That great actor Peter O’Toole has retired. He was always a pleasure to watch, even in films that were not that great, and it is astonishing that he never won an Oscar, although he was nominated eight times. There was a gleam in his eye that gave you the sense that at any moment he would do something totally unexpected and even crazy and this made him eminently watchable.
Everyone should see him in the title role in David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia, which shot him to stardom. It is a magnificent performance in a great film. But he was also terrific in Becket and A Lion in Winter , as well as in comedies such as How to Steal a Million and My Favorite Year.
I had hoped that O’Toole would replace Richard Harris as Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series after Harris died. I thought that he had the right air of scholarly detachment, a look of frailty combined with a gleam of mischievous intelligence that would have been perfect for the role. But the filmmakers went with Michael Gambon instead who was a little too sprightly and energetic for my tastes but serviceable in the role.
A great film that is not as well known now is The Ruling Class (1972), a brilliant dark and surreal satire on the corruption of British elites, in which O’Toole plays a paranoid schizophrenic who thinks he is god and inherits his father’s title and wealth that is coveted by his scheming relatives. Here is a clip that gives you a taste of both the film and his acting virtuosity.
Here’s the official trailer.
Phhew.
I was so afraid you were gonna tell he’d died when I saw the headline.
When people die, I put their birth and death years in parentheses. But I have clarified the title in this case.
The Ruling Class is a must see film. Very strange indeed.
I would also recommend Night of the Generals.
I’m bemused that O’Toole played the same character in two different films, King Henry II in Becket and The Lion In Winter.
Holy crap was that Scrooge?
I once took a girl to see “The Ruling Class” for a first date. It didn’t work out so well.
In honor of Mr. O’Toole I shall watch “The Lion In Winter” for what must be the eleventy-eth time, tonight!
No, definitely not a date movie unless you know your date very well!
Odd you should mention “The Ruling Class” in your post, as it is one of the films I think of when I think of Mitt Romney and moneyed privilege.