Just a word here about my father, Huw Wheldon, who chaired this conversation, and who was the presenter and editor and generally grand panjandrum of 'Monitor' - he and Welles had worked together before, for the BBC, and OW was keen that Wheldon should be his producer. Dad wisely turned the offer down. He said that being in a room with OW 'was like being in a room with a cathedral', a surreal, but brilliant description.
Wynn Pierce Wheldon, Your father was mind-controller. Obviously, nothing to be proud of. 'Monitor' - mon - moon - the left-side of the brain. He was only, programming the masses to use their lower-self. Actors, directors and editors and such are employed to train something sinister into to sub-conscious of the unwitting. The BBC ain't nicknamed the British Brainwashing Corporation, for nothing. Incidentally, it is also, called the British Buggering Corporation because it is full of paedophiles and other freaks. That's why there is a statue of a boy and a weird looking man at the front entrance to it's studios. Your Dad was almost certainly, a Freemason (as they-all are) so, if you don't think I'm correct realise, that their is sentence punishable with death for those who, disclose their sordid secrets. Realise they are master manipulators and deceivers, which is why you are utterly clueless, I am sad to write 💙.
I just watched your father's interview of OW in 1960 and it was brilliant. And I remember thinking so well that Welles enjoyed the interview and appreciated your father. You must be very proud. Thanks for sharing.
I came here for Orson, but Peter O'Toole clearly could give a master class on Shakespeare--not just from the acting perspective, but from the philosophical, emotional, historical, and poetic perspective. I learned so much from his few minutes of commentary and conversation. The importance of letting the verse guide the thought and action, the relevance to the Renaissance audience of drawing out particular passions, the relevance of Church doctrines and belief to the interpretation of the Ghost. Wow! So much to chew on from such a short clip! A very learned man at only 31. I wish he was still with us. I wish they all were. I won't look at any of the plays again without considering O'Toole's comments.
This is what makes UA-cam great! Not things like tic tok or vine. When I read Peter Otoole and Orson Welles having a discussion about Hamlet....wonderful!!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen footage of o’toole speaking so freely or of Welles being so candid and gregarious. They must have enjoyed each other immensely.
I'm sure they did but this is about the 7th interview in a row I have seen on You Tube and Orson has been pretty consistently candid and gregarious in all of them. From young, mid, to old age he seemed to have walked a thin line between being very intellectual and yet very candid and affable.
What a pleasure to experience Peter in his genius rather than acting the charming fool as he so often did in interview settings. To hear him speak of Hamlet, to understand all that he carried in his thoughts and knowing as he enacted the parts, is to understand why he was such a great actor.
Kinda reminds me of that gag in the Simpsons where it’s revealed the Krusty show was originally an intellectual talk show from around this time. Krusty even has a similar get up to o’Toole’s lol
Incredible to see this glimpse of O'Toole's intelligence and education. Obviously he was a great actor but it's clear to see he knew his stuff inside and out and was truly passionate about it. Of course Welles could talk insightfully at length on almost any topic, but I hadn't seen O'Toole talking seriously about his work before
Welles always strikes me as extremely affected. He doesn’t argue here so much as proclaim, and he is so pleased with his proclamations and pronouncements that he usually repeats them verbatim immediately. He also repeatedly shouts down Ernest Milton’s very reasonable and considered opinions while Peter O’Toole piles on. It’s nice that Peter O’Toole has done a bit of homework and is willing to share it with us, but that’s all I can really say in his favor.
@jeffburns4219 imo O'Toole was the only one who was talking from knowledge. Milton was mainly talking personal perceptions and spirituality - nothing wrong with that except it being not particularly informative or insightful unless you're invested in knowing about Milton the man himself. If only Welles had allowed the other two to finish their sentences once in a while. But I do think O'Toole had the correct approach to the inquiries (using contemporary discourses to aid the textual analysis whilst aware of the historical impliations of there being various quartos etc) they touched upon even though he hadn't been right all the time, and him and Milton would have perhaps been able to hold an actual conversation without someone with 10X volume constantly shouting down and piling on.
