardinal Wolsey (Orson Welles), seen in the film, is no more than a set.

When Wolsey fell from grace, the palace passed to Henry VIII. You can visit the real Hampton Court Palace at East Molesey in Surrey (rail: Kingston-upon-Thames).

Thomas Moreís house on the Thames at ‘Chelsea’, however, is real. It’s Studley Priory, Horton Hill, Horton-Cum-Studley, about seven miles northeast of Oxford. A one-time Benedictine monastery, more recently a hotel, the priory was sold in 2004 and is now a private home,

The ‘Thames’ is the River Beaulieu, flowing through the estate of Beaulieu Abbey, on the B3504, south of Southampton in Hampshire. The river wall built alongside was reproduced at Studley Priory, allowing characters to leap across counties in one bound!

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