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TCM Schedule for Thursday, August 11, 2022 -- Summer Under The Stars: Laurence Harvey
First, my apologies for being late. I'm eleven days into COVID, and I think it's affected my brain. I finished this on Sunday, and then completely forgot to post!The Star on this summer day is Laurence Harvey. From his TCMDb biography:
In both life and death, actor Laurence Harvey commanded a sort of unusual fascination from both the public and press. A strikingly handsome performer, he was also exceptionally cold, occasionally cruel and prone to making statements in the press about his own talents, which were largely underused in his three decades on film, save for a handful of projects like "Room at the Top" (1959) and "The Manchurian Candidate" (1962). In both films, his chilly screen presence made for memorable performances, first as a ruthless social climber in "Room" and later as a brainwashed solder in "Candidate." Before and after these assignments, he languished in low-budget dramas, save for a brief stint at the top of the Hollywood heap in "The Alamo" (1960) and "Butterfield 8" (1960). His luck ran out in the late 1960s, and he languished in obscurity until his death from cancer in 1973. But in the decades that followed his passing, Harvey's legacy and performances - at once riveting and repelling - commanded a small but dedicated cult who celebrated his eccentric star and its sporadic bursts of brilliance.
Born Laruschka Mischa Skikne in Joniskis, Lithuania on Oct. 1, 1928, Laurence Harvey was the youngest of three sons by Boris and Ella Skikne, who immigrated with their children to Johannesburg, South Africa in 1934. He joined the South African Army while still in his teens, and as a member of its entertainment unit, performed across Egypt and Italy during World War II. Upon his discharge, he relocated to London after winning a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. There, he billed himself as Laurence Harvey, a name reportedly inspired by either the Harvey Nichols department store chain or the sherry Harvey's Bristol Cream. Even as a tyro actor, Harvey was well known for living far beyond his means, and allegedly worked as a male prostitute to make ends meet while performing with the Library Theatre.
He made his feature debut as a callous heel who caused his brother's own death in the low-budget thriller "House of Darkness" (1948), and would essentially repeat variations on that role throughout his career. Signed to contracts with Associated British Studios and later Romulus Pictures, Harvey labored through a string of undistinguished films and roles while working to establish himself as a stage star with the Memorial Theatre at Stratford. There, he received almost unanimously negative reviews, which were exacerbated by a series of self-aggrandizing interviews in which he staunchly defended his own talents. He finally landed a movie hit with his Hollywood debut, "King Richard and the Crusaders" (1954) opposite Rex Harrison and George Sanders, but almost immediately deflated any positive response with an aloof turn as Romeo in Renato Castellani's 1954 film version of "Romeo and Juliet," which won the Grand Prix at the Venice Film Festival, despite an abundance of critical brickbats. His debut on Broadway in "Island of Goats" (1955) closed after only a week, though it netted Harvey a Theatre World Award.
Upon his return to England, Harvey launched his film career with Romulus anew, though with decidedly unfortunate results. He was soundly panned for turns in Christopher Isherwood's "I Am a Camera" (1955), which later served as the inspiration for "Cabaret" (1972), and slogged through several more flops before landing his defining role in "Room at the Top" (1959). Cast as Joe Lampton, an ambitious and amoral social climber who left a wake of emotional destruction in his drive to success, Harvey's performance was cited as one of the defining elements of the New British Cinema, which eschewed the quaintness of the past in favor of gritty vérité stories of postwar London. He received both Oscar and BAFTA nominations for his performance, which re-ignited Hollywood's interest in him.
After another acclaimed turn in "Expresso Bongo" (1959) as an oily talent scout who exploited his latest discovery, a hapless pop star (Cliff Richard), Harvey began a lengthy tenure in Hollywood. He arrived with a bang, landing starring roles in two major features: the John Wayne-directed epic "The Alamo" (1960) and "Butterfield 8" (1960), starring Elizabeth Taylor. Both arrived in theaters with a thud, with budgetary overruns and a tasteless Oscar campaign sinking "The Alamo," and Taylor's scandalous union with co-star Eddie Fisher undermining "Butterfield," despite her Oscar win for Best Actress. He soldiered on, but found few viewers for "Walk on the Wild Side" (1962) or "Summer and Smoke" (1962), his second turn in a Tennessee Williams adaptation after "Butterfield 8." He was also developing a reputation as a difficult and unlikable performer on sets; his "Wild Side" co-star Capucine found him physically unappealing in their love scenes, while Jane Fonda spared no quarter to the press in describing Harvey as wooden and unprofessional. There was a brief uptick in popularity as one of the Brothers Grimm in "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm" (1962), and then a chance at renewed stardom with a controversial film being readied by director John Frankenheimer.
