Herbert Lom

[Mrs Vindecco]

I was sad to hear that Herbert Lom died today at the age of 95. With a career spanning nearly 70 years he will most commonly be remembered as Chief Dreyfus in The Pink Panther. Also he was the last surviving cast member of one of my favourite films, The Ladykillers.



Here's a nice tribute to his from The Guardian.

[nordenwald]

Yeah, the Ladykillers.... it's one of my favorite films, but it belongs entirely to Alec Guinness and Katie Johnson. Especially Katie Johnson, who steals every scene she's in. Funny that even the great Peter Sellers couldn't compete against these two 

Now Herbert Lom, for me, will forever be the tortured doctor from The Dead Zone (a sadly underrated little Stephen King adaptation, and a respectable early Cronenberg effort when he didn't feel compelled to glamorize cockroaches, drug addiction, physical mutilation or severed limbs, lol). There's a scene when Johnny (the poor patient who can see - quite literally - people's lives past and future when in physical contact with them) SEES what happened to his doctor as a child - a scene set in Eastern Europe or even possibly Germany during the nazi regime, he sees that his mother parted with him to save his life, putting him on a truck about to leave town. Ever since, Dr Weizak was convinced his mother was dead. And cue the climactic revelation by Johnny: "No, she's alive, she survived, and I know where she lives", or something to that effect. 

I remember seeing that movie as a kid, and being terribly shocked by the next scene: Dr Weizak musters the courage to phone the old people's home she resides in. A member of the personel answers the phone, he asks to speak to Joana (his mother). When she gets on the phone, he doesn't say a word and finally hangs up. When Johnny asks him why, Dr Weizak explains that it was too late.... something like that. I never understood it, this decision, or this scene. But anyway, it made me remember Herbert Lom 

[Mrs Vindecco]

The Dead Zone is a film I haven't seen for years, but have been babbling on about to my husband as one to watch. It seems as if people tend to remember the TV series rather than the film, which is a pity. I should really try to get a copy.