doctorxx Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I would pick Jack Norton ( a tea totaler in real life). He stumbled thru numerous films as a happy drunk. Always a pleasure to watch. Of course on the serious side there is always Ray Milland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicalnovelty Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 For a comic drunk: Definitely Arthur Housman (sort of preceded Jack Norton in the 1930's). Hilarious with Laurel & Hardy. And there are some Thelma Todd / Patsy Kelly shorts (such as DONE IN OIL and TREASURE BLUES) in which he is just excellent - he seemed to have a special chemistry with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyM108 Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 The problem with drunks in the Golden Age is that 90% of them are played for comic effect, and they're all so tiresomely predictable. I'd go with Charles Buttersworth as the least worst of the lot, and Frank McHugh the most pathetically unfunny, but the problem is more with the screenwriters than with the actors. What would have been interesting would have been to let some actor known for his acidic wit---George Sanders or Clifton Webb come to mind---be given a few belts and then play a dramatic scene or two unscripted. It might have made for some juicy outtakes of All About Eve or Laura . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Well, there's Lemmon from *Wine and Roses* , or if you'reNOT talking chronic, there's Frederic March in TBYOOL. If you're talkin' comic, then it's Lee Marvin in *Cat Ballou* . Sepiatone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottman1932 Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 > musicalnovelty wrote: Definitely Arthur Housman (sort of preceded Jack Norton in the 1930's). > Hilarious with Laurel & Hardy. And there are some Thelma Todd / Patsy Kelly shorts (such as DONE IN OIL and TREASURE BLUES) in which he is just excellent - he seemed to have a special chemistry with them. I agree. Arthur Housman is my pick too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swithin Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Drunks can be extremely irritating to watch if not done well. I think the best is *Donal Donnelly* as Freddy Malins in The Dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaney7 Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 It's going back a ways but Leon Errol practically made a career of doing drunks in movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnpressman Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I would add Frederic March in "Middle of the Night". "Old goat, old goat". Edited by: johnpressman on Mar 7, 2012 12:08 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesJazGuitar Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I would say John Garfield in The Breaking Point. The scene where he is in a bar and than is joined by Patricia Neal and then later on by his wife is just great acting. It isn't an overdone drunk and how he interacts with both of these gals is just outstanding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriegerg69 Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 A fun, more modern one would be Dudley Moore in *ARTHUR* (1981). Won two Oscars and nominated for two others, including Best Actor. Hooker: "What are you looking for?" Arthur (drunk): "V.D....I'm into penicillin! HA!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJH Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 *I would say John Garfield in The Breaking Point* You're right, James. That's a beautifully underplayed scene by Garfield, a completely natural piece of acting. One of my favourite screen drunk scenes, *Frederic March in The Best Years of Our Lives*, when they're in the bar and March starts to flirt and dance with wife Myrna Loy, not even knowing that she's his wife because of his drinking. March gave us a classic screen moment there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runtopia Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 My favorite is Eileen Eckhart in 'The Bad Seed' , Hortense Daigle! She is the mother of the boy that Rhoda Penmark drowned, because she wanted his penmanship medal. (!) The Bad Seed in general does NOT get enough love, imho. It is one of my favorite movies, and Eileen is one of the reasons why....! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EugeniaH Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 There were good comic drunks, but my vote for most powerful acting as an alcoholic goes to Ray Milland in The Lost Weekend. Also, the scene where he is alone in the room going through the DTs is disturbingly intense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geminigirl Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 You are so right, *The Bad Seed *is a film that is definitely not appreciated as much as it should be. The performances of Nancy Kelly, Eileen Heckart, and Henry Jones are outstanding. And Patty McCormack as Rhoda is the most chilling, disturbing performance by a child actor that I have ever seen. Why she did not win an Academy Award is beyond me. Eileen Heckart does portray a very good drunk in the film. Another good portrayal was by *Barbara Loden* in *Splendour in the Grass*. Edited by: Geminigirl on Mar 7, 2012 8:25 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormaShearerGirl Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 I just have to say Arthur Houseman. He could play sober, but there has never been a man who I have seen play more drunks. He plays them in some of the most famous movies if only for a second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danjw Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Yes, I agree Eileen Heckart in "The Bad Seed." She played the part on Broadway, I believe before she did the movie. I had the chance to meet her a few years before she died and I told her what a great actress I thought she was. Very gracious lady. Now that she is gone I will break her anonymity- Eileen was a recovering alcoholoc. Maybe her own experience helped her play the role. She finally did win an Oscar for "Butterflies are Free." And her turn as Aunt Flo on "Tha Mary Tyler Moore" show was priceless. Rest in Peace Eileen Heckart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaney7 Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 I think that"filmimg the play" as was done with Bad Seed takes away from it some what. The wife's father and her husband for instance have more movie experience I think and appear more natural. Even the janitor is believeable. Some of the cast seem broadway stilted. The child and mother especially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Milland, followed by Lemmon in WINE AND ROSES (for alcoholics). For just someone who was drunk, Eileen Heckart in THE BAD SEED was fantastic. For comic drunks, W.C. Fields in ANYTHING. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EugeniaH Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 I keep seeing The Bad Seed mentioned - I've never seen it, but on the basis of this thread I put it in my Netflix queue last night. LOVE W. C. Fields... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 I would add to all these drunk portrayals the performance John Barrymore did in *Dinner At Eight* . But I can't be sure if John was acting or not. In any case, the part couldn't be called a "stretch". Sepiatone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnpressman Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 We should narrrow this topic to "Best Male Drunk" and "Best Female". Of course, Eileen Heckart in "The Bad Seed"; "Hortense, she got no sense"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willbefree25 Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Ooops, I read this as best movies watched when drunk and was going to offer up 2001: A Space Odyssey or Pink Floyd's The Wall. But yes, Andy, drunks are usually tiresome. My favorite would be Egbert Souse accent grave over the e in The Bank Dick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geminigirl Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 You're in for a treat......after you've seen it, will you please post your opinion? Thanks:) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EugeniaH Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Uh, oh, the pressure's on! Sure! It won't be until sometime next week, though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 > {quote:title=TomJH wrote:}{quote} > > One of my favourite screen drunk scenes, *Frederic March in The Best Years of Our Lives*, when they're in the bar and March starts to flirt and dance with wife Myrna Loy, not even knowing that she's his wife because of his drinking. March gave us a classic screen moment there. > I was thinking of Fredric March in *TBYOOL* also, Tom. > However, don't forget March is a little tipsy almost throughout the picture, as it appears his drinking is somewhat "helping" him cope with his return to civilian life. And so, MY favorite scene of his in that film where he appears to have had a few too many is where he stands up and gives his speech(and a not too subtle public dressing down to his boss) at his Welcome Home banquet. (...and I love Myrna Loy in that scene also, where she's taking her folk to tally how many drinks her husband has had, and especially the way she beams with pride at him as he completes his speech...that never fails to put a lump in my throat) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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