5:22 Welles: "I don't think any madman ever said 'Why what an ass am I.'" - this moment brought tears to my eyes for reasons I don't fully understand. Powerful words.
Study shakespeare and the great british actors. Its not just philosophy, its embodying life in all its permutations. Read about Harris and O’Toole. Believe me theres nothint wrong with you. Youre human, its the world thats growing sick. Men in this era understood deeply the literature and art of our history. You should too! Memorize some shakespeare
I should think it would depend on the particular mental malady. Certainly Donald Trump would never say it, but as far as we know he’s not psychotic; he suffers, rather, from multiple personality disorders. I’ve known (not very well, though) two schizophrenics, and I can imagine both of them saying it or something more or less like it.
Can you imagine Donald Drumpf saying "What an ass am I?" His brain would literally explode. And that is why he cannot be allowed another term as President.
@@itsallgoodman4108 The least we could do is educate ourselves, whoever we are and wherever we are from, everyone should be learned in history and literature.
What I like about this is that it is not overly moderated but feels like a real and spontaneous conversation. Today moderators impose themselves too much in seeking to guide conversation, hand out parcels of speaking time to each speaker, et . But in real every day life we don't have moderated conversations and that is what helps the flow of ideas. Here are four people talking.
i've always admired and revered orson welles, but am captivated by o'toole's intellect as highlighted in this excerpt. what a freaking genius he was - and what a delight this video is to watch!
This is literally a meeting of the minds, captured on film. The way Orson & O'Toole discover they agree with eachother, those aha! moments when each one hears their own thoughts put into words by the other. It's lovely, the conversation really blossoms when they discover they're kindred spirits about certain elements of Hamlet. That it's documented on film is just one of the everyday miracles of modernity.
Elegant way of speech, fascinating conversations, and THESE TWO PEOPLE IN THE SAME ROOM?!!!! Thank you internet for this...for a way I can live in a beautiful past.
I have listened to this many times, watched or read Hamlet, and watched this again. What a rare and superb nugget to have survived on film and made it to the electronic archives. These two are probably the premier Shakespearean actors of their time (yes, I really believe so), and their observations helped my really understand Hamlet for the first time.
Peter O'Toole was a genuine scholar! He didn't come off that way at all on Carson, etc. And, Welles was a real class act (In social settings ... check out videos of him directing. As you might expect, quite focused and a perfectionist.)
Wow! How gratifying to see 4 very smart men (2 of whom may have been geniuses) discuss a complex and obtuse series of Shakespearean passages with such insight. They don't have TV like this anymore.
Paul Wardle - I think you chose the wrong word to describe the Shakespearean passages. Shakespeare was not "obtuse" and he didn't write obtusely. Perhaps you meant to write "obscure."
Personally, I was more taken with the twinkle in another man's eye - (and the gentle exasperation) as OW was guffawing in reaction to one of Peter's many elegant slam-downs.
Wow! I am almost spell bound by these intelligent, loquacious, mellifluous and eloquent orators. People spoke beautiful in those days, even OW mid Atlantic English
it's just so satisfying how Peter and Orson are so in sync....they really enjoy each others company and it's almost like the other 2 are school professors and their the bad students.
@@garymitchell5899 Orson Welles looked young in this and so did Peter O'Toole, and at that time he really did drink very heavily, as he was the first to admit. He honestly looked very different when he was older, poor man, as he suffered from some very serious health problems. From the appearance of both men, I took this conversation to have taken place a long time ago.
What good fortune to come across this film. The finesse of these two then young actors - two geniuses with their langourous-like charm and tremendous spontaneity/passion and cheek/humour. This is a real discussion and very enriching. The two old fogeys are out of their depth in terms of personality. Who's like these two today I wonder ?
Can you imagine a round table with Robert DiNiro, Lee Marvin, Warren Oats and Andy Warhol (he was a movie director)? I have seen them all on TV separately. Excruciating.
