The Entertainer (1960)

The Entertainer (1960) – Archie Rice (Olivier) used to be a headliner in English music halls.  But the music hall is dying out and Rice’s star has faded out.  He will do whatever he must to stay on stage, no matter who it hurts.

Directed by Tony Richardson                      Starring Laurence Olivier, Joan Plowright, Albert Finney

Why I Liked It – One of the greatest English actors of the 20th Century gets a special character to explore.  Charismatic, self-centered and broken, Archie Rice lets Olivier fly.

Archie Rice is a role written for Olivier, at his request.  Playwright John Osborne was one of the rising new generation in the English theater, while Olivier was already a member of the “Old Guard”.  So he asked Osborne to give a role that would give him a foothold in this new era.  “The Entertainer” worked like a charm.  Olivier would get a Tony nomination for the stage show’s run on Broadway, and an Oscar for the movie version.

An allegory for England’s fading light in the post-war world, “The Entertainer” gives us a character caught between the glorious past and the dismal present.  Archie’s dad was a superstar, while Archie was just popular.  The music hall scene (think vaudeville in the U.S.) was dead, but his identity is bound to being a stage performer.  Trapped by his inability to see a future that is an exact copy of the past, Archie will sacrifice everything and everyone around him.

Olivier is stunning here.  Surrounded by wonderful supporting actors, everything swirls around Archie.  By the time they made the movie, Olivier knew the role to the tiniest detail, and it shows here.  The setting feels very old (it is 60 years ago!), and that may be a small hurdle for younger viewers.  But the performance is everything you could want.

Joan Plowright, who plays Rice’s daughter, would marry Olivier the following year.  Their marriage lasted till his death in 1989.

Rating **** Recommended