- has at least one drink during some stage of the film
- is a drunk
- and/or gets into an altercation (usually in a pub/bar) as a result of being drunk
Knowing his fondness for the drink, do you suppose that scenes such as these were often written into the script expressly for him?
Yet surely real booze wouldn't have been used in *all* of these scenes? I imagine that most actors would be pretty sloshed after a few re-takes!
Date Posted:10:49:19 09/18/02 Wed
Yeah, I know what you mean. I get bummed out by seeing that over and over in almost every film he did after 1940! He was well known for his drinking, and that may have influenced the way some of the characters were written--or, more likely, the decision to hire him for those roles. By 1944 (in this Happy Breed) it had been written into his contract that he would lose a certain amount of his pay for every day he came to the set "under the influence." And it's not that he didn't *try* many times to give up the booze. He was on the wagon for the filming of the Beachcomber, and considering the amount of emphasis on alcohol in that film, I imagine it must have been very difficult for him. I wonder if playing those kinds of roles helped to reinforce his addiction. It's sad that alcoholism was not recognized as a disease back then. Smoking (which he also did, I believe) and drinking were like rites of passage and apparently made you seem more "fashionable." Just check out the cigarette ads from those days! You just weren't cool unless you smoked--and I'm sure it was the same way with booze.
It's doubtful that real booze was used in those films, typical substitutes include cold tea for whisky, water and food colouring for brandy etc.
As Susan says, RN was on the wagon for certain periods.
However, John Mills tells a story of real beer being used for the final scene in "Ice Cold In Alex", and being the worse for wear after drinking five beers straight down for the required five takes.
Also Richard Burton told of using real whisky on a final shot one day in a film, and that scene requiring 43 takes.
Date Posted:11:43:25 06/16/07 Sat
You meant to tell me that they actually filmed him while he was drunk in The Beachcomber?
I know he tried really hard to stop drinking but it's really hard too. It's almost like me and my sour gummi worms I put one in my mouth and I want a gazillion more. I bet it slowed him down some though when they took a chunk out of his paycheck from This Happy Breed.
Does anyone know (about) how old he was when he started drinking?
Date Posted:12:41:58 06/17/07 Sun
OH,
Well in the South "on the wagon" means you're drinking.
Where are you from? (or maybe my family just got mixed up, i'm sure i don't know)
That's funny how different sayings mean different things in diferent parts of the country.
Date Posted:22:01:25 06/17/07 Sun
According to the venerable Oxford English Dictionary, "on the wagon" means "abstaining from alcoholic drink, teetotal," and it was first used in 1906 in the U.S.; it's short for "on the water-wagon."
I have no idea when or why he started drinking, but keep in mind he grew up in a different country and different time from ours; there may not have been a legal drinking age in England in 1905. (?) As far as I know, in many European countries, children are allowed to drink alcohol (in moderation, of course). In the really old days, everyone, young and old, drank beer, ale, and wine because the water was often contaminated.
Date Posted:05:14:18 06/19/07 Tue
Not everyone who drinks alcohol becomes addicted to it; some cultures think that if you learn to drink responsibly as a child you won't go wild when you suddenly reach the "legal" drinking age. My parents used to give my sister and me wine or brandy when we were kids on special occasions or sometimes if we were sick. (What it was supposed to cure, I can't really remember.*) My sister loved it; I couldn't even bear to swallow a sip of it. I finally managed to acquire a taste for "candy" drinks as an adult. But today I doubt if either one of us has an alcoholic beverage more than once a month. (Not that I don't crave a nice glass of Bailey's now and then, but I get almost the same enjoyment out of a nice glass of soy milk with a little Bailey's-flavored coffee creamer mixed in.)
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*That reminds me of a line from "The Island," which was a really awful pirate movie from 1982 that I totally don't recommend. But they discover a boat loaded with cocaine and the island girl asks Michael Caine what it is. He tells her it's a drug. She asks, "What does it cure?" Michael Caine: "Insecurity."
Date Posted:10:27:25 06/19/07 Tue
Yea, my dad drinks some but not like bottle after bottle.
and oh my Goodness!!!! Out of ALL of the people to become addicted it just had to be little old loving Robert Newton!
Date Posted:17:55:15 07/01/07 Sun
I know it's not really any of my business, but, does anyone know what he drank?
Brandy, Whiskey, Beer, Scotch, Rum, what?
I think it might have been brandy or whiskey, he just doesn't seem like the beer type.
But heck, what do I know, I'm just head over heels in love w/him.
