What a pleasure to watch two literate, witty, and talented people discuss a time when movies were more than episodic CGI, and literacy was not a dirty word! What used to be...
Tough to peer into the abyss of what modern entertainment's become. Media, too, for that matter. Realize it makes me the caricature old biddy, but hey. Old chicks know stuff.
Baby Boomers were the most well-educated generation. The entertainment industry will continue to get more basic as the uneducated population grows and grows.
I still think of Elsa Lanchester as Katie Nanna in "Mary Poppins." Even though it was a small role, she gave excellent comedic timing about her tiredness and loathing of the Banks' children. I even like the scene where Mr. Banks helped Katie Nanna into a horse-drawn carriage. The sound Elsa made in contempt was hilarious. She also had a tiny part in an episode of "I Love Lucy," where Lucy and Ethel thought Elsa's character was an axe murderer on a car trip to Florida. Both girls were horrified to hear on the radio about this crazy woman, and they thought they were next. Elsa Lanchester portrayed herself as a charming, funny woman. I am glad Dick Cavett invited her to his show.
Her memoirs are FASCINATING, she came from a family of eccentric British blue bloods (who became Communist a century ago because Socialism was too softcore), knew the Bloomsbury Group, long & colourful history with Laughton, multi-talented herself (performed cabaret when she wasn't making movies), I must read it again sometime to catch up with all the history she regales. I think someone arranged for them to be reprinted, light read but RICH with people & stories.
*Charles Laughton was the best actor ever and his role as Quasimodo was the most perfect performance in one of the most perfect and amazing films ever made.* \\][//
Elsa defined the Bride of Frankenstein, visually. Her deep dark eyes, her nose and the shape of her face made the "monster" so beautiful, yet haunting all at the same time.
I just watched Willard and thought, "Wait, who is that? I LOVE her! I'm going to look her up." I had no idea she was BoF. So glad to learn about her life and her hubby. Going to watch a ton of their films!
Let us thank the brilliant Mr.Cavett for SAVING his TV programs & then DONATING the huge collection ( over two thousand episodes) to the Library of Congress.
@@unowen-nh9ov I guarantee many Americans of this Cavette time, only really knew her from the Frankenstein movie...and today...ask any young person about her. 'Who?'
I loved Mr. Laughton in 'Witness for the Prosecution' and Ms.Lanchester in 'Passport to Destiny'. Of course I loved all of their movies. Both were amazing professionals.
Can you imagine any living actress being this witty, articulate and interesting? She was one of a kind and despite being married to a gay man, she loved Charles, he loved her and they had an interesting relationship. She accepted Laughton's male lovers without comment and actually became close to a few of them in later years. Wonderful woman.
Elsa is my favorite actress. Her autobiography is a great read. She doesn't pull any punches! I specially liked her in Witness for the Prosecution, Bell Book and Candle, The Razor's Edge and Murder by Death, the I Love Lucy episode, and her Night Gallery episode " Green Fingers". Her presence improves anything she was in.
Fun fact: In her early days Elsa Lanchester ran a London nightclub and became friends with the fashionable intelligentsia. She appeared as a vamp in Evelyn Waugh's and John Sutro's comic home movie 'The Scarlet Woman', which survives.
Else Lanchester is one of my favorite character actresses of all time but I don't recall ever seeing her on a talk show before which is kind of strange since I always watched talk shows over the years. I loved her in The Spiral Staircase, Come to the Stable, Witness For the Prosecution and of course The Bride of Frankenstein among many other movies and TV shows. I even had a rare album she recorded called Elsa Lanchester Sings Bawdy Cockney Songs. And after 46 years I still remember those songs. The younger generation might know her as The Bride of Frankenstein or for her guest role on I Love Lucy as the woman who is hired by Lucy and Ethel to give them a ride to Florida. I also read her book and she is candid but very informative about the history of her movies. She was one of the best!
@@louisianahotsaucemichellee9636 I believe she stated in her memoirs that she became pregnant by him before they even married, obviously they didn't have a child, VERY GAY was much more fluid in those days, asking any former student of a British public or boarding school what a faggot is, it had a different meaning then.
Daniel Raphael I saw her in the Bishop's wife with Cary Grant, David Niven and Loretta Young. She was very young in the movie, maybe it was her first one.
The Private Life of Henry VIII with Charles Laughton was way earlier than The Bishop's Wife. Around the time she did The Bishop's Wife she had also done "The Razor's Edge."
Elsa Lanchester is right up there together with Margaret Rutherford as the two greatest character actresses in cinematic history. Elsa would steal every movie she was in!
