Some winters they drop like flies, etc. I’d only just finished writing another obituary earlier today when I learned (via Found Objects) of the death of one of my favourite actors, Graham Crowden.
When I say “favourite actors”, I mean, to my knowledge I only ever saw him in four films, and he plays the same character in two of them, but he certainly made an impression.
He was superb as the History master in Lindsay Anderson’s “If...”, he brought a memorable dose of character to the potentially dull role of Dr. Smiles in “The Final Programme”, but he will above all be remembered (by us weirdos anyway) for Dr. Millar, a minor character in Anderson’s “O Lucky Man” who went on to assume awe-inspiring mad scientist gravitas in 1982’s misunderstood masterpiece “Britannia Hospital”.
It’s been a while since I watched “Britannia Hospital”, so I don’t recall the exact dialogue, but the moment when Crowden single-handedly halts a chaotic pitch battle between rioting demonstrators, police, hospital workers and an embattled royal entourage, swinging open a set of double doors, raising his arms like a priest and bellowing something like, “LITTLE MEN, LITTLE MEN, DO YOU WISH TO SEE THE FUTURE..??” , will forever live in my memory.
Dr. Millar’s (and by extension, Lindsay Anderson’s) closing address to the world a few minutes later is viewable on Youtube. I’d advise anyone who has yet to see “Britannia Hospital” to watch the whole film first rather than spoiling the ending for themselves, but for those who still wish to click 'play' below, the following six minutes offer a fine testament to Graham Crowden’s talents;
According to Crowden’s wikipedia page, he; “…was offered the role of the Fourth Doctor in Doctor Who in 1974, when Jon Pertwee left the role, but turned it down, informing producer Barry Letts that he was not prepared to commit himself to the series for three years. The role ultimately went to Tom Baker. He did, however, appear in The Horns of Nimon (1979) as a villain opposite Baker.”
So there ya go. Needless to say, I think he would have made a brilliant Doctor.
No comments:
Post a Comment