Alec Guinness

Alec Guinness
1914-2000

When it comes to English dry wit, it is hard to think of an actor with more than Alec Guinness.  While he is best known today for his role of Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars, I will always associate him with the witty comedies that came out of Ealing Studios after WWII and the great epics of David Lean.  Guinness was born in London, had a private school education, and worked in advertising while he studied acting.  He first appeared on the stage in 1936 at the age of 22, playing the role of Osric in John Gielgud's production of Hamlet.  He would continue playing Shakespearian roles at the Old Vic through the rest of the 30’s opposite John Gielgud, Peggy Ashcroft, Anthony Quayle, Jack Hawkins, and Laurence Olivier.  He wrote a play adaptation of Dicken’s Great Expectations in which he played Herbert Pocket.  During WWII, he served in the Royal Navy.   After the war, Guinness returned to the Old Vic.  A film editor named David Lean asked Guinness to play Herbert Pocket in his movie of Great Expectations, launching his movie career.  Alec Guinness would make several comedies at Ealing Studios including Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), The Man in the White Suit(1951), and The Lady Killers(1955).  However, it was the work with David Lean that won him international recognition.  He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in David Lean’s The Bridge on the River Kwai  (1957).   He also appeared in Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Zhivago, and A Passage to India playing a variety of races and nationalities. Other movies worth noting are The Horse’s Mouth (1958), The Quiller Memorandum (1966), and Cromwell (1970).  In 1977, George Lucas cast Guinness as the reclusive Jedi Knight Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars, adding a certain classic cachet to his little space opera that would change the movies entirely.  Guinness played George Smiley in TV mini-series of John Le Carre’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979) and Smiley’s People (1982).  Even though Alec Guinness made over 60 movies in his six-decade-long career, Star Wars is the movie that most people remember him for.  However, his real fans know better.

 My favorite Alec Guinness movies:

Kind Hearts and Coronets (1948).  This sly, black comedy follows the efforts of a young, distant heir to a dukedom to kill off all the family members between him and the dukedom.  Alec Guinness plays all eight members of the D'Ascoyne family that he bumps off.  This is the first movie that gives us a sense of Guinness’ tremendous versatility as each family member is portrayed with a unique character.  Only Peter Sellers ever played multiple roles with more precision.

The Bridge Over the River Kwai (1957).  Clearly, this is one of the great performances of all time in one of the best movies of all time.  Colonel Nicholson commands a group of British soldiers in a hellish Japanese prisoner camp in Thailand.  To maintain morale, he builds a railroad bridge over the river that is far better than the Japanese could have built themselves.  In every scene, Guinness uses his clipped British speech and superb body-language as Nicholson convinces all around him of the honor of their task with his arrogant self-righteousness.  Watch the way he walks when he crosses from “the oven” to the commander’s house.  In the epic last scene, Guinness brings the character and the movie full circle as Nicholson’s “What have I done?” lifts his veil of self-deception moments before his redemption and destruction. Madness.

The Lady Killers (1955)  In this silly, little black comedy from Ealing Studios, a sweet old woman unknowingly houses a gang of crooks who carry off a payroll robbery.  As the gang’s loyalties are strained, they bump each other off one by one.  Guinness play Professor Marcus, the leader of the gang.  He wears bizarre fake teeth and combs his stringy hair over his forehead to create an unforgettable character.  Peter Sellers is one of the crooks. This movie was recently remade by the Coen Brothers but the result didn’t come close to the humor and fun of the original.

Star Wars (1977) Okay, I’m a big Star Wars fan and it seems blasphemous not to put this higher up the list considering the movie’s influence.  While, it isn’t really the best of Alec Guinness, it is hard to imagine anyone else saying “these aren’t the droids you’re looking for” or “that’s not a moon, that’s a space station” or “you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.”  It’s a tribute to Alec Guinness that his Obi Wan became so iconic while Peter Cushing’s Grand Moff Tarkin isn’t exactly a household name.  Classic Guinness moment: watch the way he rolls his eyes when he says to Luke “oh, he’s not dead…not yet anyways.”

The Man in the White Suit (1951).  Also from Ealing Studios, the story concerns a chemist who invents a fabric that never needs cleaning and never wears out.  As the clothing industry realizes what the titular white suit represents, powerful forces are unleashed to squelch his discovery.  Guinness is still quite young in this movie.  He has a wide eyed innocence in this film that is both humorous and heartbreaking.  While not a well-known movie, I include it because he carries it pretty much on his own and I really love the sound the machine makes.

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)  Guinness plays Prince Fiesal in this David Lean epic that won seven Academy Awards and is still considered one of the top ten best American films.  While, not a large role, Guinness steals the scenes he is in with his usual sardonic wit and timing.

Murder by Death (1976)  There are a lot of reasons to like this ridiculous comedy by Neil Simon about five famous detectives and their sidekicks trying to solve a murder.  Alec Guinness plays the butler.  I won’t tell you who done it.

Question of the Day: Besides Great Expectations, what other Dickens novel did Lean and Guinness bring to the screen?