With "The Manchurian Candidate" (1962), Harvey found another perfect role in Raymond Shaw, an Army sergeant captured by the Communists during the Korean War who is programmed through subliminal suggestion to assassinate a string of political targets. The scion of a powerful conservative family, Shaw was handsome, charming, polite and a complete blank, having lost his identity to rigorous brainwashing. The soulless quality of the character seemed to echo Harvey's own emotionless core, and it seemed to realign his career in a positive direction. However, his subsequent pictures, which included his producing and directorial debut with the violent and surreal crime picture "The Ceremony" (1963) and Martin Ritt's "The Outrage" (1964) were pilloried in the press, with Harvey receiving the brunt of their ire.
He briefly rebounded with John Schlesinger's "Darling" (1965) as a cynical ad executive who romanced bored socialite Julie Christie, and reprised his star-making turn in "Life at the Top" (1965), a less well-received sequel to "Room at the Top." After that, his career went into a lengthy spiral, with careless performances in forgettable films like "The Spy with a Cold Nose" (1965). In 1968, he took over direction of the Cold War thriller "A Dandy in Aspic" when Anthony Mann died before its completion. The film also served as his introduction to model Paulene Stone, who became his third wife and the mother of his only child, Domino Harvey.
Harvey drifted through the early 1970s in a string of forgotten and failed projects. Some were well intentioned, like Stuart Rosenberg's "WUSA" (1970), which echoed his best-known role in "Manchurian Candidate" with its story of conspiracies and assassinations. Others, like "The Deep" (1970) for Orson Welles, never saw the light of day. He gave one final, full-bodied turn in a 1972 episode of "Night Gallery" (NBC, 1970-72) as a scheming rotter whose attempt to murder a rival backfired in a horrific manner. Audiences, however, could not help but notice that the actor, who was only 45, looked at least a decade older. The cause was stomach cancer, which claimed his life shortly after he completed "Welcome to Arrow Beach" (1973), a grisly horror film about a Korean War veteran-turned-cannibal. In death, he continued to receive slings and arrows from an array of sources ranging from actor Robert Stephens and Frank Sinatra's valet to wife Paulene Stone. His daughter, Domino, followed a similarly tragic career path that took her from model to bounty hunter before her death from a drug overdose in 2005. Her life story was highly fictionalized by director Tony Scott in "Domino" (2005) with Keira Knightley in the title role.
Born Laruschka Mischa Skikne in Joniskis, Lithuania on Oct. 1, 1928, Laurence Harvey was the youngest of three sons by Boris and Ella Skikne, who immigrated with their children to Johannesburg, South Africa in 1934. He joined the South African Army while still in his teens, and as a member of its entertainment unit, performed across Egypt and Italy during World War II. Upon his discharge, he relocated to London after winning a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. There, he billed himself as Laurence Harvey, a name reportedly inspired by either the Harvey Nichols department store chain or the sherry Harvey's Bristol Cream. Even as a tyro actor, Harvey was well known for living far beyond his means, and allegedly worked as a male prostitute to make ends meet while performing with the Library Theatre.
He made his feature debut as a callous heel who caused his brother's own death in the low-budget thriller "House of Darkness" (1948), and would essentially repeat variations on that role throughout his career. Signed to contracts with Associated British Studios and later Romulus Pictures, Harvey labored through a string of undistinguished films and roles while working to establish himself as a stage star with the Memorial Theatre at Stratford. There, he received almost unanimously negative reviews, which were exacerbated by a series of self-aggrandizing interviews in which he staunchly defended his own talents. He finally landed a movie hit with his Hollywood debut, "King Richard and the Crusaders" (1954) opposite Rex Harrison and George Sanders, but almost immediately deflated any positive response with an aloof turn as Romeo in Renato Castellani's 1954 film version of "Romeo and Juliet," which won the Grand Prix at the Venice Film Festival, despite an abundance of critical brickbats. His debut on Broadway in "Island of Goats" (1955) closed after only a week, though it netted Harvey a Theatre World Award.
