Praising Caine: The Original "Alfie" Turns 76
"My understanding of women only goes as far as the pleasure. When it comes to the pain, I'm like any other bloke-I don't want to know." -Michael Caine as "Alfie", 1966.
How can we forget-or resist- Alfie, that working class, womanizing anti-hero? He confides his personal philosophy directly to us fellow blokes and birds in the audience, and he also admits to feeling unfulfilled. He's definitely missing something, and yearns to understand "what's it all about."
This forthright quality makes us love Alfie in spite of ourselves, and also the man who created him, since as it happens, Michael Caine shares the same winning candor as the character that brought him fame. For instance, he is unapologetic, though never defensive, about lending his considerable talents to a series of schlocky films like "Beyond The Poseidon Adventure" and "On Deadly Ground", reasonably pointing out that he gets paid as much for a bad movie as a good one. Once asked if he'd ever personally watched one of his biggest stinkers, "Jaws: The Revenge", Caine replied: "I've never seen it, but by all accounts it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific." Like Alfie, Caine disarms us with the truth.
A look at his humble origins gives some insight into the actor's fondness for money: the son of a fish market worker and a charlady, Michael, born Maurice Micklewhite, grew up dirt poor in London. His first ticket to a better life came when he enlisted in the British Army during the Korean War. On return to civilian life, he was hired as an assistant stage manager, and soon got the acting bug. His agent advised him to change his name, and looking up, saw Bogart's film, "The Caine Mutiny", on a marquee. (Bogie also happened to be Caine's hero and chief inspiration for becoming an actor). Thus Michael Caine was born, and from the start he kept himself busy. By the time he won his first major film role a decade later, he was a seasoned player of British stage and television.
In his filmography, which numbers over 100 titles, the sheer volume of commercial mediocrities-and outright junk-could almost obscure the fact that this star has done as many great movies as most any of his peers. With six Oscar nominations, he has won twice (both times for supporting actor).
Not only can Caine deliver the acting goods with the right vehicles, but off the set he also exhibits a refreshing common sense about the film business itself. Speaking as one who believes that nine out of ten remakes are inferior to the originals, the following quote from Sir Michael (he was knighted in 2000) sounded positively prophetic: "Don't remake successful pictures, because you're liable to be the flop....Do remakes of failures. Then you've got nowhere to go but up." Studio heads, please take heed.
To mark the actor's 76th birthday (on March 14th), I'm listing just a few of my favorite Michael Caine outings, and hoping there are many more to come. (For those who know him primarily as Alfred in the more recent "Batman" films, this should be an eye-opener.)
Zulu (1964)- Pulse-pounding film recreates a famous battle in 1879 Natal, where four thousand Zulu warriors descended on a small outpost, Rorke's Drift, housing just 140 British soldiers. Facing certain slaughter, senior officer Lts. John Chard (Stanley Baker) and Gonville Bomstead (Caine) still decide to make a stand, withstanding brutal attacks day in and day out. Don't miss this breathless depiction of a rag-tag English force battling an implacable enemy. Baker (who co-produced) was never better, and got his mystified Zulu extras to cooperate only after showing them an old Gene Autry Western, which helped them understand the nature of acting. In one of his final appearances, Jack Hawkins registers as a fanatical priest, and you can almost see the word "star" emblazoned on Caine's forehead. Like the heroes it portrays, the stellar "Zulu" richly earns a chestful of medals.
The Ipcress File (1965)- British secret agent Harry Palmer (Caine) is assigned to investigate the kidnapping and brainwashing of a prominent scientist, a job that only becomes murkier and more complex as the film progresses. And Harry's minders have something over him, so they won't tolerate failure. From Harry Saltzman-- the producer of 007-- comes the thinking man's James Bond. Caine's Palmer is grittier, less elegant and more reticent than Bond, hence much closer to what a spy is really like. The young actor is at the peak of his powers playing Len Deighton's working-class protagonist, and director Sidney J. Furie gives the film a flavorful 60's feel. Along with the forthcoming "Alfie", this role solidified Caine's leading man status... and rightly so.
