Emlyn Williams Tribute

Emlyn Williams is one of those character actors you've probably seen, but he hides himself so well behind the characters he plays, if you're like me, you might never have thought to find out his name. But if you've seen Alfred Hitchcock's 1939 film "Jamaica Inn," I'll bet you remember the scene-stealing "dirty little blackguard" Harry the Pedlar. Since no one else seems to have done one yet, I felt he deserved a fan video commemorating his long and varied career. I wracked my brain for weeks trying to come up with a song to go with the clips (which as you know if you've ever done one of these videos, is the often hardest part!). But then my favorite group, The Who, came to the rescue yet a second time (this being my second video) with their classic "Behind Blue Eyes." Since Williams has played so many unsavory characters, the lyrics "No one knows what it's like to be the bad man ..." seemed really fitting ... but, hmm, "blue eyes"? That might not be your first impression of him after seeing Harry or some of his other "darker" roles, but take a closer look.

I first "discovered" Emlyn Williams through the films of another great actor, Robert Newton, who continues to influence pop culture through his definitive performances as Long John Silver and Blackbeard in the 1950s. He and Williams were pitted against each other in four different films, so you'll see lots of them duking it out together here. Some other classic stars you may recognize are Michael Redgrave (who also appeared in "David Copperfield" with Williams), Deborah Kerr (which whom he made three films), Maureen O'Hara, Edith Evans (who co-starred with him in Richard Burton's first film, "The Last Days of Dolwyn," which Williams wrote, directed, and starred in), Bette Davis, Gary Merrill, Robert Taylor, Leslie Banks (who beat Williams's record and made *six* films with Robert Newton), Enid Stamp-Taylor, Evelyn Laye, Finlay Currie, Donald Calthrop, Robert Morley, Wendy Hiller (who was also in "David Copperfield"), and Charles Laughton (who was in both "I, Claudius" and "Jamaica Inn" with him).

Unfortunately, due to the constraints of trying to fit the visuals to the lyrics once I'd chosen the song (and its length, of course), there was no way to include anywhere near as many clips/films as I wanted to highlight (maybe I should make a Part 2 ... if I can think of another song!), but I hope this little montage will give you a taste of his work and get you interested in seeing more of it. (I also cheated and tacked on a couple of funny scenes at the end that didn't fit the music but were too good to leave out.)

Besides making over 2000 appearances worldwide in his original one-man Dickens show, Williams was also an acclaimed playwright (e.g., "The Corn Is Green" and "Night Must Fall") and the author of two fascinating autobiographies, a novel ("Headlong," on which the film "King Ralph" was loosely based), and an acclaimed non-fiction investigation into the infamous Moors Murders of the 1960s entitled "Beyond Belief." Check him out if you haven't "already done so"! :-)

Trivia: See if you can spot what I'm convinced are the inspirations for both Francis Dollarhyde's "apotheosis" scene in the film "Red Dragon" and Janet Jackson's infamous "wardrobe malfunction"--minus the need for censorship, of course.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Emlyn
• Williams
• Jamaica
• Inn
• Robert
• Newton
• Welsh
• actors
• playwrights

[jamesjeffreypaul]

Wonderful montage, but couldn't you have left in the audio? That voice of Williams's--that voice!--was unforgettable.

[mooncove]

@jamesjeffreypaul True ... maybe for my next tribute! But don't you love the way he replies to Robert Newton's surly curse with that stoic, "Thank you, Mr. Brodie"? Cracks me up every time. If you have a turntable, you can probably still buy his Dickens and Dylan Thomas LPs on eBay pretty cheap. I only wish I could find a recording of him performing Thomas's Fern Hill--or anything in Welsh!

[coralarch]

Was the first bit taken from "Hatter's castle"?

[mooncove]

@coralarch Yes, it was. :)

[welshtigergirl]

@byrolinda We must be related, Emlyn was my Gran's first cousin

[jamesjeffreypaul]

@mooncove I just ordered an LP from the early 70s called THE WORLD OF DYLAN THOMAS (or something like that), read by Williams and Emlyn Williams. Keep checking eBay--Williams did make several Dylan Thomas recordings and EVERYTHING, it seems, shows up on eBay eventually!

[coralarch]

@mooncove Thank you!!! My memory is better than I thought- I last saw that film about 40 years ago and loved it!!

[5023849465]

My gosh. I've seen him and heard his name for years and years and wasn't aware of all of his accomplishments. I saw "Night Must Fall" with Robert Montgomery, this morning, and now, I think that the author would have done his own work proud on the screen. Thank you for this

[jamesjeffreypaul]

A great montage, commemorating a great (and very funny) performer.

[klachmacka]

He was a great actor and I like his plays. And I consider him handsome.