Upon his return to England, Harvey launched his film career with Romulus anew, though with decidedly unfortunate results. He was soundly panned for turns in Christopher Isherwood's "I Am a Camera" (1955), which later served as the inspiration for "Cabaret" (1972), and slogged through several more flops before landing his defining role in "Room at the Top" (1959). Cast as Joe Lampton, an ambitious and amoral social climber who left a wake of emotional destruction in his drive to success, Harvey's performance was cited as one of the defining elements of the New British Cinema, which eschewed the quaintness of the past in favor of gritty vérité stories of postwar London. He received both Oscar and BAFTA nominations for his performance, which re-ignited Hollywood's interest in him.
After another acclaimed turn in "Expresso Bongo" (1959) as an oily talent scout who exploited his latest discovery, a hapless pop star (Cliff Richard), Harvey began a lengthy tenure in Hollywood. He arrived with a bang, landing starring roles in two major features: the John Wayne-directed epic "The Alamo" (1960) and "Butterfield 8" (1960), starring Elizabeth Taylor. Both arrived in theaters with a thud, with budgetary overruns and a tasteless Oscar campaign sinking "The Alamo," and Taylor's scandalous union with co-star Eddie Fisher undermining "Butterfield," despite her Oscar win for Best Actress. He soldiered on, but found few viewers for "Walk on the Wild Side" (1962) or "Summer and Smoke" (1962), his second turn in a Tennessee Williams adaptation after "Butterfield 8." He was also developing a reputation as a difficult and unlikable performer on sets; his "Wild Side" co-star Capucine found him physically unappealing in their love scenes, while Jane Fonda spared no quarter to the press in describing Harvey as wooden and unprofessional. There was a brief uptick in popularity as one of the Brothers Grimm in "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm" (1962), and then a chance at renewed stardom with a controversial film being readied by director John Frankenheimer.
With "The Manchurian Candidate" (1962), Harvey found another perfect role in Raymond Shaw, an Army sergeant captured by the Communists during the Korean War who is programmed through subliminal suggestion to assassinate a string of political targets. The scion of a powerful conservative family, Shaw was handsome, charming, polite and a complete blank, having lost his identity to rigorous brainwashing. The soulless quality of the character seemed to echo Harvey's own emotionless core, and it seemed to realign his career in a positive direction. However, his subsequent pictures, which included his producing and directorial debut with the violent and surreal crime picture "The Ceremony" (1963) and Martin Ritt's "The Outrage" (1964) were pilloried in the press, with Harvey receiving the brunt of their ire.
He briefly rebounded with John Schlesinger's "Darling" (1965) as a cynical ad executive who romanced bored socialite Julie Christie, and reprised his star-making turn in "Life at the Top" (1965), a less well-received sequel to "Room at the Top." After that, his career went into a lengthy spiral, with careless performances in forgettable films like "The Spy with a Cold Nose" (1965). In 1968, he took over direction of the Cold War thriller "A Dandy in Aspic" when Anthony Mann died before its completion. The film also served as his introduction to model Paulene Stone, who became his third wife and the mother of his only child, Domino Harvey.
Harvey drifted through the early 1970s in a string of forgotten and failed projects. Some were well intentioned, like Stuart Rosenberg's "WUSA" (1970), which echoed his best-known role in "Manchurian Candidate" with its story of conspiracies and assassinations. Others, like "The Deep" (1970) for Orson Welles, never saw the light of day. He gave one final, full-bodied turn in a 1972 episode of "Night Gallery" (NBC, 1970-72) as a scheming rotter whose attempt to murder a rival backfired in a horrific manner. Audiences, however, could not help but notice that the actor, who was only 45, looked at least a decade older. The cause was stomach cancer, which claimed his life shortly after he completed "Welcome to Arrow Beach" (1973), a grisly horror film about a Korean War veteran-turned-cannibal. In death, he continued to receive slings and arrows from an array of sources ranging from actor Robert Stephens and Frank Sinatra's valet to wife Paulene Stone. His daughter, Domino, followed a similarly tragic career path that took her from model to bounty hunter before her death from a drug overdose in 2005. Her life story was highly fictionalized by director Tony Scott in "Domino" (2005) with Keira Knightley in the title role.
