The Entertainer (1960)

Director:

Tony Richardson

Writers:

John Osborne (screenplay) and
Nigel Kneale (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

2 December 1960 (Denmark)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

As the applause grew fainter ... As the spotlight grew dimmer ... His women were younger!

Plot:

Archie Rice, an old-time British vaudeville performer sinking into final defeat, schemes to stay in show business.

Plot Keywords:

Vaudeville | Generation | Adultery | Failure | Family Relationships

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Nov. 13

2:00 AM

TCM

Cast

Laurence Olivier	...	Archie Rice
Brenda De Banzie	...	Phoebe Rice
Roger Livesey	...	Billy Rice
Joan Plowright	...	Jean Rice
Alan Bates	...	Frank Rice
Daniel Massey	...	Graham
Albert Finney	...	Mick Rice
Shirley Anne Field	...	Tina Lapford
Thora Hird	...	Mrs. Ada Lapford
Miriam Karlin	...	Soubrette
Geoffrey Toone	...	Harold Hubbard
MacDonald Hobley	...	Himself - the TV star (as McDonald Hobley)
Anthony Oliver	...	Interviewer
Max Bacon	...	Charlie Klein
George Doonan	...	Eddie Trimmer

Runtime:

96 min | USA:105 min (TCM print)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:G (TV rating) | UK:PG | UK:X (original rating) | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Alhambra Theatre, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, UK

Company:

Woodfall Film Productions

Trivia:

According to the April 21, 1958 edition of "Time Magazine", as an addendum to its cover story on Alec Guinness, in 1957, Laurence Olivier turned down a Hollywood offer of $250,000 for one motion picture. Instead of making the movie and pocketing the dosh (worth approximately $1.7 million in 2005 dollars), Olivier preferred to take on the role of Archie Rice in John Osborne's "The Entertainer" (a role written specifically for him) at the princely sum of £45 per week (worth $126 in 1957 dollars at the contemporaneous exchange rate, or $856 in 2005 dollars).

Quotes:

Frank Rice: Cheer up love, life isn't as bad as all that, and even if it is, there's nothing we can do about it.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Entertainer (1976) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Why Should I Care?

some folks should just stick to Disney

One of the best British films of the sixties, The Entertainer was written as an allegory of Britain's fall from grace by the leading fist-shaker of England's band of Angry Young Men who stormed the London stage with revolutionary new ideas and content, John Osborne. While Look Back In Anger is a more decorated play, this film adaption by Osborne and Nigel Kneale carried the flag of teeth-crunching kicks that the gang of young playwrights hoped to startle the daylights out of England with. Reading the other viewer comments, it is obvious most folks were looking for a Disney story with a Shakespearean performance by Lawrence Olivier. A happier ending? Great Britain forgot to supply one, Andy up there in the mountains somewhere, and the seedy digs were meant to be depressingly seedy, as was the dwindling talent of the family, and its reliance in the end on the grand old name and the grand old accomplishments of the past, as Archie Rice gave his best in replacing his revered father, Billy. Note his offkey performance in singing early on and then the eloquent on key final rendition of "Why Should I Care" as the final performance ends not with a curtain call, but with the hook, as the theater management (those other nations running the world today) angrily demand that Archie get off the stage because he is through, finished, washed up, fired, kaputsky, so long and goodbye. From the direction of Tony Richardson to the selection of grand old places along the sea that Britain once ruled with absolute certainty, everything and every moment of this film are topnotch. The aforementioned slandered scene with Roger Livesey as the Grandfather, Billy Rice, and Brenda de Banzie as Phoebe Rice, involving a misunderstanding over a piece of cake, is one of the most moving and depressingly realistic family arguments ever written. It may not be Olivier's greatest performance ever, but for certain it is the best one ever filmed. It also features the film debut of two actors who would establish themselves among the very best performers Great Britain has offered us, Alan Bates and Albert Finney, along with the introduction of Joan Plowright. As for the unkind comment about Olivier marrying Joan Plowright and this somehow having an ironic similarity to the theme of Archie and his young women; they married in 1961 and REMAINED together until Olivier's death in 1989, which is completely the opposite of the point made in the story. Well anyone is allowed to be in error, but this great film has to rank with our own country's Night of the Hunter as one of the most misunderstood films of all time. Don't miss it,ever, and MGM Vintage Classics has issued an excellent DVD edition.