Amazing how well-spoken and well-educated so many of the really fine actors were. Who cares if Cavett was asking more about Laughton, she seems fine with it. Glad back then there was no probing to discuss ultra-private matters. Good for them.
There is the old story of Elsa returning home late at night and finding Charles in “flagrante delicto” with a sailor and Elsa’s only protest was “well, we may need to replace the sofa “
Lanchester was 1 of 6 Witness nominees, unusual for comedy performance to be acknowledged. Instead the Academy made history by awarding 1st Oscar to an Asian actress, Myoshi Umeki.
Yes, because there hasn't been another great acting performance in the last 60 years. You like his acting, we get it. But let's not pretend he was otherworldly.
@@julianmarsh8384 He was in a movie in the early 30s. I forgot the name. Maureen O'Sullivan was his daughter. He killed his nephew for money and hid him in the backyard.
When they created for screen version of Witness for the Prosecution they wrote the nurse character especially for her. Agatha Christie's book had no nurse. She loved Laughton & then he told her the truth. She stayed with him & never betrayed him. Much respect to this incredible lady.
Really remarkable lady who had an incredibly long and distinguished life. Very sharp and articulate. If all she had ever done was Bride of Frankenstein she would always be remembered
People who are actually in show business at all levels, had good things to say about Cavett. I grew up watching mostly all of his interviews and wouldn't knock the guy after only seeing a few shows. The talent of the people who came on his show would not have continued to show up. They liked and trusted him.
Dick Cavett is a legend. Moreover, on watching the interview, I'm not sure what your issue is - he makes an occasional witty aside, but other than that, he mostly stays out of the way and lets the guest say what she has to say, and that seems like a good quality for an interviewer.
A long and esteemed career. She was the perfect foil for Laughton in " Witness...Prosecution. " I loved her last line, " Sir Wilford! You've forgotten your brandy. "
Few commenting here have a clue. Cavett was terrific at what he did. Lanchester is great here as she talks about her husband one of the greatest actors to ever be, Charles Laughton
She’s wonderful. And we have Simon Callow to thank for so much of our understanding of Laughton; his biography, documentaries, etc. Fascinating stuff…🙏🎭
Love those lines in " Witness"... " Sir Wilfred come up to bed now Wilfred " what a revolting thought." " No this is a bill for some rather becoming Bermuda Shorts " " If the barrister ...should fall off the bannister"
So the Bride of Frankenstein actually married the Hunchback of Notre Dame. That was crazy. I grew up with her in Disney films and didn't know until way into adulthood that dingy lady from the Disney movies and who also had "Green Fingers" was both the Bride to Frankenstein and The Hunchback. What a surprise that was. We need more people with spirit like hers!
Agreed re Maureen O'Hara - you do get that impression from her in interviews. I was lucky to get hold of a copy of Elsa's 1938 autobiography 'Charles Laughton and I' recently. It's a fascinating glimpse into the mind of early Elsa and her reflections on life with Charles up to that point.
What is really astounding is that in her early days she was really pretty! Amazing to look at her early photos and films and see how she changed over the decades.
It seems that Elsa Lanchester had an underlying resentment for Maureen O"Hara. I've read both actresses" autobiographies and the two were definitely not friends. They only seemed to tolerate each other, which is a shsme because they were both so talented and professional. But you can't hit it off with everyone in this world. I guess Elsa resented Maureen because of her friendship with Charles Laughton and that shouldn't have made a difference. Both actresses were strong-willed and candid and maybe their personalities clashed in that way.
Elsa always elegant and timelessly attired, in this case wearing a magnificent priceless pre-columbian solid gold pendant of a golden eagle and the type usually found in burials in the jungles of Colombia or Costa Rica. (These pieces were created in the lost wax method and are considered treasure.) Nowadays one can purchase small gold plated replicas of these in pre-columbian gold museums-not so much in those days. There are numerous national heritage gold and jade pieces quietly held in private collections around the World, as recent laws now imply a jail sentence for possession of these artifacts. In any case Elsa looking very cool.
My favorite role of both hers and her husband was in Witness for the Prosecution. This movie would be a great do over since Hollywood no longer has creativity and makes trash andf animated stuff. In Witness he played Sir Wilfred and she was his in home Nurse who was alwayus after him to take care of himself. Briliant roles for both of them.
But they couldn't improve on it now - Billy Wilder directing, Raymond Chandler script writing, and Elsa and Charles plus Tyrone Power and Marlene Dietrich - please leave perfection alone.
Already been done as Hallmark television movie, posted here I think, Ralph Richardson, Deborah Kerr, Diana Rigg, Beau Bridges, think BBC did it again recently with Kim Cattrell.
