Sir Laurence Olivier Discusses Stage, Screen and Michael Caine | The Dick Cavett Show

[@darrylwynwilliams1760]

Sleuth (1972) is a masterpiece in my opinion. RIP Sir Laurence - you were the Greatest actor of all time .

[@photo161]

Olivier, who to this day is still regarded as perhaps the greatest actor of all time, is an absolutely fascinating storyteller. And what a wonderful face he has, incidentally.

[@NxDoyle]

I would say that Olivier was the greatest of his generation. He was a master of certain styles, but naturalism and method left him both cold, and rather out of fashion. There's no doubt that he is one of the greatest of all time. I can't say that he struggled to render a character as a human, as opposed to vice versa. I have no doubt that he would have succeeded had he tried. But he was fairly resolute in his opposition to method, even naturalism. He believed in elevating characters.

[@pix046]

He is actually all that you said and incredibly nice, too.

[@elizabethcsicsery-ronay1633]

@@NxDoyleI thought he was the greatest actor of them all, until I got into Charles Laughton. He was more natural.Laughton on Method acting: A Method actor gives you a photograph, a real actor gives you an oil painting. That's brilliant. I never thought of it.

[@elizabethcsicsery-ronay1633]

@@NxDoyleI agree with him about elevating characters. These days all we got is lowtier humans, bank robbers, hitmen, Mafiosos, or idiotic Marvel comix characters.

[@johnnyhammer]

This is a man who looks in complete control of himself. Rather inspiring.

[@ThePlutarch44]

And Cavett is equally brilliant in his own way. What a marvelous interviewer. I doubt that there has been anyone better.

[@NxDoyle]

He has equals. But I can't think of anyone better, especially when you consider that his late night career coincided with that of the man who refined and perfected the format. Cavett's old boss, Johnny Carson. It was absolutely the right thing for Cavett to do, to stick with interviews, make them longer, more detailed, book guests that would allow for real conversation, not people he had to nurse through 5-7 minutes of anodyne blather and the obligatory plug.

[@annedwyer797]

Dick Cavett is a bright guy, but there was always a smugness to his interview style that was irritating, for me at least. It always seemed that as far as he was concerned, the interview was at least as much about how clever/witty he was as it was about the guest. For my money, Terry Gross of NPR's "Fresh Air" is the best interviewer there is.

[@bendover9663]

Michael Parkinson

[@nkt1]

@@bendover9663 Parky was always a bit too far up his own arse for my liking.

[@elizabethcsicsery-ronay1633]

He was great, so natural and humble.

[@rhondabrunswick476]

What an absolute pleasure it is to see the late, great Laurence Olivier on a talk show with a live audience, he was marvelous. I believe that he did perform his greatest acting on the stage, and wish that he would have done more, and better, films for posterity’s sake ~ I’m still your number one fan, Lord Larry ~ even even 53 years after first experiencing you on film!

[@MalteWilsen]

I am always impressed when I see him and cannot believe how he was able to transform to a monster like Szell, in Marathon Man. His acting skills must have been as good as it gets.

[@ysgol3]

He was already suffering horribly with his nerves at this time, very soon after this 1973 interview his health collapsed with all kinds of illnesses, including cancer, and although he did a lot later he was never the same man again. Incredible how he disguises his problems here, seeming so relaxed and confident.

[@briz1965]

Good interview. Dick was on his best behavior. Just finishing L.O's. biography. Laurence did so much for the UK & USA, his travels between the two would be unimaginable today, this was before WW2. A great hero of stage, no wonder he made movies sound bad, because they are.

[@stevecox7075]

A great man, and one of the greatest actors who has ever lived.

[@Peter-rg4ng]

Pure elegance.

[@elizabethcsicsery-ronay1633]

Absolutely.

[@calcecini]

Thank you so much for uploading these, it’s really amazing. This may have been the only time Olivier made a talk show appearance with a live studio audience. It would be great if one day you could upload a segment of this interview that included his brief reading from Milton’s Paradise Lost - I’ve never forgotten it - I think Dick says to him “would you lay some Milton on us?”and as Olivier recites, the lights go down and the camera pans right into his face. Awesome.

[@acchaladka]

Is it not available on the box set of Cavett shows?

[@annedwyer797]

It's near the end of this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eHLceGiXZ65gh6s

[@juanmonge8]

I believe that it was a sonnet by Shakespeare. Unless I missed Milton.

[@calcecini]

juan monge In the video above it is indeed a Shakespeare Sonnet, but I was requesting the Milton passage that Olivier also read later in the interview, and they were kind enough to upload it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eHLceGiXZ65gh6s He recites it towards the end of the video- It’s from Paradise Lost ( adapted by Olivier).

