Simon Callow's Charles Laughton tribute (1987)

In this documentary from 1987, Simon Callow pays tribute to a great screen actor he saw as a child. It was Charles Laughton's unsurpassed performance as "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" that decided the young Simon to become an actor himself. This tribute traces Laughton's life from his birth in Scarborough, through his London stage successes, to screen immortality in such 1930's films as "The Private Life of Henry VIII", "Mutiny on the Bounty", "Rembrandt" and many others, as well as those he made towards the end of his life, including "Witness for the Prosecution", "Spartacus" and "Advise and Consent." The programme includes interviews with Rex Harrison, Robert Mitchum and Peter Ustinov, as well as other friends and colleagues of Laughton. Simon Callow is also a director and author and his books include "Charles Laughton - A Difficult Actor" along with several volumes devoted to Orson Welles. His Laughton tribute documentary is uploaded here with all due acknowledgements to Channel 4 and Yorkshire Television.
Two years after making this Laughton TV tribute, Simon Callow turned his attention to other great actors from the English stage, including Ralph Richardson, Sybil Thorndike, Albert Finney, John Gielgud, Noel Coward, Edith Evans, Michael Redgrave, Richard Burton, Laurence Olivier, Vanessa Redgrave and Maggie Smith. Here is the link to another fascinating Callow programme ...
• Simon Callow on 'Great...

[@ThesySurface]

“Less interested in catering more interested in presentation…he did his best to run the hotel like a sort of show.” Love it.

[@JackReynolds-w7g]

If I could choose the greatest from the last 100 years of cinema.

[@richardgagnon71]

Mr. Laughton’s performance as Quasimodo is to me the single greatest performance on film.

[@sparkleypegs8350]

Peter Ustinovs impression of Laughtons face is brilliant!

[@ManfromuncoolBlogspotstars]

Simon Callow looking quite the young honey, points off only for chest hair. Oh, and it's a very decent doco, too.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

My favorite performance of his is Sir Wilfrid The Barrister in Witness For The Prosecution.

[@randysills4418]

Me too! I also thought that his wife, Elsa Lanchester, did an outstanding job as the barrister's nurse! ❤

[@john-y1i6l]

Just want to mention the wonderful Hobson's Choice

[@chrisn7259]

Thanks so much for posting this, I never knew it existed. Because he is such a fine actor himself and a brilliant writer, Callow's biography of Laughton is remarkable. I re-read it nearly every year.

[@SSArcher11]

Laughton served in World War I, during which he was gassed, serving first with the 2/1st Battalion of the Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalion, and then with the 7th Battalion of the Northamptonshire Regiment. -- Wikipedia

[@celygarcia8453]

Excellent documentary *****

[@waltsudol7198]

What a great actor his performance of the hunchback was amazing & sympathetic at the end reducing you to tears , he along with karloff, lorre , rathbone are in a class by themselves !

[@gerardtoner9191]

Huge thanks to Simon for this wonderful insightful tribute ,I've seen them all , Why did the likes of Chaplin and ustinoff go to learn from him ? Maybe like me they knew mr laughton was by far , head and shoulders above the rest . They say stars light up the screen, laughton was for me was the greatest light of all that shone upon the rest

[@fredfungalspore]

My late mother was a great Movie Buff She always said Charles Laughton and Richard Widmark were two of the finest actors with No exceptions I have a very rare Laser Disc copy of a movie with Charles Laughton called The Tuttles of Tahiti sadly never seen on free to air or pay tv...... Thankyou for posting I have never seen this before 🙏.

[@aaarrrggghhhh]

The Turtles of Tahiti is on KZbin.

[@garymitchell5899]

@@aaarrrggghhhh A very rare copy only available to 500 million people.

[@VICTOBERN]

Simon pays a most interesting tribute to Charles Laughton by way of obvious research and empathy. I remember seeing THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME as a boy and finding Charles's performance extraordinary and deeply moving. And as Simon astutely points out, a performance which does not convey self pity, but nevertheless registers the vulnerability of the man utterly convincingly.

[@shursts]

I had the pleasure of watching this in a private carrel at the BFI in 1996 and I have not been able to find it since. Thank you so much for making it available to us. It's greatly appreciated.

