More from the L.A. Times, Glenn, and The Daily. Other links and tributes welcome in the comments section.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Be Seeing You
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More from the L.A. Times, Glenn, and The Daily. Other links and tributes welcome in the comments section.
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6 comments:
McGoohan was the first actor who ever compelled me by being as hypnotic and terrifying as flame. It was the crispness of his military officer in Columbo, sizing up his rival with pursed-lip disdain; or the fishhook grin on No. 6, his eyes sparkling with brainwashed fervor, as he barked campaign slogans into the megaphone. ("Less work...and MORE PLAY!") His distant, rationalist father in The Three Lives of Thomasina scared me almost as much as Escape from Alcatraz's sadistic warden, crushing flowers because he can.
It's not just that the small screen couldn't contain him; his Longshanks sears through all the bombast of Braveheart, wrenching the film's tone so brutally and abruptly to the horrific that you can almost see the splice threatening to juggle the film from the sprockets. One of my favorites.
I've less personal investment with Montalban, but the young man's beauty and earnestness blossomed into the diligent elegance of one of our best-humored hams, always at least two steps ahead of the joke. He was the best foil either James Kirk or Frank Drebin ever had.
And since you asked for links,
Mark Evanier posted a charming anecdote.
Wow, this guy virtually brought Kafka into mainstream television. Godspeed.
Just a few days before the death Ricardo Montalban I happened to catch an airing of Mystery Street. This hidden gem of a film noir from 1950 stars the man who would go on to play (and sometimes overplay) Star Trek's Khan as the more grounded Peter Morales, a police lieutenant, who is tasked with solving a murder based solely on skeletal remains found on a Massachusetts beach.
I almost didn't watch it because the title is a bit deceiving and conjured up images of The Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew. However, I'm glad I was too lazy to reach for the remote.
It's worth a look for people who only know Montelban through larger than life characters such as Khan, Mr. Roarke from Fantasy Island, or that guy admiring Chrysler's Corinthian leather.
If you're interested, my full review is here.
"I am not a number! I am a FREE man!" - McGoohan
"Ah, Kirk, my old friend. Do you remember the Klingon proverb: revenge is a dish best served cold? It is very cold...in spaaaace..." - Montalban
Very sorry to see both of them go, and at the risk of egregious self-pimping (is there any other kind?), I've got posts for both Mr. McGoohan and Mr. Montalban up at my blog.
I also remember Montalban from a minor musical comedy he did with Lana Turner and Rita Moreno called, Latin Lovers. I still remember the sequence in which he tries to teach Turner how to dance . . . Latin style. I don't know I always remember that scene, but I do.
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