BECKET
(1964)
If Hal Wallis’ 1964 production of Becket couldn’t be as interesting as its
subject matter, it should have been merely dull instead of dull and silly,
but, alas, it is both. The silliness is provided by stars Richard Burton and
Peter ‘O Toole, the supposedly "great" actors who are, more often than not,
ludicrous hams. Both have given great performances (O’ Toole in Lawrence of
Arabia and Burton in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) but most of their work
is laughably bad. Appearing together, the two drinking buddies demonstrate
that they had as much discipline on the soundstage as they did in the pubs.
They laugh and dance about in that ever so theatrical way for which these
English actors are known, and make a mockery of the serious theme which
concerns King Henry II’s attempt to subvert the rulings of the Catholic
church by appointing his buddy, Thomas Becket, to the position of bishop.
Henry believes that Becket will be his puppet, not the Pope’s. Becket,
however, comes to believe in and worship God, a change of heart and mind
that leads to his execution.
Based on the play by Jean Anouilh, the screenplay was penned by Edward Anhalt who was given the prized project only after agreeing to script one of producer Wallis’ Elvis Presley vehicles, Girls! Girls! Girls!. Anholt won an Oscar for his work (the film got twelve nominations in all, including nods for O’ Toole, Burton, and best picture), but its merits are sabotaged by the performers and the direction of Peter Glenville, who might have had an easier time attempting to coax disciplined performances from Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin than he had working with Burton and O’ Toole. One can almost see these bad boy Brits downing one drink after another, then bragging about still being able to perform, or possibly bragging about being unable to perform. Frankie and Dino may have been just as cavalier in their work habits, but neither were ever considered actors on a par with Burton and O’ Toole nor were they ever offered a project as serious as Becket. Elvis Presley, on the other hand, was said to be very serious about his acting, and, if he had no discipline when it came to food and drugs, he had tremendous discipline when he was in front of the cameras. Edward Anhalt’s script for Girls! Girls! Girls! didn’t win an Oscar and didn’t deserve to, but, unlike Becket, it appears to have been treated with some respect by the star.
What you do get in Becket is some typically fine supporting work from John Gielgud, Pamela Brown, and Donald Wolfit, some great sets and a lot of fancy expensive looking costumes. But so what? This is a big movie produced by a big time producer and released by Paramount Pictures. This isn’t some made in Spain sword and sandal mini-epic, so the lush surroundings and supporting performances are to be expected. You would also expect the lead performances to match the otherwise impeccable production values. Thanks to Burton and O’ Toole, Becket, like so much of the drek to which these actors have lent their names, is a long, painful experience.
© Copyright 1999, Brian W. Fairbanks. All Rights Reserved.
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