[@JacksonTaylorandTheSinners]

Charles Lawton is the greatest actor to ever be committed to celluloid. He’s an absolute savage. I think Ruggles of Red Gap is my favorite movie of his. I’ve looked for Red Gap Washington. Haven’t found it. Roland Young is also brilliant in that movie. I hope that little cabin of his is still there. I’d love to make a pilgrimage one day. I have a few of his records. They are him realign various plays and eases. Really cool stuff.

[@DrAgan_tortojed]

His performances as Captain in "Mutiny on the Bounty" and a rascal in "Jamaica Inn" are absolute summit of the art of acting.

[@sparkleypegs8350]

The first film I saw him in was The Hunchback of Notre Dame when I was in my early teens and fell in love with that movie and with Laughton. Watched Rembrandt and The Private Life of Henry the 8th many times but one of my fave movie performances was Island of Lost souls. He is hilariously villainously great in that movie. That man had imagination and a lot of talent.

[@Deliquescentinsight]

Charles was able to convey a highly natural, almost casual acceptance of each role, you believed him because he became the character. I have no problem according Mr Laughton the highest acclaim.

[@HarryFlowerrs]

Charles Laughton was an absolutely brilliant actor and director!❤

[@eshaibraheem4218]

He was so mesmerising, I found him very attractive.

[@aresee8208]

Seems to me, Callow is trying to describe Laughton as a method actor without ever calling him that.

[@4444marla]

He had true genius. One of the best actor’s in history!

[@laytonjones2093]

Callow's book on Laughton is amazing

[@jec1ny]

One of the greats. He was taken from us far too soon.

[@anitarichmond8930]

Charles Laughton had the goods, I’ve seen him in a lot of movies, and he never gave a bad performance rather, he was the villain which he played often or if he played a more sympathetic role, he was always brilliant… and let’s not forget about his directorial debut with “The Night Of The Hunter” bravo! 🎭🎟️🍿🥤

[@PaulHFleming]

Night of the Hunter was absolutely beautifully visual film. However, the dialogue was somewhat stifled.

[@timjones6641]

A really fine tribute to a great actor. Full marks Simon Callow!

[@stevendaniel8126]

The epitome of the tortured genius...

[@stephenoconnor9904]

Charles Laughton, even the very mention of his name just brings honour and greatness within all of his work in his great & Legionary Career.

[@HarryFlowerrs]

Charles Laughton was one of my favourite actors, absolutely brilliant artist! RIP ❤

[@greatlambrini8722]

Why did this man not get a knighthood?

[@JeffMathias]

The best actors are irascible, Marlene Dietrich too.

[@cultvult]

Lol. I thought it was a Monty Python parody when it started. But I do love Charles Laughton, and my favorites of his, although there’s so many, are Captain Kidd, Jamaica Inn, and Hobson’s Choice. So over the top in all of them. One of the greats

[@ricardocantoral7672]

As Peter Ustinov stated, Laughton, even in a state of total repose, appeared to be doing too much. I think he was capable of being subtle but his mannerisms and appearance made him seem more colorful than he was.

[@patcronenberg2258]

Ustinov also said that when Olivier and Laughton acted in Spartacus, Laughton was in another class and showed his talent in total controll whereas Olivier tried to dominate vehemently. Sheer class act

[@myrahenderson5798]

So good

[@djd620]

Charles Laughton, great as he was, did not write Night of the Hunter. James Agee, the great critic, did.

[@PaulHFleming]

I never realized Von Stronburg, the director of 1930s I, Claudius was going through nervous breakdown. Indeed his insecurities towards production seems have affected Laughton and rest of the cast. The Automobile accident which almost killed Merle Oberon( Messalina) put final nail in coffin of film.

[@harri2626]

An excellent documentary which examined Laughton's skills so well. I wonder how he would have coped had he lived in our time. His talent for character acting would no doubt have been seized upon by the media and been given inappropriate roles in blockbuster movies with no depth. My favourite Laughton role was in "Hobson's Choice" when he could fall back on his inherited northern accent.

[@fabiengerard8142]

‘Hobson’s Choice’ !!! 👌🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@kaythomas8521]

Laughton one of the best actors in history

[@alidabaxter5849]

I adore "Hobsons Choice" and also "Witness for the Prosecution" but it's interesting to me that great directors like Billy Wilder and David Lean thought he was brilliant - he really truly was.