The Man Who Would Be King (1975)- Based on a late nineteenth century tale by Rudyard Kipling, British sergeants Daniel Dravot (Sean Connery) and Peachy Carnehan (Caine) are tired of soldiering, and it seems their ungrateful country has tired of them. They find themselves without prospects in India, and resolve on a daring plan: they will travel to remotest Kafiristan in search of untold riches. Once there, the two con the natives into believing Danny is a god, and their mission is accomplished, so as long as the populace never learns their king is mortal. Director John Huston had wanted to do this project for years (originally with Gable and Bogart), but only got the chance in the mid-seventies. It's hard to think of better casting for the two rogue adventurers than Connery and Caine, whose real-life friendship helped spark a genuine, often amusing on-screen chemistry. A deft combination of humor and suspense, the film's climax is unforgettable. Christopher Plummer also lends solid support as author Kipling.
Educating Rita (1983)- When married, working-class hairdresser Rita (Julie Walters) enrolls in an adult-ed program at Open University, she chooses alcoholic English professor Frank Bryant (Caine)--whose wife has left him for a colleague--to be her tutor. As her confidence grows under Bryant's boozy, indiscreet instruction, an unusually close relationship develops between teacher and student, one where the professor gradually becomes the pupil. This buoyant, tartly funny drama of love, class, heartbreak, and literary aspiration reteams "Alfie" director Lewis Gilbert with his ruffled, effortlessly charming star. Walters, who earned an Oscar nod for her performance, delights as the coarse Cockney out to better herself (to the displeasure of her husband), but the movie succeeds brilliantly due to Caine's curmudgeonly turn as the dissolute, world-weary scholar in need of some personal discipline. School's out for most of us, but "Educating Rita" is a bittersweet crash course in life's poignant curriculum.
The Cider House Rules (1999)- Raised for most of his life at an orphanage in rural Maine, young Homer Wells (Tobey Maguire) has been groomed for a career in medicine by kindly guardian Dr. Wilbur Larch (Caine), whom he's long assisted in caring for abandoned children. But the arrival of air-force pilot Wally (Paul Rudd) and his pregnant girlfriend, Candy (Charlize Theron), will open his eyes to a world far beyond the confines of St. Cloud and the cozy intimacy of Larch's household. John Irving's beloved novel gets the royal treatment in Lasse Hallstrom's warm-hearted, Oscar-winning adaptation, which deals with abortion, prejudice, and a young man's quest to broaden his horizons as he leaves the place of his youth and takes up residence in a cider mill. The film owes its success mostly to the stellar cast, which includes Erykah Badu and Delroy Lindo as a field worker and her foreman lover, respectively. No one does the charming naif as well as Maguire, and Caine's memorable turn as a kindly country doctor brought him a well-earned Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
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Michael Caine is my favorite actor. All those films you mention in the article as well as those mentioned by the other posters here. I suppose my favorites are Get Carter, The Quiet American, Little Voice, A Shock to the System (a little seen showcase for Sir Michael) and The Man Who Would Be King. And he's incredibly watchable in everything else. And if you've never seen Blood & Wine, pick it up...Caine steals every scene he's in. That's saying something considering he shares most his scenes with Jack Nicholson!
It's great to see he's still working. Not just in supporting roles in the Batman films, The Prestige and Children of Men, all excellent. He's also the lead in a couple of smaller films coming soon: Is Anybody There and Harry Brown!
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he is playing a man beset by old age in "harry brown", and has to keep reminding himself: "it's not me! It's not me!"
Some older Caine films I remember as minor gems: an espionage thriller "The Whistle Blower," and "The Wilby Conspiracy," with Sidney Poitier, kind of like "The Defiant Ones Go to Africa" but very well played. Also, he and Maggie Smith made a great team in their segment of the otherwise dreary "California Suite." More recently, don't forget "The Quiet American," another of his Oscar-nominated roles.
(Remember that period in the late '70s/early 80s when it seemed Caine was in five bad movies for every good one he made? "The Swarm," "The Island," "Beyond the Poseidon Adventure," "Harry and Walter Go to New York," "Victory," co-starring Sly Stallone and Pele? It takes an extremely talented and beloved actor to be able to crawl away from that kind of wreckage.)
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all of these are well worth watching, and aside from the quiet american, not particularly well known...thanks for these.
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no doubt he has made more than his fair share of turkeys...
Michael Caine is not only a magnificent actor but one of the film industry's most decent and considerate professionals. I speak from experience. When I had the pleasure of working with him on "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," he literally saved my career by coming to an out-of-the-way location on what was supposd to be his day off. There's no space here to go into the details but it didn't surprise those who knew him well. As one of his biographers told me, "Producers love to have Michael Caine in a movie not just because he's such a magificent actor but because of the way he treats everyone. It makes for a happy set."
