I know I've mentioned a number of times that I really enjoy Barry MacKay's performance as "Fred" in MGM's 1938 version of "A Christmas Carol."
I've also said that I didn't know him from any other movies.
So I thought I would rectify that with a crash course on him, and we'll call it "Barry MacKay 101!"
I had noticed when doing my All-Star team that the only other movie listed among his credits that I had ever seen was "Knights of the Round Table" (1953), another MGM movie.
Well, "Knights" popped up on TCM recently, so I checked it out. I hadn't seen it in quite some time, but I remember liking it and I'm glad to say it holds up! Robert Taylor, 20ish years into his MGM contract, easily carries the picture as Sir Lancelot. He and Ava Gardner (as Guinevere) are about as good-looking a couple as 1953 had to offer!
Anyway, armed with the knowledge that Barry MacKay is unbilled as "Green Knight's Squire," I was ready to go!
A while into the movie, Lancelot encounters a couple of varlets who refer to each other as "squire" although neither one looks like Barry to me. But their master is indeed a knight who's dressed in green!
Another quick peek at the IMDB shows another actor, Derek Tansley, also credited as "Green Knight's Squire," so there are two squires. One of them must be Barry!
Wait a minute, where's that rewind button?
OK, a look at Derek Tansley's head shot indicates that he's definitely the squire on the left. So, that means the other is Barry MacKay!
Studying things closely, I can sort of see that it's him, but I never would have picked him out otherwise. I get a strong Oliver Hardy from "Babes in Toyland" vibe!
It had been 15 years since "A Christmas Carol," but how come Robert Taylor still looks like he did in 1938?
Next up: Lesson 2!
No comments:
Post a Comment