for Sir Alec

[excelsior-1]

good morning.

i observed on a thread last night that you were talking about your movie hero with another AB'er .. also your comment on the 'night-night' thread about his brief but memorable appearence in 'raise the titanic' (1980) .. filmed on location in st. ives, cornwall.

i remember you and i discussing him a few months ago, and i've not forgotten that you would love to see his 'obi-wan blooper' ... the search for that clip is on-going.

he is not my all time favourite, but he is very close to the top of my list - and i happily acknowledge that he is, arguably, the finest actor this country has produced.
if i were forced to name what i think was his finest hour -- i would say 'kind hearts and coronets'.

until the blooper in found - please accept this small gift. instead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB2LzmMqMnE

[excelsior-1]

i was always amazed at how the brilliant dennis price could keep a straight face when dealing with this member of the d'ascoyne famly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XGOyS89gjw

[Sir Alec]

Thank you very much for the clips. I do indeed think that Sir Alec was a great actor, since Olivier was so poor at comedy. A great Shakespearean, that's all.
The lady d'acoyne always makes me laugh. There is a great story about the filming of that scene in Blessings in Disguise, which I heartily recommend.
Ealing studios tried to kill him off several times, one being the filming of the ship going down. Sir Alec was lowered into a vat of water, only for the crew to start packing up at the end of the day, forgetting that he was down there. He was rescued just in time. It is not the only time!