While I was dusting, hoovering and sorting out paperwork (where does it all come from?!?) I caught an episode of The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries on Alibi - with the lovely Patrick Malahide. I don't know why he makes such a good Alleyn. He's not tall enough, his teeth are pretty weird and his hairline starts a bit too far back. And yet despite all this, he's right on the money. Authoritative. Compassionate. Intellectual. And with a wry sense of humour. The interplay between Alleyn and Troy is delightful. They're both packed full of pent up emotions, old fashioned correctness and dry wit. Brilliant!
And now I'm watching Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles. Funnily enough, I've noticed after watching quite a few of his Sherlock Holmes films that they appear to use the same actors again and again. Like a repertory company, I suppose. In this version the evil Stapleton is played by someone called Morton Lowry. I noticed him in 'Pursuit to Algiers' where he was Sanford, the ship steward * Mr Lowry was an impressive proponent of Action Man eye acting. Look left - look right. That's it, you've got it!
Also, he reminded me of a young Paul Newman.
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| 'Cat on a hot tin roof? What are you on about?' courtesy of www.wearysloth.com |
Strangely, he seems to have fallen off the radar after 1960 - he apparently moved to the States but didn't appear in any more films or TV after that. Well, not that I can find anyway. Curious. I hope he was ok.
As I was looking for that picture I happened to find a brilliant website full to the brim with amazing photos of Basil Rathbone - www.basilrathbone.net. This was the best of the bunch, for obvious reasons...
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| 'pass the ketchup, Basil' courtesy of www.basilrathbone.net |
* spoiler alert: he also happens to be the king of some fictional country going undercover
I love Morton Lowry ! He had excellent acting skills ! I've known him from The Little Princess . He gave me a deep impression in that film !
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