The year of The Empire Strikes Back at Elstree

I recall four movies, only one of which is much remembered today - although the remainder had good casts and were entertaining. Back in those days I was allowed to visit the sets and meet the stars as productions used to appreciate publicity whilst shooting. The whole way is different today plus the stars often have their own publicity people.

The most famous movie shooting was of course The Empire Strikes Back, which for many fans is the best of the original Star Wars trilogy. It has been written about so much there is not much for me to say. For Elstree these LucasFilms were making for a very healthy balance sheet compared with the books of five years earlier which were awash with red ink.

I wonder if anyone who worked as crew and lives locally kept any props or other things like call sheets from those films? I have just read that a 'blaster' gun, made of wood, used by Harrison Ford in Return Of The Jedi has just sold for £415,000! I seem to recall material laying around on the backlot or going into skips. Even if you just collected Star Wars toys and they are in good condition, ideally with original packaging, you can sell these days for hundreds of pounds each if not more. The Star Wars brand seems stronger than ever.

A low budget film called Stevie provided me with the chance to meet two-time Oscar winner Glenda Jackson, who later gave up her acting career to become a Member of Parliament for many years. I believe she has recently resumed acting and I wish her well. I remember the set visit more for it gave me the opportunity to interview the legendary director of photography Freddie Young. It is likely you have never heard of him but Freddie started his career in 1930s Borehamwood and went on to win three Oscars for Lawrence Of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and Ryan's Daughter, all for David Lean.

A Man Called Intrepid was a wartime spy thriller starring Michael York and veteran David Niven, whose career and life were slowly drawing to a close. I still recall our chat on the set between takes but will write about that on some future date. Suffice to say he was a real gent and very popular with the crew. I was somewhat younger then so I asked him for a life tip. He replied: "Paul, when you get older always know when it's your turn to leave the stage rather than wait for someone to tell you it's time to go."

The last film I will mention was Murder By Decree, which was an all-star cast thriller based upon Sherlock Holmes coming up against Jack the Ripper. Three things stick in my mind. Firstly, it gave me the chance to chat with the great James Mason, who was playing Doctor Watson. I recall him telling me he had a false start as a young actor in Borehamwood in the early 1930s. He said: "I was cast in my first film role but after a few days the director sacked me saying I would never be any good as a film actor."

James, of course, went on to enjoy a lengthy and splendid career both in British and Hollywood movies.

The second thing is the great 1880s East End set they built on one of the sound stages. It inspired me to do the third thing. In September 1978 I spent an evening walking around Whitechapel to visit the murder sites, some of which were not much changed, on the 90th anniversary of the double murder. The area has changed considerably since but was still a bit run down then. I walked into Mitre Square, surrounded by Victorian multi-storey buildings, all gone now, to visit one murder site. I must admit at 9pm at night it was a bit creepy. A policeman approached me and said: "You seem a bit lost sir can I help?" I replied: "I am walking in the footsteps of Jack the Ripper to soak up the atmosphere."

I could see the look on his face, which spelt out "oh no," we have a got a right one here". He escorted me back to the nearby tube station, which was awfully kind but I suspect he just wanted me off his patch!