[@kyawkyawwin1]

Sleuth is one of the greatest films I have seen - and I must have seen it over 10 times.

[@juanmonge8]

It was remade a few years ago. It was originally a Broadway play.

[@EvaFariou]

Laurence Olivier...Great actor,amazing human,beautiful man.... 💖☝

[@Josingable]

I was 17, it was New Years Eve and i was babysitting alone. Hamlet appeared on my TV and the sheer sound of his voice hypnotised me. To this day i am still in love with him. To those who say he cant perform Naturalism or method. Youre wrong. He took on the Godfathers of Naturalism ‐ Ibsen, Strindberg and Chekhov. He performed in some of the hardest plays and characters.

[@jasonite]

I really love his points, contrasting film and stage, I hadn't though about it that way before

[@TV-fu1ec]

Very informative about acting. I want to see more plays!

[@tr7b410]

What a humble man.

[@shirvy]

His descriptions are brilliant!!!!

[@nataliacaetano6326]

Damn it...He was gorgeous when is speaking....well...he was gorgeous ANYWAY!!!😍

[@SpaceCattttt]

You're not so bad yourself.

[@AntUasalÓNiadh]

If you needed to be wooed by a man with an English accent, do get in touch. 😅

[@AmericasChoice]

Great description of the dichotomy between film and stage.

[@benjaminglover1570]

Best actor here is Cavett. Thanks Dick for always giving your guests plenty of room to move and staying silent when the erge was on.

[@thomaschacko6320]

“Sleuth” was one of the masterpieces of Lord Olivier’s later career. One of the few films successfully adapted from a stage play. Olivier and Michael Caine were perfect together. (Please ignore the remake with Caine in the lead!)

[@elizabethgalligan1805]

Pure class😊😍👏

[@springsogourne]

An underrated and relatively unknown film that is absolutely brilliant. You can find it on KZbin as of 2/4/22. There is a huge mystery in who sang the 3 Cole Porter songs featured in the film - huge mystery. If anyone knows, please reply to this. There has been a thread going for over 20 years trying to figure out who sang the songs in the film,. Lots of speculation, but not discovered yet. It appears to be a studio voice actor, so if someone has payroll records of the film, that would be the way to find out. Unfortunately I fear we will never know. The credits say words and music by Cole Porter, but it does not say who performed or sang the songs.

[@BenjaminGessel]

I mean, this guy is right up there with Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, Peter O'Toole, etc. LEGEND...

[@tubularbill]

Olivier is what they aspired too….

[@ashleyburns6752]

The last show I remember like this was Parkinson (UK). I dont they exist anymore, maybe certain podcasts or radio shows have great conversations.

[@wotan10950]

Fascinating. Two anecdotes about Olivier…….during filming of Wuthering Heights, the famed Hollywood director, William Wyler, told Olivier, “Larry, that was awful! Don’t project to the last row of the theater, make it small for the camera.” Olivier said it was the best advice he’d ever received in Hollywood. Then, in a discussion about technique, for which Olivier was famed, the great soprano, Joan Sutherland, said “Well, I’m sure Olivier never showed the technique to the public.” Her husband, the noted conductor, Richard Bonynge, shot back, “Sometimes he did, indeed! Of course, in his great roles, he didn’t show the technique, but it was the foundation of his work.”

[@pauldickinson6943]

a brilliant actor ( that goes without saying really ) and lovely bloke.

[@Filmbuf-g2k]

Ive just watched Sleuth for the first time and its brilliant .. ..ive also seen The boys from Brazil umpteen times since I first saw it as a teenager in the 80s.....one of my favourite films due to how great the 2 main actors are...Gregory Peck is so over the top as Mengele...its great .

[@ranavalona24]

Interesting to hear his comments on the differences between acting for the stage and for films. Years ago, Michael Caine made a fascinating series of workshops, viewable on YT, on acting for the camera. I wonder now how much Caine learned from his time working with Olivier on "Sleuth".

[@jimsmith3091]

My God we need show like this now.

[@elizabethcsicsery-ronay1633]

Do we ever?

[@tubularbill]

Olivier is what Brando, Bogart, Henry Fonda, Nicholson, ect - all the greats aspire too….

[@nedd.8479]

Sleuth is a masterpiece.

[@robg71]

Class.

[@stevejames5863]

olivier of course, one of the great actors of all time. and seeing in him like something like wuthering heights, and also say, rebecca, is quite stunning. however, brando, brando to me is terrifyingly good, he is incredibly powerful, versatile actor...and very unique also.[at the time]

[@tommonk7651]

Sleuth is brilliant!