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thanks for sharing this story. you can sense this quality about him. he never gets on his high horse or plays the star. He truly is a man of the people,
That's a great story. It is nice to know that he really is a lovely person in real life.
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it's more the exception than the rule with stars in show business, but it can happen..
Michael Caine is great, and one of the few actors who can get away with making turkeys, without lowering demand for his considerable skills.
You're list hightlights his best work, and I agree with the other poster's choices such as "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," "Hannah and Her Sisters" and "Slueth" to mention just a few.
I haven't seen "Zulu" in years, and your post reminded me that I need it in my collection, so I ordered it from Amazon. You're stimulating the economy with your posts. ;) Great story about the Zulu extras, by the way.
Did anyone else enjoy the comedy "Noises Off!" as much as I did? Anyway, thanks for the reminder of what a fine actor Caine is, and I loved the "Jaws: The Revenge" story. It reminded me of a comment I read of John Lennon's, in which he stated that he used to say to Paul McCartney, "C'mon, let's go write a swimming pool."
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I love this! I wish I could write swimming pools! I know you'll love zulu...
Worth watching for his performance, an unusual film called "Little Voice." Brenda Blethin was good in it tool
I almost forgot about "Little Voice." That's a great movie, and Jane Horrocks is unbelievable in it. I'm surprised she doesn't get more major roles. And Michale Caine does an excellent job of playing sleazy and slimy in it.
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I loved this film, and Caine makes it...it does go from being pure comedy to pure drama by the end, but the romance softens it...you're right about jane horrocks too- she was great as bubble in abfab.
You are right. Jane Horrocks was so good in the movie.
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agree. both he and blethyn are fabulous.
"The Man Who Would be King" is one of my favorite movies of all. Michael Caine had some great lines in some British bureaucrats office Danny and Peachy are told they're detriments of the empire:
"Detriments! Did you hear that Danny? He said we're detriments! It was detriments like us who build your bloody empire!"
In Alexander's treasury: "It ain't brass, Danny."
The wedding: "The jig's up, Danny!"
You forgot "Goldmember"!
"Detriments! Did you hear that Danny? He said we're detriments! It was detriments like us who build your bloody empire!"
Best line in the movie!
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I'd forgotten that, but it is classic and quintessential Caine...just shows what he can do wtih a good script.
"Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" is a comedic movie that I loved. Caine and Steve Martin are competing playboy con artists(Caine playing the aging one) who prey on rich women and there is one scene where Caine and Martin make a bet on who could bed a "soap queen(wonderfully played by Glenne Headly) who , as it turns out , is a con artist herself. Caine portrays himself as a sadistic German doctor and Martin dons the role of a paraplegic soldier as they try to win the affection of the "soap queen" who turns the tables on them. Absolutely hilarious!
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this what caine meant when he suggested remaking bad films. there the original was a dud: "bedtime story", starring david niven/ marlon brando in the caine/martin roles.
And then their was "Get Carter" and "Mona Lisa" cut from the same ruthless character.
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love both films...caine is wonderful in the original "carter".
Once again, AMEN.
My favorite was "SLEUTH"...
One old-time, classically trained actor versus the new blood "acting from within" - a tour de force.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Onw4z35RUYI
Michael Caine was every bit as good as Lawrence Olivier in that film. It is one of my favorite Caine films. In the remake, he plays the Olivier role, and Jude Law plays the role Caine played in the orignal. The remake is awful, and it made me want to see the original, but unfortunately Netflix doesn't carry it.
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It is very difficult to get a copy of this terrific movie. this marked the last film of director joseph l. mankiewicz, who made "all about eve."
"The Man Who Would be King" is one of my all time favorite movies. I've seen it at least a dozen times and never get tired of it, even though the ending is somewhat depressing.
I also like "Zulu" a lot, and that's an interesting story about the Zulu extras and the Gene Autry movie. I've always thought they did a terrific job.
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I wish "zulu" was as well-known as huston's "man".
Michale Caine is and always will be Jack the Lad, the working class hero who is a rough diamond with a heart of gold.
His missus is a bit of alright, too...!
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oh yes. saw chakira with him at elaine's... to say she's striking is an understatement.
My favorite Michael Caine performance was in Hannah and Her Sisters. He played the likeable cheating husband to Mia Farrow. He turned in such a simple yet brilliant performance. My second favorite was of course The Cider House Rules.
Agreed. I'd also add Miss Congeniality. "God, I'm good!" He certainly was and is.
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and those two performances gave him his Oscars.
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