The Entertainer

The Entertainer

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Movie Reviews of The Entertainer

Movie Review: Laurence Olivier becomes a great character actor
Summary: 5 Stars

Archie Rice is a bitter character, without any noticeable redeeming quality besides the attempt to survive. He is a comic whose routines are not funny, and perhaps once upon a time, in the early days, they were a put-on, playing a bitter person taking out his anger on the world. Either way, the act is for real now and is a p[itiful] figure. Archie works in a seedy music hall and has his eye on Shirley Anne Field (Tina Lapford), who must be a symbol of some sort of redemption besides simple carnal desire. Just as he ignores his audiences, Archie ignores his own family, who would provide an even more devastating critique of his wretched life. There is no sentimental side to Archie, who remains unflinchingly flawed unto the bitter end.

The film is directed by Tony Richardson, who had done Osborne's "Look Back in Anger" two years earlier and who would win his Oscar for "Tom Jones." However, "The Entertainer" is clearly representative of the "kitchen sink" style of film that characterized Britain's own "New Wave" cinema, which tended to focus on the growing decline in the quality of life in Britain after World War II. The cast features a young Alan Bates as son Frank, Albert Finney debuting as son Mick, and Joan Plowright as daughter Jean (within a year she would be the third and final wife of Olivier). Brenda de Banzie delivers a touching performance as Archie's wife, a bitter alcoholic, whose husband stopped loving her a long time ago. However, from start to finish the film is focused on Olivier's performance, which Olivier often said was the one of which he was most proud, being such a departure from his usual roles and work. You might not think it is Olivier's greatest performance, but it is one of his finest.

Summary of The Entertainer

Shot on location on the boardwalk carnivals and holiday camps of the British seaside, the shabby show-biz world is beautifully photographed but never quite shakes off its origins on the stage. It's the vivid performances that drive the drama: Joan Plowright (who married Olivier in 1961) as his pragmatic daughter; Alan Bates and Albert Finney (making their film debuts) as his sons, a next-generation show-biz hustler and a soldier shipped off to the Suez, respectively; and Brenda de Banzie as Archie's long-suffering wife. "You've been a good audience. Let me know where you're playing tomorrow and I'll come see you." --Sean Axmaker