[@どうも高之]

I like his voice, so sweet and impressive. But never have heard same opinion. Does anyone agree?

[@46metube]

I thought The Entertainer is one of his best. Marvellous darling.

[@peterrichards931]

When actors had 1000 times the skill and character of actors today...

[@pippipster6767]

LOL ‘Ding’ means ‘thing’ or ‘fling’ - but looks like DC thought it meant f*** 🤣

[@TheZetec63]

He talked you listened!.

[@zeddeka]

Alec Guiness was famously mistrustful of Olivier, saying in his diary: "I greatly admired his extraordinary courage … as a comedian he was superb … technically brilliant … he was a great actor." "Like so many people whose ambition drive them to great eminence, he had a cruel and destructive streak. Side by side with his generosity, he could be unpleasant, possibly even vindictive. Consciously or not, he made attempts to destroy John G [Gielgud], [Michael] Redgrave, [Paul] Scofield and if he had been given the chance, me."

[@tomnorton4277]

Alec Guiness also told a story about the religious fervour he saw in the eyes of a child who had watched Star Wars. It concerned him. I get the feeling that Guiness was, by nature, a man who was hesitant to trust. I'm not sure how much that says about him and how much it says about Laurence Olivier.

[@douglasdickerson5184]

👏🏻

[@HappyinJapan358]

The UK’s finest actor for sure. Cant speak for the entire world tho

[@Gannooch]

is this channel ever going to show the Dick Cavett shows where he interviews Jackie Gleason or Art Carney? How about any Honeymooners actors that were a part of the main cast?

[@Gannooch]

How about any Honeymooners actors that were part of the main cast? These are rarities much like the other videos around here.

[@davidstevens3934]

I would imagine there were quite a few husbands that suspected Olivier of having a 'ding' with their wives.

[@clayteunis9282]

Where's the clip?

[@KLASSCULTURE]

A ding ding 😁🤣😁🤣😁🤣

[@juanmonge8]

He “Pillowed” her.

[@doctornov7]

3:18 timestamp

[@doctornov7]

thank you, past self

[@irish66]

Spellbinding

[@GRdirector]

brand new

[@tiffsaver]

I'd rather listen to Olivier just chat amicably off the cuff than to see most actors act.

[@thepixalking6589]

My god, this man is charismatic. In an era where I've watched maybe 5 films in 5 years because Hollywood is utter garbage and SJW bullshit, he makes me want to go back and watch all his works.

[@annedwyer797]

He certainly was charismatic and riveting to watch/listen to. My favorite of his films is "The Entertainer", partly because it was a big departure from the classics that he's so well-know for, and partly because he was quoted as saying that he really was the character of Archie Rice. Amazing that despite what a talented and accomplished actor Olivier was, he felt like the fraud his character was.

[@thesaintst1851]

Bermondsey south of London?… surely East?

[@wmorris189]

Er it’s in London and south of the river. Hope that helps, also the Caine is from Lambeth also south of the river, but not Bermondsey. I detect a bit of Olivier snobbery here.

[@anthonytripp2251]

Cavetts feet barely reach the floor. I watched to hear Olivier but the in-studio audio is terrible.

[@footballbabybaby]

Wat u call a gentleman

[@timthatshim8037]

Oh wow! At the very end I'm sure that was so uncomfortable and terrifying for Sir Lawrence when Dick Cavett asks without thinking, how were you put up to kissing another man, when Sir Lawrence was gay and deeply closeted, although it was an open secret in the theater and film world. I'm sure Dick had heard rumors or completely knew he was gay, so it was very unkind for him to ask how he came to kiss another man.

[@jctoyou]

Yes he was that gay he was married 3 times and had 4 children , so at most he might have been bisexual if at all!

[@wellesradio]

Tim Irwin I’d ask you to cite your sources, as I’m sure you’ve read all the tabloids. Or perhaps you read it on a blog. Or in Kenneth Anger’s books. Or simply from the mouths of some gossiping old biddys who used to do burlesque dinner theater in off-licence clubs. Gay? Hardly. You really should read Terry Coleman’s biography, as he had access to all the Olivier correspondence the man himself saved up over the years. The Ainsley relationship perhaps suggested something, but it’s mostly on the part of Ainsley which Olivier may have flirted with. That’s miles away from being “deeply closeted”. But I suppose closet-theorists, like all conspiracy theorists, take a lack of evidence as proof of a coverup.

[@Slice9878]

They don't have artists like him anymore.