Discuss Charles Laughton

Charles Laughton is one of those actors who is always watchable, with his boggle eyes and eccentric acting style. He enlivened no end of films from the 1930s through to the 1960s, and won an Oscar playing Henry VIII in a portrayal that has been borrowed from many times since. He also, of course, directed The Night of the Hunter, leaving the world with quite possibly the finest film ever made by a filmmaker who never helmed another movie.

In truth, while his Henry is a good show, it would not make my list of ten favourite Laughton films (he actually starred in two films in the same year, 1935, which I prefer). They are:

  1. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
  2. Spartacus (1960)
  3. Ruggles of Red Gap (1935)
  4. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
  5. Les Miserables (1935)
  6. Advise & Consent (1962)
  7. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
  8. Island of Lost Souls (1932)
  9. This Land is Mine (1943)
  10. Hobson's Choice (1954)

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@rudely_murray said:

Charles Laughton is one of those actors who is always watchable, with his boggle eyes and eccentric acting style. He enlivened no end of films from the 1930s through to the 1960s, and won an Oscar playing Henry VIII in a portrayal that has been borrowed from many times since. He also, of course, directed The Night of the Hunter, leaving the world with quite possibly the finest film ever made by a filmmaker who never helmed another movie.

In truth, while his Henry is a good show, it would not make my list of ten favourite Laughton films (he actually starred in two films in the same year, 1935, which I prefer). They are:

  1. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
  2. Spartacus (1960)
  3. Ruggles of Red Gap (1935)
  4. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
  5. Les Miserables (1935)
  6. Advise & Consent (1962)
  7. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
  8. Island of Lost Souls (1932)
  9. This Land is Mine (1943)
  10. Hobson's Choice (1954)

I'm afraid I haven't seen him beyond his most famous roles, but he is awesome in each: Mutiny of the Bounty, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Witness for the Prosecution.

@tellylass said:

I'm afraid I haven't seen him beyond his most famous roles, but he is awesome in each: Mutiny of the Bounty, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Witness for the Prosecution.

I completely agree - three of his iconic roles and he is brilliant in each of them. I particularly love his Captain Bligh. While Trevor Howard and Anthony Hopkins were memorable in later portrayals, Laughton's riveting and terrifying Bligh is one of the greatest of all screen villains.

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