#so over christnukkah we watched a LOT of herbert films because jools is having an uncontrollable obsession

[idlesuperstar]

MORE favourite dead not-American actors: an Advent Calendar

Day 20: Herbert Lom

There’s a great game you can play when you’re watching Herbert Lom films (or more accurately, films he’s in, as he’s rarely the lead) - What Country Is He From This Time? I’ve yet to come across one where he’s actually Czech (his own nationality) but have tallied up quite a few europeans: Italian (Hell Drivers, The Love Lottery, The Ladykillers), Greek (Night and the City) half Greek/half German (Snowbound), French (Dual Alibi, where he is twin trapeze artists!)...you get the drift. This is both a testament to his adaptability, and a failing on the part of filmmakers to care about casting. Need a dark, vaguely european, possible bad guy? Herbert is your fella.

And he is awesome. He has a real stillness and calm about him - think of it, if you’ve seen him as a villain, or someone against the hero, he’s rarely loud about it. He’s quietly amused; in control but relaxed, not one to get hysterical or lose his head. It’s this that grounds his sympathetic characters too: he’s often to be found playing soothingly understanding doctors or psychiatrists (The Seventh Veil, The Dead Zone, The Human Jungle), which is a nice change from all the hoods and master criminals. He does comedy as well, of course, with understated brio. As I said, he’s rarely the lead; like a lot of my faves he’s small and dark and not typical Star Material, even though he’s an actor of subtlety and intelligence. 

And also, also, he is (especially in his youth) really attractive. There’s always the film that tips you over from liking someone to liking someone, whether it’s the last straw in an accumulation of things, or it’s a corker of a role. I think for me it was the first time watching Night and the City - not only is he far more appealing than the theoretical hero (an excellent but punchable Richard Widmark), he’s really pretty, and although he’s a kind of villain, he’s an appealing one. And oh man, he has a great voice.  

Favourite Role: Amico in The Love Lottery (1954) where he’s the clever, debonair, calm foil to David Niven’s wonderfully comic Famous Film Star. Not so much a bad guy here as an opponent, and a great one. I love this ridiculous little film so much, and it’s my mission to make everyone I know watch it. 

Another Good Place to Start: The Human Jungle (1963-4) which is a british telly programme where he plays Dr Roger Corder, a calm, kindly psychiatrist. It’s pretty good, for the sixties, has some good guest stars, and Herbert is just exactly what I would want from a therapist in the 60s. It’s great to see him have a lead role in a long running show. Yay. Also, he’s adorable as the incredibly italian Gino in Hell Drivers (1957), another film I try to make everyone watch. It’s lovely to see him playing an actual cinnamon roll, but you know he’s too pure for a world that has mentaller Pat McGoohan in it, never mind a whole bunch of crooks and reprobates. A great, gritty little british film.