The simple reason Laurence Olivier made the worst movie of his career
There is a small minority of actors who have a spotless filmography. Indeed, just like each and every job, the likes of Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Ryan Gosling have taken at least one substandard payday, with the aforementioned stars appearing in such critical bombs as Bullet Train, J. Edgar and The Gray Man, respectively. But what about such classical actors as Laurence Olivier?
When it comes to Olivier, or even the likes of classic Hollywood icons Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable or Cary Grant, it’s rare to associate a bad movie. Known as one of the most influential actors of all time, Olivier collaborated with the likes of Alfred Hitchcock, John Schlesinger, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Richard Attenborough and Stanley Kubrick across 60 years working on the stage and screen.
Though he appeared in countless classic movies and was given 13 Academy Award nominations, only once did he actually take home an Oscar, winning ‘Best Leading Actor’ for the 1948 film Hamlet, which he also helmed. Still, Olivier’s legacy can certainly be felt in the modern industry, with an awards show being named after the actor to honour the greatest theatre performances of any given year.
Yet, even Olivier is guilty of the glittering promise of monetary gain in the entertainment industry, taking on the awful 1981 war movie Inchon.
Helmed by Terence Young, the same creative mind behind such classic James Bond flicks as Dr. No, From Russia with Love and Thunderball, Inchon told the story of General Douglas MacArthur, a key player in the invasion of Inchon, Korea, during the conflict of the 1950s. Olivier starred in the movie alongside the likes of Jacqueline Bisset, Ben Gazzara, David Janssen and Seven Samurai’s Toshirô Mifune.
Never released on home video or streaming, the film is infamously terrible, being a limp half-arsed drama that features none of Olivier’s iconic charm. People wondered for years why the actor took the role in the first place, eventually telling fans why in the book The Complete Films of Laurence Olivier.
“People ask me why I’m playing in this picture,” the actor stated in reference to the 1981 movie, “The answer is simple. Money, dear boy. I’m like vintage wine. You have to drink me quickly before I turn sour. I’m almost used up now and I can feel the end coming. That’s why I’m taking money now. I’ve got nothing to leave my family but the money I can make from films. Nothing is beneath me if it pays well”.
It is indeed refreshing to hear that Olivier isn’t above a simple payday, showing that whilst he can do Hamlet, Zeus and Richard III, he can also do a terrible impression of a war general.
