People of a certain age may remember the actor Dennis Price.
In the book British Film Character Actors (1982), Terence Pettigrew wrote that Price's most successful screen characterisations were "refined, self-centred, caddish and contemptuous of a world inhabited by inferiors. Everything about him was deceptive. He could be penniless and still manage to look as if he owned the bank. But behind all that grand talk and lordly ways, there skulked, in his characters, the most ordinary of shabby, grasping souls."
Things didn't go well for Price in later life, with gambling, financial difficulties and alcoholism all taking their toll. I always thought he was at his best as a caddish comedy actor, but his quote below is one I remember. Not many people in public life would care to go this far, however appropriate it may be.
I am a second-rate feature actor. I am not a star and never was. I lack the essential spark.
8 comments:
That comment is interesting given that he had early film roles alongside James Mason and Stewart Granger, both of whom definitely fall into the ‘star’ category, which can’t have helped his confidence.
IMHO,’Kind Hearts and Coronets’ is one of the greatest British film comedies thanks, in no small part, to Price’s performance.
Macheath - it's a guess, but I wonder if he saw the spark in others and knew then that he didn't have it. As you say, working with James Mason and Stewart Granger can't have helped his confidence.
I must watch Kind Hearts and Coronets again.
Not having that spark can go two ways, depending on character. You can either rage about it and spend time trying to acquire it. Or you can settle into the realisation that being second-rate pays the rent, and provides its own satisfactions. If you can do something that other people will pay you for, and take some craftsman's pride in what you do, then comparisons are not really necessary.
I suspect many politicians are still hoping that they have that spark, when they would have been better off remaining as a Trade Union researcher or a small-town solicitor.
Sam - I agree, many politicians are still hoping that they have that spark. Many will never be persuaded that they don't have it. Others think they don't need it, but they do.
If only Me-again Markle were capable of such introspection, we (and she) might be spared a lot of trouble.
Peter - a very good point, it highlights a crucial difference between them.
Totally off topic.
The post title caused me to think of the Vital Spark - the name of the puffer ship, whose captain was Para Handy from a book also called Para Handy penned by Niel Munro. A book set in a different time,well worth reading. And not a swear word anywhere.
But what prompted me to comment was the coincidence of Para's full anglicised name of Peter MacFarlane. Same as commenter above.
But do read the book. It has a gentle humour which will have you chuckling.
Doonhamer - ah yes, I remember the Vital Spark TV series as one of my favourites. I've just checked and the book is available on Kindle too. One to revisit I think.
Post a Comment