If there was ever an actor whose choice of film projects suggested a pure love of acting rather than an interest in commercial gain, it would have to be Alan Bates. A supremely talented and versatile actor, Bates hasn’t attained the stardom of far lesser performers because of his preference for challenging and interesting work and an avoidance of being type-cast. This is illustrated by the few ‘universally known’ films that he has appeared in. In fact Alexis Zorbas (1964) (Zorba the Greek) and Georgy Girl (1966) are perhaps his only two films that people with no interest in cinema would have definitely heard of. As a result the respect and recognition of his exceptional ability is both restricted and intense. Bates made his film debut in The Entertainer (1960) before coming to notice in 1962 with Whistle Down the Wind (1961) and A Kind of Loving (1962), the feature film debuts of two highly-respected British directors; Bryan Forbes and the Oscar-winner John Schlesinger. Two years later… read more
If there was ever an actor whose choice of film projects suggested a pure love of acting rather than an interest in commercial gain, it would have to be Alan Bates. A supremely talented and versatile actor, Bates hasn’t attained the stardom of far lesser performers because of his preference for challenging and interesting work and an avoidance of being type-cast. This is illustrated by the few ‘universally known’ films that he has appeared in. In fact Alexis Zorbas (1964) (Zorba the Greek) and Georgy Girl (1966) are perhaps his only two films that people with no interest in cinema would have definitely heard of. As a result the respect and recognition of his exceptional ability is both restricted and intense. Bates made his film debut in The Entertainer (1960) before coming to notice in 1962 with Whistle Down the Wind (1961) and A Kind of Loving (1962), the feature film debuts of two highly-respected British directors; Bryan Forbes and the Oscar-winner John Schlesinger. Two years later, Bates starred alongside Anthony Quinn as the young English writer, Basil, in the film for which he will always be remembered, Alexis Zorbas (1964) (Zorba the Greek). Another popular success, the ‘Swinging London’ comedy-drama Georgy Girl (1966) followed in 1966. Of course, during this period, Bates also concentrated on little-known but acclaimed films such as Le roi de coeur (1966) and Rece do góry (1981). Bates re-united with Schlesinger in Far from the Madding Crowd (1967) in 1967. With such talents as Bates, Julie Christie, Peter Finch and Terence Stamp it is no surprise that the acting was of the highest order but the film itself was a disappointment. Bates received his first and so far (inexplicably) his only Oscar nomination the following year in John Frankenheimer’s The Fixer (1968). In 1969, Bates played Rupert Birkin in Women in Love (1969), where he gave the best performance in the film for which Glenda Jackson won her first Oscar. The next year, Bates starred in two fine but virtually unknown films: Laurence Olivier’s adaptation of Chekhov’s Three Sisters (1970) and arguably Bates’ best film A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (1972), a black comedy-drama about a married couple struggling to cope with the tragedy of their daughter who has cerebral palsy. A black comedy revolving around a severely mentally-handicapped child could easily have crossed the boundary into bad taste but superb acting from Bates, Janet Suzman and Joan Hickson and delicate direction from Peter Medak ensured that this remarkable film was moving and beautifully judged from beginning to end. Since then, the variety of film projects available to Bates has diminished and The Go-Between (1970) and Hamlet (1990/I) are really his only two other films of note. Thankfully, the truly awful Story of a Love Story (1973) never obtained a cinema release due to lack of funds and the film is rarely seen. However, Bates has continued to work successfully on the stage and has appeared in highly-acclaimed TV dramas such as “The Mayor of Casterbridge” (1978) and An Englishman Abroad (1983) (TV), again with John Schlesinger. He was knighted in the 2003 New Year’s Honours List. He died on 27th December 2003 in a London hospital from pancreatic cancer, aged 69. — IMDb
