Last night, as I was enjoying one of the most delicious mixed drinks that has ever passed my lips at Canoe's River Bar in Vinings (a basil-rhubarb concoction that was simply heavenly), my Dad and I were discussing two of my most favorite actors: Sir Alec Guinness and William Holden. These Academy Award winning actors are two people I would have loved to have met. Some of their film roles are so iconic, so memorable, so fantastic that I urge everyone to check out their movies - if you haven't done so already - including the one in which they co-starred - The Bridge on the River Kwai (has the whistling in your head started yet?).
I think this next line goes without saying, but most people know Alec Guinness as Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi from the original Star Wars films. Now don't get me wrong, I love Star Wars and I love that character! But for Guinness, it was a role he almost regretted doing because after that, people focused solely on Obi-Wan, and overlooked his previous filmography. Which is absolutely blasphemous! Guinness starred in a number of the classic Ealing comedies, from Kind Hearts and Coronets (where he played 8 different characters) to The Lavender Hill Mob to The Lady Killers, then won his Best Actor Oscar for his fantastic performance as Col. Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai before continuing on to work with director David Lean in Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago. I mean, MY GOD! Brilliant! He made other films with Lean, but those three are probably his most memorable, and easily the most epic. He also worked with Grace Kelly in a film called The Swan in which Grace played a princess, just before becoming a real-life one. Guinness worked both in film and television until his death in 2000, but for me, the films mentioned here are his best. I mean, honestly, if you've only seen him in Star Wars Episodes 4-6, get your act in gear and watch at least one of the ones discussed in this post.
And William Holden. Oh Bill Holden. Like Lorelai Gilmore, William Holden will always have a special place in my heart. There's just something about him. I mean, whatever IT is, Bill Holden had IT. My first exposure to him was probably in The Bridge on the River Kwai where he plays the American POW annoyed with the British commander played by Guinness. And he's fantastic. Just brilliant. But my most favorite Holden role and movie is as Joe Gillis in Sunset Blvd. It's a film that stands the test of time, with its cynicism and insight into what Hollywood pressures entail, issues that still ring true today just as they did in 1950. I also love him in Sabrina, even though his character is such a playboy, and of course Network - a film late in his career - but another powerful and prophetic film about the dangers of the media. My Dad says that his favorite Holden film is Executive Suite - also fantastic - and of course there's Stalag 17 for which he won his Best Actor statuette. Then there's The Wild Bunch which, I can't say is a movie I love, but I did thoroughly enjoy watching him, Robert Ryan, Edmond O'Brien, and Ernest Borgnine battle it out - all four such fantastic older actors assimiliating to the new wave of the late 60s American filmmaking. Again, check out any and all these Holden films - they're fanastic!
Anyhow, I got to thinking more about last night's conversation with my Dad, and I had to share with you all. These two men are two of the greatest actors of the 20th century, and their films are ones you each should check out. Right now. Go. Go. GO!
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