[@PaulHFleming]

Peter Ustinov's four year old Son: " Who is this lady?" Refer to Laughton. Ustinov: This is very famous actor whom your father working with at this time. Ustinov's Son: " Then why does he have breasts?" 😂😂😂😂

[@TS-1267]

... I Don't Mind A Bit Of Mr. Callow... And Mr. Laughton For That Matter... Splendiferous Indeed 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🥂🖖

[@lindathorson8341]

To hear Simon Callow think, which I felt I was watching him do as his understanding of Laughton the man and actor begins, and deepens, was compelling. Simon drew me into his own mind as he was drawn into Laughton's and together we made a journey of discovery into this actors gifts, into his very particular art of acting. This was to use himself to inform his characters, daring to put realism on a grand scale, an unparalleled paradox of sublime stage and film craft, melted into his own insecurities. Callow is so watchable with his handsome face, warm voice and manner, I found I ended up where he did, feeling a sense of awe and respect for Laughton, plus a longing to see all his films from beginning to end.

[@adam28xx]

Thanks for your comment. You might like to see a complete listing of Laughton's movies by clicking this link ... kzbin.info/www/bejne/oqWspWOifch-ia8

[@jonathanfunnell4167]

I Love Simon Callow With All My Heart And I Always Will

[@myrahenderson5798]

Great

[@StoptheHateJustDebate]

So deserving! I think much of the same can be said of Callow!

[@john-y1i6l]

His looks were a paradox; they contributed greatly to his towering and compelling presence on the screen.

[@jadezee6316]

no they didnt they showed his talent because he wasnt getting by on looks alone like most actors do....

[@oneblueorange]

This is TV greatness.

[@geminisundone]

Scarborough's finest! ✌️

[@julianmarsh8384]

The best.

[@DavidCates-hh5tx]

Excellent commentary of an incredibly complex and complicated man. After over 60 years, the world still hasn’t seen his like in film.

[@elizabethcsicsery-ronay1633]

I agree.

[@leesloan8216]

I'm amazed how much Peter Kay looks like a very young Charles Laughton.

[@stewartstafford]

I was thinking about who they'd cast in a remake of The Old Dark House in Laughton's role and Peter Kay came to mind. Good minds think alike!

[@stevenklimecky4918]

Wow - have never seen Simon Callow this young before.

[@bobschaaf2549]

And HOT!

[@chrisn7259]

@@bobschaaf2549 Hot, and as we know from A Room With a View, nicely endowed.

[@OldDood]

Just a few years before he was in Amadeus.

[@Moonheartgirl]

I just saw him in "The Good Father" starring an equally youthful Anthony Hopkins. It was released in the UK in 1985. Simon is delicious as a crafty and cheeky barrister.

[@wildrover9650]

Simon callow greatest roll and one of the greatest movies ever made was ACE VENTURA 2.

[@BrianJosephMorgan]

Very interesting.

[@forgottentelevisiondrama2750]

Tx: 30 August 1987

[@forthenews9659]

thank you Charles (Henry Hobson 1954)..

[@nylesfrench3568]

One of the Greatest of all Time.

[@pippipster6767]

Bloody hell, it goes from his school to his funeral within 90 seconds!

[@denisetrott5085]

I adore night of the hunter ....Great thespian

[@TheJohnpandy]

My favourite actor. John Sivorn ❤️

[@edwardoneil3962]

Definitely a true genius.

[@amesadamson]

thanks again.

[@ozzietadziu]

Brabo!

[@13strange67]

Wow Callow has (his hair at least) aged dramatically during the broadcast of this documentary

[@thomasbarker2888]

Callow's a wonderful actor and writer, but my god this presentation is awful. The stilted manner of the speech is excruciating, it almost sounds like he has trapped wind or something: "He....... finallyallowedhimselfthefreedomof......arelationshipwithaman". Wonderfully illuminating, but tough and irritatingly mannered to get through.

[@StoptheHateJustDebate]

Oh, have a day off, mate.

[@PaulHFleming]

I agree that Callow's presentation was very annoying and seem indifferent, I didn't get impression of admiration which clearly he tried to convey to us