Maurice Micklewhite, better known as Sir Michael Caine, is a resourceful actor and one hilarious guy, as this New York mag interview (hat tip, moviecitynews.com) amply proves. The man who was Alfie, Harry Palmer in "The Ipcress File," b.f.f. to "The Man Who Would Be King," and most lately Alfred in "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight," is naughtily funny on the subject of John Wayne, who told him to "speak low and speak slow" and gave him even better advice on why never to wear suede shoes.
I love him as Peachy in "The Man Who Would Be King," as the erring husband in "Hannah and Her Sisters" and best of all, as the pub-mate in an underknown British indie film, "The Last Orders." Yes, he was indiscriminate in some of his movie choices, often going for the easy money rather than the hard work. (There is a pretty good joke in "PCU," a lively college satire based on life at Wesleyan University, about Pigman, a film student doing his thesis on "The Caine/Hackman Theory." As the film's lead, Jeremy Piven, explains: "No matter what time it is, 24 hours a day, you can find a Michael Caine or Gene Hackman movie on TV.") Nevetheless, Caine is the Cockney Who Would Be Smart Blond.
Your Caine faves?
Carrie, One of my favorite Caine flicks: the original "Slueth," in which he did more than hold his own up against Laurence Olivier. Caine delivered one line with an intensity that I still remember ("and it stops now!" he tells his co-star.— jonc- Mine are usually a bit off the beaten path: the original Get Carter, A Shock to the System, Deathtrap, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,— edwardcopeland
- Easy choice: LITTLE VOICE. Caine is so magnificent in this film, it renewed my respect for him as an actor. Not that I ever lost it (JAWS: THE REVENGE, ahem) but I had my socks knocked off by his sleazy show-biz Ray Say in this one. And just to prove I'm no snob, I think his banter with Sandra Bullock in MISS CONGENIALITY is hilarious.— garyk
- Wow. Ipcress Files, Funeral In Berlin, The Wrong Box, Sleuth, Get Carter, Sleuth, California Suite, Half Moon Street, The Whistleblower. My wife and I worked in midtown Manhattan for most of our careers. On a number of occasions, we saw Michael Caine looking handsome, dignified and prosperous walking on Fifth Avenue. Unlike other celebrities (we saw celebrities fairly regularly), Michael Caine was never twitchy, self-conscious, or off-putting. All the naturalism he puts into his performances he seems to reflect in his public life.— ccjroberts
- i just love the "Hannah" moment when he whooshes Barbara Hershey into NYC's late, great Pageant bookstore and gives her the e.e. cummings book--and then, when she acknowledges her own feelings, he says, "I have my answer." but i also love how downright malevolent he was in "Mona Lisa."— bob ickes
- Caine is just wonderful in Bogdanovich's neglected ensemble romp, "Noises Off," but my favorite (also overlooked) is Mark Herman's "Little Voice." Caine playing Herbie to Brenda Blethyn's Mama Rose makes for a terrific duet.— Pash
- Carrie, I become more of a Caine fan as the years go on, and one of my favorite movies of all time is The Man Who Would Be King. This connects with a lot of stuff -- including what a great director John Huston was -- and the greatness of Sean Connery also, someone who, like Caine, I was at times ambivalent about but am now totally in love with as an actor. In TMWWBK,these two are transcendent -- honest, rich, full characters the likes of which we just don't see much, and that's in the acting and the writing and the directing of that movie. By the way, I went to Boston to see the MFA show of Titian Tintoretto, and Veronese, who are now my favorite painters of all, and it's a wonderful show. Go if you haven't yet.— DanielJ
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