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Post by Violet on Sept 23, 2012 0:19:13 GMT
Two episodes from the TV series Alfred Hitchcock Presents starring Peter Lorre.
Man from the South - Starring Steve McQueen
The Diplomatic Corpse - Starring George Peppard and directed by Paul Henreid.
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Post by Mrs Vindecco on Sept 29, 2012 11:52:56 GMT
I never realised that Paul Henried directed The Diplomatic Corpse. There's not much about his relationship with Peter, but he seemed to think of him as a funny guy, possibly why he was happy to direct Peter in a comical role.
Man from the South, is probably the more well known of the two. I have read two of McQueen's biographies including Neille Adam's one, who was McQueen's first wife and also starred along side Peter and Steve in this episode. This is the only time Neille acted with her husband, much like Peter and many men from that generation, Steve liked his wives at home.
From memory, neither book said much about Peter, but Steve McQueen must have been very aware of him because he was a huge Bogart fan.
Acting wise not many people would see similarities between Lorre and McQueen, mainly because one was renowned as a character actor and the other a (some would argue limited) leading man. However they did have one specific thing in common. As we know Peter was a master scene stealer, he knew how to attract the audience's eye even when he had no dialogue and made excellent use of props, this eventually led to a conflict with George Raft.
McQueen also did the same trick in many of his films. Director, John Sturges said McQueen had a habit of "catching flies" throughout The Magnificent Seven, which led to a huge conflict with the star Yul Brynner. This trick he used again and again. Where he differed from Lorre is that he often wanted to cut dialogue, replacing it with a look, which gained him a reputation as not so much a good actor, but a good reactor.
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Post by woofy on Oct 2, 2012 23:28:59 GMT
Now you're talkin'! The big three tv shows of my youth were The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Hitch's little spiels at the start and finish of each episode were the best parts.
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Post by Mrs Vindecco on Oct 3, 2012 12:52:28 GMT
Is it my imagination or did they remake Alfred Hitchcock Presents in the 1980's, colorizing the Hitchcock's bit and updating the drama because I seem to remember it in colour.
I remember repeats of The Twilight Zone, but I have never seen an episode of The Outer Limits.
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Post by woofy on Oct 4, 2012 0:41:35 GMT
Is it my imagination or did they remake Alfred Hitchcock Presents in the 1980's, colorizing the Hitchcock's bit and updating the drama because I seem to remember it in colour. I remember repeats of The Twilight Zone, but I have never seen an episode of The Outer Limits. It's NOT your imagination. The scalawags did exactly that. The Outer Limits scared the bejesus out of me. It was more straight sci-fi than Twilight Zone and less psychological than Hitch, but it was a one-hour long journey into fear for a little boy. (I was six years old when it debuted in 1961.) www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CtjhWhw2I8 |
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Post by meerschwein on Oct 8, 2012 0:51:22 GMT
I saw "The Outer Limits" before I saw either "Twilight Zone" or "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" because it was in syndication and shown on Saturday afternoons on one of my local UHF stations. I don't think I watched it much--just the opening sequence was scary enough for me. I don't think I actually saw TZ or AHP until many years later when they started showing up on VHS and "Nick at Nite," by which time I was too grown up and sophisticated to be scared by them. Except "It's a GOOD Life" and "The Jar," which fill me with existential terror.
"The Diplomatic Corpse" doesn't use Peter very well but I think "Man from the South" is one of his best later vehicles, and he plays the hell out of it.
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Post by woofy on Oct 8, 2012 1:48:06 GMT
I saw "The Outer Limits" before I saw either "Twilight Zone" or "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" because it was in syndication and shown on Saturday afternoons on one of my local UHF stations. I don't think I watched it much--just the opening sequence was scary enough for me. I don't think I actually saw TZ or AHP until many years later when they started showing up on VHS and "Nick at Nite," by which time I was too grown up and sophisticated to be scared by them. Except "It's a GOOD Life" and "The Jar," which fill me with existential terror. "The Diplomatic Corpse" doesn't use Peter very well but I think "Man from the South" is one of his best later vehicles, and he plays the hell out of it. I know what you mean. As an adult I can look back on TTZ and AHP dispassionately. There were a few scary moments in the early Zones, but by and large it was more a curiosity to me. Hitch was based more upon irony, sort of a negative image of O. Henry. But TOL genuinely scared me. My sister and I would watch it when we were children and even though we didn't understand every part of it, the parts we did understand sent us behind the couch, cowering with fear. And TOL was an hour program, twice as long as either Hitch or Rod. |
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