Post by timshelboy on Jul 7, 2024 18:13:11 GMT
David Shipman is rather unkind - and a little unfair - to Laurence Harvey
" Laurence Harvey's career should be an inspiration to all budding actors: he demonstrated conclusively that it is possible to succeed without managing to evoke the least audience interest or sympathy - and to go on succeeding despite unanimous critical antipathy and overwhelming public apathy. His twenty year career of mainly unprofitable films is a curiosity of film history"
Well he is definitely one of my favourite actors - charming in a louche way. Born in 1928, in Lithuania - some mystery about his origins compounded by Harvey himself. He made his film debut in 1948 in HOUSE OF DARKNESS, but it took a few years of small parts (including a Hollywood effort THE BLACK ROSE)before his star began to rise.
He played a JD opposite Joan Collins in I BELIEVE IN YOU
His ROMEO & JULIET was not considered a great achievement but it was the lead.
And despite 4th billing he really had the lead in a big Hollywood movie - the lousy KING RICHARD AND THE CRUSADERS opposite Virginia Mayo. Rex Harrison played Saladin and the film gets a "Ring Up and Complain" rating from the Sunday Times Movies on TV volume.
He finally got himself into a good movie masterminding a heist with Richard Basehart, Stanley Baker and John Ireland. THE GOOD DIE YOUNG was the RESERVOIR DOGS of 1954 - with added glamour from Gloria Grahame and Joan Collins.
I AM A CAMERA was a fun adaptation of Isherwood's stories, with Julie Harris as Sally and Harvey as "Herr Issyvoo"
THREE MEN IN A BOAT was a big hit
THE TRUTH ABOUT WOMEN gave him a good part in this adaptation of a French farce. It too was a BO success. Julie Harris, Mai Zetterling & Diane Cilento were among the women drawn like moths to a flame.
Next came his defining role as Joe Lampton in the excellent ROOM AT THE TOP, which consolidated his stardom and was a worldwide smash, him as the upwardly mobile working class lad.
He was superb as the Jewish pop promoter in EXPRESSO BONGO, which was another hit and launched Cliff Richard as star material.
Hollywood came calling (again) and both THE ALAMO and BUTTERFIELD 8 did strong business.
THE LONG AND THE SHORT AND THE TALL was an effective war movie with Richards Todd and Harris
SUMMER AND SMOKE saw him as the cad again - this time undeserving of Geraldine Page's affections
WALK ON THE WILD SIDE is a guilty pleasure for some - Harvey again surrounded by a gaggle of women (Capucine, Jane Fonda, Anne Baxter and a very butch Barbara Stanwyck) in old New Orleans. The credit sequence was the best thing about it.
Forgotten today A GIRL NAMED TAMIKO saw him well cast as ruthless opportunist, a half Russian, half Chinese photographer after the green card marriage to fur coat no knickers colonial club princess Martha Hyer will bring.
ROOM AT THE TOP aside, his other claim to classic screen immortality must be THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE as a brainwashed soldier. He made the part moving and the film still packs a real punch. Frank Sinatra, Angela Lansbury and Janet Leigh co-starred.
THE RUNNING MAN was an OK thriller in which he faked his own death. THE CEREMONY a dud directed by himself. OF HUMAN BONDAGE flopped badly. THE OUTRAGE was not well received but has its moments.
He returned with a smash hit DARLING, my favourite of his performances, as the dandy playboy Julie Christie uses as one of her stepping stones up the social ladder. He teaches her about truth games, partner swapping, cunnilingus and dancing the twist... His name got the financing for the film.
LIFE AT THE TOP followed the married Joe Lampton (to Jean Simmons subbing for original Heather Sears)
Would love to see his WINTERS TALE, recorded on stage and released at cinemas in 1968.
He died young of cancer in 1973. None of his last batch of films was up to much although THE MAGIC CHRISTIAN saw him in a 5 minute bit doing a striptease to "To Be Or Not To Be". The best was probably the two part German epic THE LAST ROMAN, the highest profile NIGHT WATCH, a reunion with Liz, and the worst easily the dreadful WUSA.
Hoping that one day THE DEEP will turn up - Welles apparently shot 90% of it and it exists. I believe an early version of DEAD CALM, with Jeanne Moreau.
This is the best of several biographies
Thanks for reading.
