Alec Guinness - A man who took refuge within his acting.
One of the most versatile actors in British acting history. Alec Guinness shall forever be remembered for his gallery of characters, via film and theatre. He achieved immense success after appearing in a variety of screen roles - the Ealing comedies, adaptations of Charles Dickens, "Star Wars" and others. From the early 1960s, Guinness began to focus more on the theatre. He was never interested in being regarded as a film star and soon adapted himself to becoming a character actor.
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- DirectorDavid LeanStarsRobert NewtonAlec GuinnessKay WalshIn Charles Dickens' classic tale, an orphan wends his way from cruel apprenticeship to den of thieves in search of a true home.Alec Guinness is still the definitive Fagin. A highly memorable adaptation that achieves maximum effect in every way.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsJohn MillsValerie HobsonTony WagerA humble orphan boy in 1810s Kent is given the opportunity to go to London and become a gentleman, with the help of an unknown benefactor.Only a small role but a good one.
- DirectorAlexander MackendrickStarsAlec GuinnessPeter SellersCecil ParkerFive oddball criminals planning a bank robbery rent rooms on a cul-de-sac from an octogenarian widow under the pretext that they are classical musicians.Guinness is marvellously ghoulish.
- DirectorAlexander MackendrickStarsAlec GuinnessJoan GreenwoodCecil ParkerAn altruistic chemist invents a fabric which resists wear and stain as a boon to humanity, but big business and labor realize it must be suppressed for economic reasons.A classic Ealing film.
- DirectorCharles CrichtonStarsAlec GuinnessStanley HollowaySidney JamesA meek bank clerk who oversees the shipment of bullion joins with an eccentric neighbor to steal gold bars and smuggle them out of the country as miniature Eiffel Towers.Perhaps Guinness should have won the Oscar for Best Actor?
- DirectorRobert HamerStarsDennis PriceAlec GuinnessValerie HobsonA distant poor relative of the Duke D'Ascoyne plots to inherit the title by murdering the eight other heirs who stand ahead of him in the line of succession.Guinness steals the whole film.
- DirectorHenry CassStarsAlec GuinnessBeatrice CampbellKay WalshWhen a lonely, unappreciated farm-equipment salesman discovers he has only a few weeks to live, he withdraws his savings for a final holiday at a "posh" resort.Thin story but sustained by Guinness' performance and several effective scenes.
- DirectorRonald NeameStarsAlec GuinnessGlynis JohnsValerie HobsonEdward Machin, an Edwardian-era young rogue of lowly origin, decides he must do what he can to raise his living standards in order to see the world and shape his own destiny.Highly enjoyable, with great performances.
- DirectorRonald NeameStarsAlec GuinnessKay WalshRenee HoustonAn ill-behaved, lovably scruffy painter, Gulley Jimson, searches for a perfect canvas, determined to let nothing come between himself and the realization of his exalted vision.Guinness is effectively cast against type.
- DirectorRobert HamerStarsAlec GuinnessJoan GreenwoodPeter FinchWorks of art are disappearing, stolen by a master thief, a master of disguise. Father Brown has two goals: to catch the thief and to save his soul.Guinness's performance greatly compensates for a slightly shaky plot.
- DirectorRonald NeameStarsAlec GuinnessJohn MillsSusannah YorkAfter World War II, a Highland Regiment's acting Commanding Officer, who rose from the ranks, is replaced by a peace-time Oxford-educated Commanding Officer, leading to a dramatic conflict between the two.A change of pace for Guinness, he rises to the challenge tremendously.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsSophia LorenStephen BoydAlec GuinnessThe death of Marcus Aurelius leads to a succession crisis, in which the deceased emperor's son, Commodus, demonstrates that he is unwilling to let anything undermine his claim to the Roman Empire.Film is bland and poorly plotted. Guinness is the only cast member worth seeing.
- DirectorLewis GilbertStarsAlec GuinnessDirk BogardeMaurice DenhamOn the H.M.S. Defiant, during the French Revolutionary War, fair Captain Crawford is locked in a battle of wills against his cruel second-in-command Lieutenant Scott-Padget, whose heavy-handed command style pushes the crew to mutiny.Low budget film but some good moments.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsAlec GuinnessMaureen O'HaraBurl IvesJim Wormold, who is a vacuum cleaner salesman, participates as an Agent in the British Secret Service. But he soon realizes that his plans by lying are going to get him into trouble.Rather long and a bit ponderous but still watchable.
- DirectorPeter GlenvilleStarsRichard BurtonElizabeth TaylorAlec GuinnessA cynical Welsh hotel owner secretly romances a diplomat's wife in Haiti, under the violent reign of the despot "Papa Doc" Duvalier.The plot is hard to follow and the ending is rushed and disappointing. Guinness takes the acting honours though.
- DirectorGottfried ReinhardtStarsAlec GuinnessMike ConnorsRobert RedfordDuring World War II, a lonely German air-raid warden captures two downed American airmen and keeps them prisoner in his basement way past the end of the war.A film that's remained elusive, being unavailable on any format.
- DirectorCharles VidorStarsGrace KellyAlec GuinnessLouis JourdanWhen a crown prince visits, the princess's mother tries to push the prince into marrying her daughter by presenting a "rival" at the ball - her children's handsome tutor.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherLuke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.Brings a bit of class to the proceedings - despite his hatred for "Star Wars."
- DirectorIrvin KershnerStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter the Rebel Alliance are overpowered by the Empire, Luke Skywalker begins his Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued across the galaxy by Darth Vader and bounty hunter Boba Fett.
- DirectorRichard MarquandStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter rescuing Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt, the Rebel Alliance attempt to destroy the second Death Star, while Luke struggles to help Darth Vader back from the dark side.
- DirectorKen HughesStarsRichard HarrisAlec GuinnessRobert MorleyPuritan statesman Oliver Cromwell leads England in a civil war against the absolutist and Catholic-sympathetic King Charles I.Very good as Cromwell in an ordinary film.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsJudy DavisVictor BanerjeePeggy AshcroftCultural mistrust and false accusations doom a friendship in British colonial India between an Indian doctor, an Englishwoman engaged to marry a city magistrate, and an English educator.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsWilliam HoldenAlec GuinnessJack HawkinsBritish POWs are forced to build a railway bridge across the river Kwai for their Japanese captors in occupied Burma, not knowing that the allied forces are planning a daring commando raid through the jungle to destroy it.Deservedly won the oscar for Best Actor. Guinness is the one to remember.
- DirectorBrian Desmond HurstStarsAlec GuinnessJack HawkinsAnthony Steel1942 and the island of Malta is battling for survival. The threat of invasion by Axis forces is increasing as air raids wear down its defence. Entering this maelstrom is Flight Lieutenant Peter Ross, an RAF photo-reconnaissance pilot.Strictly routine.
- DirectorPeter GlenvilleStarsAlec GuinnessJack HawkinsWilfrid LawsonA Cardinal is arrested for treason against the state. As a Prince of his church, he's a popular hero of this people for his resistance against the Nazis during the war, and his resistance after his country again fell to another totalitarian conqueror. In prison, his interrogator is determined to get a confession of guilt from the strong-willed man, and thus destroy his power over his people. The verbal and psychological battles are gripping and powerful, not even the increasing pressures put upon the Cardinal can force him to weaken, not even solitary confinement, continuous blazing light in his cell, sleeplessness, efforts to persuade him he is going mad. And yet, in the deepening conflict, the superbly indomitable prisoner creates a tremendous pity on his tormentor.The two leads make this film adaptation work from beginning to end. Quite a disturbing piece.