Trios Of Note, No. 8

[dr ngo]

Sellers market

Well, I cheated a bit, using IMDB to confirm my recollection - the US president in Dr. Strangelove was Merkin Muffley (!). (And what I didn't recall was that Lionel Mandrake was not a Major or Colonel, but a Group Captain, on secondment from the British.)

As for Sellers in multiple parts - he was also supposed to play "King" Kong, the bomber pilot, but was injured, so they brought in Slim Pickens.

Remarkable as PS's performances are, here and in The Mouse That Roared, they should be seen as following in the tradition of the eight parts played by Alec Guiness in Kind Hearts and Coronets. Sellers worked with Guiness in The Ladykillers and was, IIRC, seen by some at the time as a successor to him, before he developed into a comedy superstar, while AG remained a (magnificent) character actor.

[tandfman]

Remarkable as PS's performances are, here and in The Mouse That Roared, they should be seen as following in the tradition of the eight parts played by Alec Guiness in Kind Hearts and Coronets. Sellers worked with Guiness in The Ladykillers and was, IIRC, seen by some at the time as a successor to him, before he developed into a comedy superstar, while AG remained a (magnificent) character actor.

You're right about the link between Kind Hearts and the Sellers multi-role movies. I must say, though, that if you are implying that Guinness was never a comedy superstar, you would get something of an argument from anyone who was around when they released Kind Hearts, Ladykillers, Man in the White Suit, and Captain's Paradise. Those movies were nothing like the Sellers comedies that followed, but I think they were at the time considered comedies and Guinness was admired as a comic genius for his wry, understated humour. It was very different from the humour of Sellers, Terry-Thomas, and (later) Monty Python, but it was humour nonetheless. (Another great British comic actor of that period was Alistair Sim, whose style was something in between that of Guinness and those of the others.)

[SQUACKEE]

If the movie catagory is "Farce", you cant find a better one than "The Mouse that roared."

[dr ngo]

Guiness Is Good For You

You'll get absolutely no disagreement from me about Alec Guiness's talent, both comedic and otherwise, and I'm well aware of the numerous British comedies that he starred in during the 1950s. But he never made the big international (Hollywood) breakthrough that Peter Sellers did, perhaps because - as you note - his style was understated, rather than broad. It certainly doesn't appear to have arisen from any aversion to Hollywood - he was in Lawrence of Arabia, after all, as well as many other H'wood films, though mostly in "serious" rather than comic roles. And always brilliant. Just not as Laugh-Out-Loud Funny as PS at his best.

[SQUACKEE]

Sir John Gielgud in the hit movie "Arthur" is a good example of a fine English actor who also very funny.

Arthur-" I think im gonna take a bath."

Sir John- " I shall alert the media".

[dj]

Re: Guiness Is Good For You

But he never made the big international (Hollywood) breakthrough that Peter Sellers did,

I suspect this is a matter of the age of the viewer. Guinness had already won a lead actor Academy Award (Bridge on the River Kwai, 1958[?]) before Sellers really landed in Hollywood with Dr. Strangelove ('64).

What Sellers had was a much longer run of films, built up greatly on bad films. Check his filmography and see how many titles you recognize compared to Guinness.

Sellers secondary career was comedy albums, I think he had about 4 or 5. Guinness had a long London stage career.

[tandfman]

Guinness was excellent in the Bridge on the River Kwai. But perhaps my favorite Guinness role after the early comedies was Gulley Jimson in The Horse's Mouth. Awesome performance!

[gh]

On a par with his Kwai performance was his turn in Kubrick's Tunes of Glory.

Part of a review from IMBD:

<<One of the marks of a truly great actor is the ability to do both comedy and heavy roles. To contrast Guinness's portrayal here of Jock Sinclair with, say, his Professor Marcus in 'The Ladykillers' is to become aware of the protean range of his talent. (One cannot imagine, for instance, John Wayne doing comedy.) To my mind Alex Guinness is the premier actor of the century; his performances have immeasurably enriched my inner life.>>

But as good as we was in those, I thought the best expression of his talent came in decades later with his marvellously understated role in the made-for-TV movies Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley's People, which were so remarkably true to the Le Carré novels.

[tandfman]

The thing about The Horse's Mouth was that it was a solo. There were a number of fine actors in Kwai, and I thought John Mills's performance in Tunes of Glory matched Guinness's. (Both were just fantastic.)

You're very right about Guinness as Smiley. Perfect Guinness, perfect LeCarre.

[cullman]

Re: Guiness Is Good For You

..But he never made the big international (Hollywood) breakthrough that Peter Sellers did...

Star Wars

[dj]

Re: Guiness Is Good For You

..But he never made the big international (Hollywood) breakthrough that Peter Sellers did...

Star Wars

Yes, but Guinness hated everything he had to do in the films. It was the main reason he insisted that his character be killed off.