Alan Bates

[ericcoleman]

Dead at 69

Probably my favorite actor ... one of those powerful, honest performers. I had the privilege of seeing him onstage in the 70s in a play called Life Class ... his performance in the film Butley still counts as my all time favorite film performance ... I wish it was available on DVD ...

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/12/22/entertainment/main589720.shtml

Edit: Butley IS available on DVD ... they have finally released some of the AFT performances on DVD ... consider it bought ...

Comments

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

Another actor we have in common. My favorite of his is "Le roi de coeur" (1966). I imagine you've seen it. Marx Brothers note: Over the weekend, my five year old watched "Room Service" with me. Not great, but better than "The Big Store."

[ericcoleman]

That movie started my life long crush on Geneviève Bujold ... sigh

I like Room Service ... it may be my favorite of the later movies ... Night In Casablanca comes close ... still ... not much competition ... Big Store and At The Circus are both so bad ...

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

"At the Circus" has its moments and I also like "A Night in Casablanca." "The Big Store" may not have any redeeming qualities, which is why it loses out to "Love Happy," which has the strong bonus of Vera-Ellen.

[ericcoleman]

At The Circus has Lydia ... and is about it for me ... Go West (which I forgot for a moment) has two good lines ... the very silly POP GOES THE DIESEL ... and "What, before I drink it?" in reference to a mint julep ... both toss-offs ...

I don't really consider Love Happy to be a MB movie ... although they are all in it ... it's a Harpo solo picture ... but yeah ... Vera-Ellen ... another life long crush ... wasn't she the Balanese equivilent of Olivia D'Haviland ??? (or am I thinking of another movie ???)

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

Go West also has an exchange in the train station between Groucho and Chico reminiscent of the Tutsi-Frutsi ice cream sequence in "A Day at the Races." Another good line comes there when Groucho asks Chico "You love your brother, don't you?" and Chico replies, "No, but I'm used to him."

The Balinese equivalent line is from one of the Danny Kaye movies, so it may well have referred to Vera-Ellen (probably not Virginia Mayo. I can hear the line, but nothing on either side of it at the moment. There is the section of "Wonder Man" when Kaye and Vera-Ellen do the Balinese dance. Of course, it all begs the question of, if Danny Kaye has a choice between Vera-Ellen and Virginia Mayo, why does he always choose Virginia Mayo (except in White Christmas, where she isn't a choice)?

[ericcoleman]

I don't care for that scene in GW ... seems to be someone said "write another Tutsi Frutsie scene" ...

and yeah ...that was the number I was thinking of ... it was Vera Ellen ... I just couldn't remember which movie it was in ...

as for the choice ... hmmm ... if we could all be given such choices ...