“Behaviour which would be considered insanity in a tradesman is looked upon as mild eccentricity in a lord. ” – Jack Arnold Alexander Tancred Gurney, 14th Earl of Gurney
Number of Times Seen – 1 (14 May 2018)
Brief Synopsis – After a member of the House of Lords dies, his son must take his place but problems arise since his son believes that he is Jesus Christ.
My Take on it – This was a film that I had never heard of beforehand and was a bit turned off by the premise but I figured that if Peter O’Toole got one of his 8 Best Actor Nominations for this role, it must be as good as all of the others (I’ve seen 6 of the 8 so far).
Unfortunately, that really isn’t the case here.
This was a terrible film that had an impressive performance by O’Toole in a very quirky, crazy and strange role that is completely over-the-top.
What’s most impressive with this performance is the fact that it goes totally against type for O’Toole.
The story doesn’t work at all and was quite difficult to get through because it just didn’t feel engaging enough.
I dare say that this was a bit torturous to watch largely due to the fact that it’s quite a long film at slightly over 2 and a half hours.
I also enjoyed seeing Alastair Sim in the small but hilarious role of the Bishop.
Other that that, this film doesn’t really have much to offer.
Bottom Line – Very strange and quirky film that isn’t nearly as funny as it tries to be. O’Toole is great in this unique role but even with such a wonderful performance that even got him an Oscar nomination, the story just doesn’t work at all. This was quite a long movie and it was somewhat torturous getting through. Loved seeming Sim in such a funny role as the Bishop, but other than that, this film really has nothing to offer entertainment wise.
MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Alastair Sim cast himself in the role as the Bishop, according to the commentary on the DVD. He called up his friend Peter O’Toole and told him, out of the blue, of course he’d help him by taking the part. No one was about to turn down the offer of such a great character actor, no matter how eccentric. (From IMDB)
Rating – Razzie Worthy (2/10)
_______________________________________
Check out my *updated* movie stats here
To see my reviews of Oscar Winning Performances check out this link
To see my reviews of all Oscar Best Picture Winners click here (now complete)
Here is a link to my movie index A-Z
MovieRob 
Pingback: Temporal Top Ten – 1972 |