Entertainer, The (1960) - Widescreen - long version - H264

'THE ENTERTAINER' (1960)

Laurence Olivier stars as a fading, third-rate, vaudeville performer desperately trying to keep his career alive while both the institution he loves, and (what’s left) of his personal life, falls apart.

‘THE ENTERTAINER’ was the second ‘kitchen sink’ drama from Woodfall Productions and, like their first picture, ‘Look back in Anger’, was adapted from a John Osborne play. Moodily photographed by Oswald Morris in searing Black & White, produced by Harry Saltzman (later of James Bond fame), and directed by the extraordinary Tony Richardson.

The screenplay was, once again, a collaboration between Osborne and Nigel Kneale (possibly most famous for his game-changing sci-fi tv series ‘Quatermass’). Osborne was then a loud and defiant, anti-authoritarian voice in the new wave of ultra-realist British writing. Laurence Olivia, savvy of an ever-changing industry, and wary of being left behind as an old-school actor, approached Osborne with the idea of writing something for him.

The result was ‘The Entertainer’, a powerhouse, bitter-sweet, heart-breaking, drama, centered around the desperate attempts of pathetic, down-on-his-luck vaudeville performer Archie Rice (arguably a kinda UK version of Willy Loman) to keep his feet on the boards and his face in the limelight, at all cost.

Oh, and how about that cast! Brenda de Banzie, Roger Livesey, Joan Plowright, Daniel Massey, Shirley Anne Field, Thora Hird, Miriam Karlin, Geoffrey Toone, Charles Gray, Nigel Davenport, a very young Tony Selby and no less than both Alan Bates AND Albert Finney in their big-screen debuts.

I couldn’t find a good copy of this beautiful and compelling film anywhere in torrent land, so for anyone interested, here it is - complete and uncut (some versions run 96 mins) and in a solid widescreen transfer with excellent sound and (soft) French, Spanish, and English subtitles.

I include two samples.

I hope you enjoy it.

‘THE ENTERTAINER’ (1960)
Directed by Tony Richardson
Screenplay by John Orsorne and Nigel Kneale
From the play by John Osborne
Produced by Harry Saltzman
Associate produced by John Croydon
Cinematography by Oswald Morris
Music by John Addison
Edited by Alan Osbiston

CAST (in credits order)  
Laurence Olivier
Brenda de Banzie
Roger Livesey
Joan Plowright
Alan Bates
Daniel Massey
Albert Finney
Shirley Anne Field
Thora Hird
Miriam Karlin
Geoffrey Toone
Charles Gray
Nigel Davenport
Tony Selby

BLACK AND WHITE
BRITISH
103 mins 43 secs (1:43:43)
UK: X (orig rating) Re-rated PG. USA: unrated
1.66:1

VIDEO
H264 MPEG-4
718 X 392
24 FPS
PLANAR 4:2:0 YUV

AUDIO 1
MPEG AAC
ENGLISH
STEREO (2 ch mono)
48000 HZ
256 kb/s

AUDIO 2
A52 (ac3 passthru)
ENGLISH
STEREO (2 ch mono)
48000 HZ
192 kb/s

SUBTITLES: French, English, and Spanish (soft)

If you enjoyed this film, please consider buying it from wherever you can find it, or even lobby the studio for the restoration it deserves ...