Enjoy!
6:00 AM -- King Richard and the Crusaders (1954)
1h 54m | Adventure | TV-G
King Richard's attempts to win back the Holy Lands are complicated by his love of a tempestuous Englishwoman.
Director: David Butler
Cast: Rex Harrison, Virginia Mayo, George Sanders
One of the movies included in "The Fifty Worst Films of All Time (and how they got that way)" by Harry Medved and Randy Lowell. This film is now and forever infamous for the line "War, war, war! That's all you ever think about, Dick Plantagenet!"
8:00 AM -- The Good Die Young (1954)
1h 38m | Crime | TV-PG
Four thieves think back on the problems that led them to a daring heist.
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Cast: Laurence Harvey, Gloria Grahame, Richard Basehart
Several of the main cast lived up to the "dying young" part of the title. Laurence Harvey and Margaret Leighton were married in 1957 and divorced in 1961. She was made a CBE, won two Tony Awards, and died in 1976 at age 53. Harvey died in 1973 at age 45. Those of the remaining cast who also met a relatively early demise were Stanley Baker in 1976 at age 48, Susan Shaw in 1978 at age 49, Gloria Grahame in 1981 at 57, and James Kenney in 1987 at 56. As of late summer 2022, only Dame Joan Collins is still alive at age 88. Robert Morley was one cast member to buck the trend, passing in 1992 at age 84.
10:00 AM -- Life at the Top (1965)
1h 57m | Drama | TV-PG
After marrying the boss' daughter, a workingman begins to doubt his abilities.
Director: Ted Kotcheff
Cast: Laurence Harvey, Jean Simmons, Honor Blackman
John Braine, the Bradford born author of the original novel, was annoyed that Heather Sears did not reprise her role of Susan from Room at the Top (1958); he also said he had never approved of the casting of Laurence Harvey as Joe Lampton, despite the actor's great success in the role. Braine said that the Joe Lampton he had written about was "a red-blooded Yorkshireman, not a Lithuanian bisexual".
12:00 PM -- Two Loves (1961)
1h 40m | Romance | TV-PG
A conservative teacher struggles with her values while teaching natives in New Zealand.
Director: Charles Walters
Cast: Shirley MacLaine, Laurence Harvey, Jack Hawkins
Shirley MacLaine wrote that she and Laurence Harvey did not like each other. She found him pompous and insensitive. Once right before the director shouted "action", Harvey leaned toward her, scrutinized her left cheek and asked "What on earth is that?" and acted as though she had a hickey the size of Mount Fuji. Just when she was about to ask for a mirror, Harvey said "Never mind, they'll never notice, it's not your face you should be concerned about". MacLaine did a slow burn and went on with the scene. The next day they were to film a love scene. Before it, MacLaine ate a clove of raw garlic. "That settled his hash", she wrote.
1:45 PM -- The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962)
2h 9m | Epic | TV-G
Fanciful biography of the German fairy-tale collectors, with reenactments of three of their tales.
Director: Henry Levin
Cast: Laurence Harvey, Karl Boehm, Claire Bloom
Winner of an Oscar for Best Costume Design, Color -- Mary Wills
Nominee for Oscars for Best Cinematography, Color -- Paul Vogel, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- George W. Davis, Edward C. Carfagno, Henry Grace and Richard Pefferle, and Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment -- Leigh Harline
It was originally planned that Laurence Harvey and Karlheinz Böhm, in addition to playing the Brothers Grimm, would each play roles in all three of the Grimm fairy tales dramatized within the film. In the event, only Harvey had a secondary role, and only in the middle fairy tale shown, "The Cobbler And The Elves".
4:15 PM -- The Outrage (1964)
1h 37m | Western | TV-PG
A Mexican bandit's crimes receive wildly different interpretations from four witnesses.
Director: Martin Ritt
Cast: Paul Newman, Laurence Harvey, Claire Bloom
Paul Newman wasn't keen to take the role, but when he heard that his old rival Marlon Brando had turned it down, he accepted the part.
