I had a look at most of Olivier’s Richard III last night. (I might get to Bosworth today, maybe not.) Clunky, I thought, his makeup; brilliant, I thought his voice and acting. Was there anyone else in it? There were some stock figures around, occasionally speaking when Larry let them get a word in, but it’s his show, and they weren’t allowed to do much. Gielgud dies in the first act; Richardson was more like Sir Humphrey Appleby than Shak. Good for its time, I suppose. Must watch McKellen’s some time.
Bravely, I returned to Bosworth Field, to find that the drama had escalated from cardboard to overboard. Climaxing in Larry having a rhythmic orgasm to Walton’s melodramatic music, holding a sword up in his prosthetic two-fingered hand.
Richard III (Laurence Olivier, 1955)
Garry Gillard | New: 17 March, 2017 | Now: 17 March, 2017