Harry Andrews was an interesting actor with an extremely great presence; he would have turned 110 this month.
Andrews mainly got supporting roles, British military men and other authority people from that wet island. His filmography is impressive.
Just a selection here:
Helen of Troy (1956) as Hector Alexander the Great (1956) as Darius Moby Dick (1956) as Stubb Saint Joan (1957) as John de Stogumber The Devil's Disciple (1959) as Maj. Swindom Solomon and Sheba (1959) as Baltor Barabbas (1961) as Peter Nine Hours to Rama (1963) as Gen. Singh 55 Days at Peking (1963) as Father de Bearn 633 Squadron (1964) as Air Vice Marshal Davis The Hill (1965) as Regimental Sergeant Major Wilson The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965) as Donato Bramante Modesty Blaise (1966) as Sir Gerald Tarrant The Deadly Affair (1967) as Inspector Mendel I'll Never Forget What's'isname (1967) as Gerald Sater The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) as Lord Lucan Play Dirty (1968) as Brig. Blore Battle of Britain (1969) as Churchill's Military Envoy Too Late the Hero (1970) as Col. Thompson Wuthering Heights (1970) as Mr. Earnshaw The Nightcomers (1971) as Master of the House Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) as Grand Duke Nicholas (Nikolasha) Burke & Hare (1971) as Dr. Knox The Ruling Class (1972) as Ralph Gurney – 13th Earl of Gurney Man of La Mancha (1972) as The Innkeeper / The Governor Man at the Top (1973) as Lord Clive Ackerman Theatre of Blood (1973) as Trevor Dickman The Mackintosh Man (1973) as Mackintosh The Internecine Project (1974) as Albert Parsons Sky Riders (1976) as Auerbach The Passover Plot (1976) as Yohanan the Baptist The Prince and the Pauper (1977) as Hertford Equus (1977) as Harry Dalton The Big Sleep (1978) as Norris The Medusa Touch (1978) as Assistant Commissioner Death on the Nile (1978) as Barnstaple Superman (1978) as 2nd Elder Jack The Ripper (1988 TV movie) as The Coroner
Andrews knew how to play those characters and he was fascinating to watch. I've yet to see him doing bad work.
The Medusa Touch -- Cathedral
The Hill -- I'll teach you you're in the British Army
The Hill -- The Rules of Black People in The British Army
Nicholas and Alexandra -- Germany Declares War On Russia
The Devil's Disciples -- The Trial Scene
Helen of Troy -- Achilles vs Hector
The Internecine Project is also worth watching for Andrews' character alone.
He had a sense for dead serious satire like few others did or do.
An actor I've enjoyed watching in numerous films. Whilst your selection is, by its nature, selective ... and I would not include The Southern Star (1969) ... awful film with dreadful performance, I do think you've erroneously omitted Ice Cold in Alex (1958) ... an early major role.
I also appreciated his role, an usually sympathetic one this time, in the soppy, lightweight but engaging romantic film A Nice Girl Like Me (1969) which strangely was one of the first times I really noticed him/his name.
I recently watched him in The Hill, a brilliant turn as a domineering figure in a military prison. What I found fascinating is that you couldn’t tell if his character found a home within the need to enforce the regulations, or actually had its genesis in them.
Well done, I'm a big Harry Andrews fan. He was great in everything he was in, esp. as a soldier. I think he best roll was in The Hill, that part could have been written for him, he stole the show (the same with Ice Cold In Alex). His most bizarre roll was in The Ruling Class, where he played an old judge doing a bit of Sexual asphyxiation dressed in a red army jacket & a tu tu, where he has an accident & hangs himself (no spoiler as it's right at the start of the film).
I concur. First when i saw the thread i thought of him in The Hill, internecine project and as the pompous Lord Lucan in The charge of the light brigade
And 633 squadron. "You can never kill a squadron..."
His most bizarre roll was in The Ruling Class, where he played an old judge doing a bit of Sexual asphyxiation dressed in a red army jacket & a tu tu, where he has an accident & hangs himself (no spoiler as it's right at the start of the film).
Oh yeah, Rameau? Have you seen Andrews driving his pink Pontiac in the adaptation of Joe Orton's Entertaining Mr. Sloane?
An actor I've enjoyed watching in numerous films. Whilst your selection is, by its nature, selective ... and I would not include The Southern Star (1969) ... awful film with dreadful performance, I do think you've erroneously omitted Ice Cold in Alex (1958) ... an early major role.
I also appreciated his role, an usually sympathetic one this time, in the soppy, lightweight but engaging romantic film A Nice Girl Like Me (1969) which strangely was one of the first times I really noticed him/his name.
The list is not representative of his best works. I've just compiled the titles that had some meaning to me without a specific spin to rate a particular film.
Thanks for the tip regarding Ice cold in Alex. I need to check that one out.
His most bizarre roll was in The Ruling Class, where he played an old judge doing a bit of Sexual asphyxiation dressed in a red army jacket & a tu tu, where he has an accident & hangs himself (no spoiler as it's right at the start of the film).
Oh yeah, Rameau? Have you seen Andrews driving his pink Pontiac in the adaptation of Joe Orton's Entertaining Mr. Sloane?
Yep, I saw that at the pictures, great stuff. Apparently Andrews was gay, so it must have been odd for him playing a gay roll for the first time.