6:00 PM -- The Running Man (1963)
1h 43m | Suspense/Mystery | TV-PG
A man fakes his death to get back at the insurance company that denied an earlier claim.
Director: Carol Reed
Cast: Laurence Harvey, Lee Remick, Alan Bates
The fifty thousand pounds sterling insurance claim would equal about one hundred forty thousand U.S. dollars at the time, or 1.15 million U.S. dollars in 2018.
WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: SUMMER UNDER THE STARS -- LAURENCE HARVEY
8:00 PM -- The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
2h 6m | Drama | TV-PG
A Korean War hero doesn't realize he's been programmed to kill by the enemy.
Director: John Frankenheimer
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh
Nominee for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Angela Lansbury, and Best Film Editing -- Ferris Webster
Famous for his use of innovative camera angles, Writer, Producer, and Director John Frankenheimer was widely acclaimed for a shot that is slightly out of focus: Frank Sinatra showing the all-Queens deck of cards to Laurence Harvey. Frankenheimer said that rather than the shot being evidence of inspiration, it was an accident and merely the best take for Sinatra. Audiences interpreted it as Shaw's blurred perspective.
10:15 PM -- Walk on the Wild Side (1962)
1h 54m | Drama | TV-PG
A penniless farmer tracks the woman he loves to a New Orleans brothel.
Director: Edward Dmytryk
Cast: Laurence Harvey, Capucine, Jane Fonda
Nominee for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Elmer Bernstein (music) and Mack David (lyrics) for the song "Walk on the Wild Side"
According to Penny Stallings' 'Flesh and Fantasy,' when Barbara Stanwyck first encountered Laurence Harvey on the set lounging in his gold brocade bathrobe and drinking champagne, she walked up to him and said, "All right, Larry, let's go! Get your ass in gear. We've got a picture to make, and I don't have time for prima donnas!" After a moment of silence, this struck Harvey as highly amusing and he burst into laughter. He and Stanwyck immediately became friends.
12:15 AM -- Room at the Top (1959)
1h 55m | Drama | TV-PG
A young accountant claws his way to the top in the boardroom and the bedroom.
Director: Jack Clayton
Cast: Laurence Harvey, Simone Signoret, Heather Sears
Winner of Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Simone Signoret, and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium -- Neil Paterson
Nominee for Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- Laurence Harvey, Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Hermione Baddeley, Best Director -- Jack Clayton, and Best Picture
Although much emphasis is placed on Alice (Simone Signoret) being a lot older than her young lover Joe (Laurence Harvey), in real life Signoret was 37 years old, only eight years older than Harvey when the film was made in 1958.
2:30 AM -- Of Human Bondage (1964)
1h 38m | Drama | TV-PG
A medical student risks his future when he falls for a low-class waitress.
Director: Ken Hughes
Cast: Kim Novak, Laurence Harvey, Robert Morley
This was something of a catastrophe for MGM. Filming began early in 1963, but Henry Hathaway resigned as director and Bryan Forbes, who had a prominent supporting role, did a week of directing before also leaving the film. He tried without success to have his credit as writer of the screenplay removed and was replaced as an actor by Jack Hedley. (However, Forbes can be glimpsed, more or less as an extra, in one or two scenes.) Ken Hughes finished the film and reportedly had a very bad time; the film was many months in the editing rooms and was not seen until late in 1964, nearly a year after its scheduled release date. It ran for only 99 minutes - a surprise, as the novel is about 800 pages. It was a commercial and critical disaster, being released in the UK on the lower half of a double-bill. It has only infrequently been seen since, even on TV.
4:15 AM -- Night Watch (1973)
1h 45m | Suspense/Mystery | TV-PG
A woman recovering from mental problems witnesses a murder, but nobody believes her.
Director: Brian G. Hutton
Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Laurence Harvey, Billie Whitelaw
During production of this movie, Laurence Harvey was hit in the face in a fight with his wife, Paulene Stone. He sustained a black eye, which he was afraid would prevent him from completing the movie leading to a breach of contract suit. Concurrently, Dame Elizabeth Taylor had to take time off for illness, resulting in the production being stopped, saving Harvey from what he expected.