Have we lost the art of the interview? A series of classic conversations with 20th-century icons has just been reissued by the BBC. It reveals the surprising power of old-fashioned TV.
Excuse me for pressing you on this, but…
Have we lost the art of the interview? A series of classic conversations with 20th-century icons has just been reissued by the BBC. It reveals the surprising power of old-fashioned TV.
People were expecting fireworks as John Freeman began his interview with TV personality Gilbert Harding. Not for nothing was Harding known as "the rudest man in Britain". But then Freeman asked him if he had ever seen a dead body - and Harding, remembering his mother, started to cry. Apologising for his rudeness, he said, "I am profoundly lonely... and would very much like to be dead."
This was just one of the extraordinary answers elicited by Freeman in the series Face to Face. Running for 35 episodes between 1959 and 1962, it attracted up to four million viewers - an amazing number at a time when many people did not yet own TVs. Among the famous figures interviewed were Carl JungA Swiss practitioner of psychoanalysis. Initially he was a collaborator of Sigmund Freud's, but his ideas diverged from Freud's and the two became bitter rivals., Henry Moore, King Hussein of Jordan, Stirling Moss, John Osborne, Otto Klemperer, and Bertrand Russell.
Freeman's interviewing style seems extremely old-fashioned now. He lets his subjects talk for as long as they like without interruption. When he wants to know more, he says courteously, "If you don't mind, I am going to dwell a little on this point" or "This might seem impertinent but..." The programme's producer said that he had chosen Freeman "because he was highly skilled at probing closely without causing offence".
In his interview with Martin Luther King Jr, he asks the black civil-rights leader about racial discrimination in his childhood. King recalls how his two best friends were white boys - until, at the age of six, their parents told them not to play with him. He tells of the strict system of segregation, which meant that he could not go to a public park or swimming pool, and the violence of the police and the Ku Klux Klan: "I can remember seeing the Klan actually beat negroes on the streets of Atlanta."
One of Freeman's most easily annoyed interviewees was Evelyn WaughA brilliant satirical writer whose books include Decline and Fall, Scoop and Brideshead Revisited.. Asked why he had agreed to appear on the programme, the well-heeled novelist famously replied, "Poverty". But Freeman always kept his cool and resisted the temptation to goad his guests - unlike some modern interviewers who sometimes annoy their subjects so much that they walk out.
For some guests, it was nevertheless a life-changing experience. Tony HancockA hugely popular comedian best known for his radio and TV show Hancock's Half Hour, which included sketches such as The Blood Donor.'s brother said that it started the comedian on a path to self-analysis that ultimately led to his suicide.
Another striking aspect of Face to Face is that Freeman never draws attention to himself, even though he is as distinguished as many of his subjects. He had been a high-ranking soldier and an MP, and was editor of the New StatesmanA left-wing political magazine dating from 1913. George Bernard Shaw was one of its first directors. at the time the programmes were made. He went on to become high commissioner to India and ambassador to the United States.
Despite the programme's title, we do not even see his face - only, occasionally, the back of his head when the camera draws back. There could hardly be a stronger contrast with today's chat shows, such as Oprah Winfrey's, that are named after their hosts and emphasise them as much as the interviewees.
<h5 class="eplus-3Ejlp6">Have we lost the art of the interview?</h5>
Some say, yes. Few TV interviews now last for as long as Face to Face's 30 minutes, so there is little chance to get to know their subjects. Interviewers constantly interrupt their guests and try to catch them out, rather than putting them at their ease, with the result that they seldom really open up. Egotistical print journalists often write as much about themselves as about their subjects.
Others argue that the best interviewers can still guide people into talking about themselves with astonishing frankness. Everyone likes to be made the focus of attention and listened to; they simply need to be asked intelligent questions and given a sympathetic ear. Documentary makers and print journalists sometimes spend days with their subjects to win their trust.
Carl Jung - A Swiss practitioner of psychoanalysis. Initially he was a collaborator of Sigmund Freud's, but his ideas diverged from Freud's and the two became bitter rivals.
Evelyn Waugh - A brilliant satirical writer whose books include Decline and Fall, Scoop and Brideshead Revisited.
Tony Hancock - A hugely popular comedian best known for his radio and TV show Hancock's Half Hour, which included sketches such as The Blood Donor.
New Statesman - A left-wing political magazine dating from 1913. George Bernard Shaw was one of its first directors.
Excuse me for pressing you on this, but…

Glossary
Carl Jung - A Swiss practitioner of psychoanalysis. Initially he was a collaborator of Sigmund Freud’s, but his ideas diverged from Freud’s and the two became bitter rivals.
Evelyn Waugh - A brilliant satirical writer whose books include Decline and Fall, Scoop and Brideshead Revisited.
Tony Hancock - A hugely popular comedian best known for his radio and TV show Hancock's Half Hour, which included sketches such as The Blood Donor.
New Statesman - A left-wing political magazine dating from 1913. George Bernard Shaw was one of its first directors.