Did he need the money, or what?

[Hollis]

Good afternoon all,

Flipping through the channels just now, I came across a 1960 Universal release titled "The Lost World," based on the novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The production quality was so poor that it just screamed "low budget." What surprised the heck out of me was that it featured Claude Rains in a starring role. The thing is, he was then 71 years old and had been a distinguished film actor for most of his adult life in both character and leading roles. He had previously been a noted stage actor as well. What came immediately to my mind was, why in the world would an actor with his reputation agree to appear in such a cheesy production? It wasn't as though they could somehow disguise the fact that the script was inane or that the film had such a lackluster quality about it. He was far too experienced for that. The only plausible explanation I could come up with was, maybe he needed the money. Does anyone know enough about his later years to be able to comment on this? It was sort of like watching Joan Crawford in "Trog." An embarrassment to all concerned. Thanks everyone.

As always,

Hollis

[movieman1957]

I don't know much about his late life but timing must be everything because a year or two later he had a small but pretty good part in "Lawrence of Arabia." (I think I'll keep this one off of my list.)

[jdb1]

Could have been a contractual obligation thing, on either the part of the actor or the studio. The products of that kind of process are usually nothing to be proud of.

[Hollis]

Hi Chris and Judith,

What list is it that you're referring to Chris??? You're right about "LOA" where he was more than credible in a small supporting role. Even though it was back in the 60's, would a major movie studio have had an actor that age under contract? I honestly don't know, except actors and actresses seem to me to be easily discarded, like yesterday's newspaper, especially as they age.

As always,

Hollis

[movieman1957]

Hi Hollis:

My list of things to see. Doesn't sound very appetizing.

[Hollis]

Hi Chris,

If you're referring to "The Lost World." not only isn't it appetizing, it could cause you a great deal of gastric distress! Especially to a discerning movie fan like you. Don't waste the time!

As always,

Hollis