Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Vital Viewing (Finishing Off Edition)

 


British actor Albert Finney was born on this day in 1936 (he died, unforgivably unbeknownst to me at the time, in 2019.) In 1982 he sat down for a chat with the utterly American talk show host David Letterman: 



Suaveness to spare. Finney, I mean. As for Letterman, he must have known he couldn't compete in that area, and so didn't even bother putting on a tie. Cute, indeed!





The hit 1963 film, based on Henry Fielding's 1749 novel, consumed much of Letterman's and Finney's discussion, but as you'll see in the following clip, the consumption doesn't stop there. Joyce Redman is Albert's/Tom's dinner companion. Watch:




Now, what are we to make of that?!




"Here’s one thing you can try on your own that might do the trick (assuming that you’ve seen a doctor and ruled out anything that requires treatment). There’s a French saying, 
l’appetit vient en mangeant which describes the situation of not being hungry, but then sitting down to eat and finding that your appetite has kicked in. This has probably happened to you so you’re familiar with the effect. Well, it can work with regards to sex as well as food."






 In his introduction, Letterman also mentioned this 1974 movie based on Agatha Christie's 1934 novel. Released a mere 11 years after Tom Jones, Albert Finney himself was a mere 38 years old when he played Christie's famous late-middle-aged Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. 

 .



Prothetics. It's got to be prosthetics.

Since it's a murder mystery, we may as well go to the bloody heart of the matter. Here's Finney, along with Martin Balsam, John Gielgud, George Coulouris, and, in repose, Richard Widmark: 



So, whodunnit?



"I couldn't tell you. I haven't seen the movie."


15 comments:

  1. I remember seeing the Tom Jones film as a juvenile (I don't know how that happened) and being very turned on by Albert Finney.

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    1. Mitchell, if that movie came out today, I suppose it would get a PG at best. Before the MPA rating system (formerly, and as of five minutes ago I thought it was still called this, the MPAA rating system), I don't know how it was decided what juveniles could see what movies. Parents decided, I suppose. Are you telling me, Mitchell, that you snuck out on dear old Mom and Dad? Gasp!

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  2. Hi, Kirk!

    Happy 87th birthday in heaven to distinguished British actor Albert Finney. I don't remember reading about his death either, but keep in mind that it was easy to miss such announcements during the chaotic Trump administration when the news cycles were constantly focused on his antics.

    Finney's appearance in that first clip came during the first year of Late Night With David Letterman. I was working the late shift at an NBC station at the time and probably saw the interview the night it aired. Years earlier, I had watched Finney in the 1963 film adaptation of Tom Jones when it was screened at the student union building on the campus of PSU. I also saw Murder On The Orient Express and fondly remember Martin Balsam stumbling backward down the stairs of the infamous Bates house after being stabbed repeatedly by Tony Perkins in Psycho. The erotic dining scene in Tom Jones was probably the inspiration behind Jennifer Beals' lobster play scene in Flashdance and brings to mind Kim Basinger's blindfolded feast in 9 1/2 Weeks.

    Good heavens! Dr. Ruth is still with us and about the celebrate a birthday of her own a few weeks from now. She will be 95, proving that people who have lots of good sex live longer. (My days are numbered.)

    Thanks for remembering the fine English actor Albert Finney on his May 9 birthday. Enjoy the rest of your week, good buddy Kirk!

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    2. Shady, I forgot about the Beals and Basinger eating scenes, but I suspect you're right.

      As for longevity via good sex, I'm afraid I'm living on borrowed time.

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  3. My favourite Albert Finney role is in the 1994 film "A Man of No Importance." He gives a sensitive and moving portrayal of an aging closeted gay man in an unforgiving world.

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    2. That movie unforgivably went right under my radar, Debra, as, even more unforgivably seeing as it was adapted by Stephen McNally, the stage version, both of which I found about just a few minutes ago. I'll have to seek both out. I just hope your description, not the aging gay man but the part about the unforgiving world, doesn't depress me too much.

      Tom Jones director Tony Richardson (who was married for a number of years to Vanessa Redgrave) came out as bisexual towards (what we now know was) the end of his life after he was diagnosed HIV positive. Obviously, that unforgiving world was still very much in place when Richardson helmed Tom Jones (though LGBTQ subject matter was beginning to pop up here and there in films.)
      I think 1982's The Hotel New Hampshire, based on John Irving's novel, was the first Richardson movie with a gay character in it. There may be others.

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    3. Don't worry, "A Man of No Importance" has a happy enough ending! It affirms the importance and joy of being exactly who we are despite everything. I hope you get to see it!

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  4. Oh that eating clip is hilarious! Must have been fun to act too. I was glad to discover (serendipitously) that Dr. Ruth is still alive. I was thinking about her just yesterday, of that film celebration of her 90 years.

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    1. Jenny, in an interview of about a year ago, Dr Ruth was asked if 90-year-olds should have sex. Here's her reply::

      "If they have a good partner, they should have sex. If you don’t have a partner, they should satisfy themselves. Period. There is no age limit."

      Something to look forward to.

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  5. I have no idea how I ever saw this when I was a kid. I didn't start breaking the rules until I was 15 -- and they had no clue. I wonder if it was playing at a drive-in and my parents thought we'd be too busy running around.

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    1. Mitchell, I managed to find this online:

      https://www.moviemem.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/TOMJONES3SHTHRws.jpg

      When I was in the fourth grade, my parents didn't seem to notice and/or mind that I was in the room with them as they watched All in the Family, so I guess I can relate.

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  6. I have to see that too! You know sometimes I think about what could be historical that happened on a certain day. I guess we're lucky there's Google now. We can know which historical person was born on what day.

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    1. OH, Lux, I've gotten that wrong. Last year I did a post celebrating someone's birthday, except I didn't pay enough attention while googling. It was actually the anniversary of their death. Oops.

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