" Laurence Harvey's career should be an inspiration to all budding actors: he demonstrated conclusively that it is possible to succeed without managing to evoke the least audience interest or sympathy - and to go on succeeding despite unanimous critical antipathy and overwhelming public apathy. His twenty year career of mainly unprofitable films is a curiosity of film history"
Well he is definitely one of my favourite actors - charming in a louche way. Born in 1928, in Lithuania - some mystery about his origins compounded by Harvey himself. He made his film debut in 1948 in HOUSE OF DARKNESS, but it took a few years of small parts (including a Hollywood effort THE BLACK ROSE)before his star began to rise.
He played a gallows bound spiv in the enjoyable WOMEN OF TWILIGHT - a black market baby scam shocker with Freda Jackson
He played a JD opposite Joan Collins in I BELIEVE IN YOU
His ROMEO & JULIET was not considered a great achievement but it was the lead.
And despite 4th billing he really had the lead in a big Hollywood movie - the lousy KING RICHARD AND THE CRUSADERS opposite Virginia Mayo. Rex Harrison played Saladin and the film gets a "Ring Up and Complain" rating from the Sunday Times Movies on TV volume.
He finally got himself into a good movie masterminding a heist with Richard Basehart, Stanley Baker and John Ireland. THE GOOD DIE YOUNG was the RESERVOIR DOGS of 1954 - with added glamour from Gloria Grahame and Joan Collins.
I AM A CAMERA was a fun adaptation of Isherwood's stories, with Julie Harris as Sally and Harvey as "Herr Issyvoo"
THREE MEN IN A BOAT was a big hit
THE TRUTH ABOUT WOMEN gave him a good part in this adaptation of a French farce. It too was a BO success. Julie Harris, Mai Zetterling & Diane Cilento were among the women drawn like moths to a flame.
Next came his defining role as Joe Lampton in the excellent ROOM AT THE TOP, which consolidated his stardom and was a worldwide smash, him as the upwardly mobile working class lad.
He was superb as the Jewish pop promoter in EXPRESSO BONGO, which was another hit and launched Cliff Richard as star material.
Hollywood came calling (again) and both THE ALAMO and BUTTERFIELD 8 did strong business.
THE LONG AND THE SHORT AND THE TALL was an effective war movie with Richards Todd and Harris
SUMMER AND SMOKE saw him as the cad again - this time undeserving of Geraldine Page's affections
WALK ON THE WILD SIDE is a guilty pleasure for some - Harvey again surrounded by a gaggle of women (Capucine, Jane Fonda, Anne Baxter and a very butch Barbara Stanwyck) in old New Orleans. The credit sequence was the best thing about it.
Forgotten today A GIRL NAMED TAMIKO saw him well cast as ruthless opportunist, a half Russian, half Chinese photographer after the green card marriage to fur coat no knickers colonial club princess Martha Hyer will bring.
ROOM AT THE TOP aside, his other claim to classic screen immortality must be THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE as a brainwashed soldier. He made the part moving and the film still packs a real punch. Frank Sinatra, Angela Lansbury and Janet Leigh co-starred.
THE RUNNING MAN was an OK thriller in which he faked his own death. THE CEREMONY a dud directed by himself. OF HUMAN BONDAGE flopped badly. THE OUTRAGE was not well received but has its moments.
He returned with a smash hit DARLING, my favourite of his performances, as the dandy playboy Julie Christie uses as one of her stepping stones up the social ladder. He teaches her about truth games, partner swapping, cunnilingus and dancing the twist... His name got the financing for the film.
LIFE AT THE TOP followed the married Joe Lampton (to Jean Simmons subbing for original Heather Sears)
Would love to see his WINTERS TALE, recorded on stage and released at cinemas in 1968.
He died young of cancer in 1973. None of his last batch of films was up to much although THE MAGIC CHRISTIAN saw him in a 5 minute bit doing a striptease to "To Be Or Not To Be". The best was probably the two part German epic THE LAST ROMAN, the highest profile NIGHT WATCH, a reunion with Liz, and the worst easily the dreadful WUSA.
Hoping that one day THE DEEP will turn up - Welles apparently shot 90% of it and it exists. I believe an early version of DEAD CALM, with Jeanne Moreau.
This is the best of several biographies
Thanks for reading.