Re: Emlyn Williams -- The Robert Newton Chatboard

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Subject: Re: Emlyn Williams

Author:
Lois

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Date Posted: 07:53:27 01/26/06 Thu
In reply to: Susan 's message, "Re: Emlyn Williams" on 01:52:22 01/25/06 Wed

A new thread for EMLYN WILLIAMS

SUSAN WROTE:

Good to know you both love Emlyn Williams! He seemed to relish playing campy villains--which I guess I'm a sucker for, depending on the actor, of course. What did you think of his Caligula? I soooo wish they had finished that movie--he'd have been so good in it. In the documentary footage, I get such a kick out of the scene where he decides to fix up Charles Laughton and Merle Oberon, then goes into a fit of diabolical laughter. He's laughing so hard, he looks like he's going to bust a gut, till the director says cut, and he snaps immediately back out of character, looking completely staid and serious. Now that's acting!

There's already a nice page about him on the BBC website:
<a rel=nofollow target=_blank href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northeast/guides/halloffame/arts/emlyn_williams.shtml,">http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northeast/guides/halloffame/arts/emlyn_williams.shtml,</a> but it's a little short on photos. I'd love to make a site about him, but maintaining the sites I have already takes up so much time, I don't know how I could keep up with another one. (BTW, would you believe this site started out as "just a little page," and look what became of it.) Besides, unlike the other actors I've made pages about, I dread having to write a bio on Emlyn Williams because there's just *too much* information about him to distill into a simple website! (He wrote two autobiographies and only got up to 1935--plus I have two other bios about him. The *only* thing I can't seem to find out about him is how he got along with Bob. Obviously, they worked well together, but I don't find any evidence that ever associated off the set, although Emlyn was mentor to Bob's friend Richard Burton, who was also good friends with Emlyn's son Brook.) One thing that would be nice to have though: a good forum to talk about his work! (I tried starting one on the IMDb, but didn't have much success there.)

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Re: Emlyn Williams

Author:
Lois
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Date Posted: 08:07:56 01/26/06 Thu

Emlyn can be discussed on here! After all he is connected to Bob and anything connected to Bob is fair game for this forum.

I would love to have seen "I Claudius" completed - what a stunning film that would have been. Of course it would never have been a box office success and I guess Korda knew that and that's why he pulled the plug. A work of art, a magnificent piece of acting from Laughton and a cast of talented actors, but it was way ahead of its time - twenty years later and it would have been perfecting timing!

The film desperately needed von Sternberg and Laughton because it is their particular genius that makes the clips so beautiful. That lighting and composition and isn't Laughton simply perfect as the stuttering 'fool' who is nobody's fool!

Emlyn Williams as Caligula - ahh, how perfect. Perfect for that campy, over-the-top, evil meglomanic that was desperately trying to get out! Ha ha ha!

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