Many dancers go on to be great stars, apparently Dick Van Dyke never even studied dance, but the Petries danced together & Disney hired him for Poppins, his Broadway Tony was for a musical.
What a lovely, confident lady. She was a fine actress, a loyal wife and a model Englishwoman. In my country we always hear about Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, David Letterman, Morton Downey Jnr.....but I want to see more of Dick Cavett, he is really engaging. Is he still popular in America?
I love Dick Cavett. BUT. When he got a woman in the chair who was as famous as her husband, he interviewed the woman about her HUSBAND. He did this over and over. that drove me crazy. SHE was interesting too, not just because she was married to Laughton.
Just watched Witness For The Prosecution again, what a great movie, two of film's great talents. She played a memorable villianess in an early Man From UNCLE episode.
she was Charles Laughton wife they say that Charles always regret that they didnt have any kids the reason was that Elsa had 2 very badly done miscarriages that cause her not having kids
Elsa had no children. She writes in her autobiography that she had an abortion. I was shocked when I read that because I didn't think she needed to tell something so private about herself. Her good friend and co-worker, Frances Osborne, at the Turnabout Theater told me that the story was NOT true. "Then why?" I asked, "Would she make up such a story?" "Don't you understand, Charles? It was because she wanted to give the impression that she didn't know Charles Laughton was homosexual!" "Oh!" I unenthusiastically remarked. I never really did understand why she married Laughton when at that time she was a bigger star than he was. To think that for decades they were that harmoniously married British couple promoting and representing Lipton Tea commercials on television.
@@charleswm.taylor4966 Put down the rubber stamp, hones people write memoirs to tell their truths, believe Myrna Loy acknowledged 1 bad abortion was why she was unable to have children also, why Joan Crawford adopted? With regrets.
She would be great in a biopic though as an older version of Elsa as Helena is now into her mid forties. Jenna Louise Coleman (of Doctor Who fame) would be fantastic as a young Elsa.
I just recently realized she plays Katie Nana in Mary Poppins! I couldn't believe it.... growing up, I NEVER realized Katie Nana was played by Bride of Frankenstein.
Just loved watching Charles Laughton in any movie, ' The Suspect' was one of my favourites, for some reason I can't explain, he pulls me into the movie & I watch him with so much respect.
I resent that he Cavett (whom i usually liked) shows no interest in this actress apart from her being Mrs. Charles Laughton. Also, more pertinent questions on his homosexuality would also have been interestering. But perhaps at that time, it was ill-advised.
That's true. Elsa doesn't mention that they were botched abortions. I'm inclined to think they simply didn't have children. I think Maureen really just wanted to malign Elsa. I still have a long way to go with Elsa's book, but have been enjoying it immensely. Maureen's on the other hand, showed a good deal of venom. She's an incredibly beautiful woman, on the outside, at least. Her tone, however, is very high-and-mighty.
Charles Wm. Taylor 2 seconds ago Elsa had no children. She writes in her autobiography that she had an abortion. I was shocked when I read that because I didn't think she needed to tell something so private about herself. Her good friend and co-worker, Frances Osborne, at the Turnabout Theater told me that the story was NOT true. "Then why?" I asked, "Would she make up such a story?" "Don't you understand, Charles? It was because she wanted to give the impression that she didn't know Charles Laughton was homosexual!" "Oh!" I unenthusiastically remarked. I never really did understand why she married Laughton when at that time she was a bigger star than he was. To think that for decades they were that harmoniously married British couple promoting and representing Lipton Tea commercials on television. Show less REPLY
I was shocked when I read Elsa's account of having an abortion because I didn't think she needed to tell that. I asked Frances Osborne, a good friend of Elsa's, as to why she would write such a thing. Frances said, "Charles, She didn't have an abortion. Don't you realize that she was claiming she didn't know that Laughton was homosexual when they got married?" I had grown up seeing Elsa and Charles Laughton as the perfect British couple on television advertising Lipton Tea! I do know they were very kind and generous people. For example, when one of the Yale Puppeteer's mother passed away and asked to borrow money from the Laughton's for funeral expenses, Charles and Elsa insisted on making a gift of the money. They did that twice because of their friendship and long working together at Turnabout Theater where Elsa performed for over twelve years.
These are all strong personalities you're trolling & people don't prosper in showbiz for decades by being conventional or weak. Both O'Hara & Lanchester have seemed smart & honest from anything I've read from or about them, certainly Laughton loved them both & worked with both repeatedly.
Not "Frankenstein's Bride" but...the "MONSTER'S Bride" ("Frankenstein" of course is the name of the Doctor("Victor" in Miss Shelly's novel--"Henry" in the movie)