Some temporal context for this intellectual and cultural feast: At the time of this airing, Johnny Carson had helmed the "Tonight" show, over here in the States, for almost exactly a year; O'Toole had become an international superstar in "Lawrence of Arabia," one year earlier; Welles had done the same thing with "Citizen Kane," 22 years earlier; and the Beatles were due to take America (and, by extension, the world) by storm in four short months. I love the delight with which O'Toole and Welles enjoy each others' observations about "Hamlet" and Shakespeare... did they ever work together? What I would give to see that... To my knowledge, I have neither heard of, nor seen, the work of Ernest Milton, but based on his contributions here, I must assume that, as an actor, he was marvelous.
As far as I can find, they never worked together on a film or play and our world is poorer for it, without doubt. However, they had a healthy stable of mutual friends (Anthony Quinn, John Huston, Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, and John Gielgud being among the more notable) and so the two likely shared a dinner table more than once. Oh, to be a fly on the wall for those conversations, especially after a bottle of wine (or two, or three). Hopefully, the two are in the great theatre in the sky, splitting a humidor of fine cigars and whiling away eternity with the Bard himself. Ernest Milton, by the way, was an Anglo-American actor who played Hamlet regularly on the London stage from the 1920s to the 1940s, and in his day was considered one of the finest interpreters of the Danish Prince. The list of actors who could have made a better third triumvir for this discussion is remarkably short; in their day, it might have only included John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, and were it possible, perhaps the ghost of Edwin Booth (conjuring a spirit to discuss Hamlet seems doubly fitting). Without resorting to gross sentimentalism, I wish modern television featured more stirring discourses like this. Look at the popularity of podcasts; clearly a market exists for fine conversation and expert discussion. And yet all our networks seem to produce is trite, sensationalized sludge. Thank goodness for UA-cam, preserving the thoughts of these masters for the interested and erudition-starved.
One minor thing I'd to add about the posting mentioning Johnny Carson. In The Best.of Johnny Carson 1970s-1980s, tape 2, halfway through, we.have "Huckster Hamlet" Johnny doing the To Be or Not To Be, constantly stopping to try and sell stuff. He says To sleep no.more... and pulls out over the counter sleeping aids! "The shocks that flesh is heir too..If you are having trouble with your shocks... and he pulls.out a card for car repairs..It's really not to be missed for fans of Hamlet.
What a flowering of popular culture that time was. Middle-brow culture at its height, and I don't mean "middle-brow" to be an insult in the slightest. It's a missing aspect of today's culture, where everything is either so supposedly "high" that it no longer has need for beauty, or is in the gutter, where beauty is mocked as something unattainable and therefore elitist and necessary to tear down.
How amazingly O'Tool talks about passion and human instinct and passion, how beautifully expressed and joy gets completed when Wells just talks with that tenor voice!
Yes Orson is a beast of knowledge and domination. I agree he likes O'Toole's thoughts and company; that's an achievement, as Orson had zero tolerance for the weak minded.
well you could look at him in this way. The 'War of the Wars' was definitely a case of that. He was a control freak and perfectionist that influenced stanley Kubrick with that tendency, a monomania.
Enjoyed that thoroughly. Made me consider Hamlet in an entirely new way. O'Toole was such a brilliant man. I would have loved to have seen Richard Burton seated at that table. He too had a deep appreciation for Shakespeare.
This is such a WONDERFUL archive treasure - look how relaxed and yet so engaged they are! And how informed, how well-opinionated and informed. It is a pity that we do not have the equivalent format today.
I remember Huw Weldon, and Monitor so well when I was at school. Monitor had so many great serious and intelligent topics and guests to analyse so many cultural aspects.
Reviving this comment stream entirely because Peter O'Toole understands something profound at 15:33 about how Shakespeare understood the passions. Through his character Hamlet (named almost after his dead son) he communicated how potent grief could become a trap for the human soul. Peter O'Toole's impassioned reading and analysis of Thomas More, and sadly for us, the archive gets odd splits in the tape, but still: Peter O-Toole has caught something in the creation of Hamlet (the character) in his contrast to Laertes and Fortinbras that was missed by his elders.
I love them all together: Orson Welles busting out laughing, Milton's unamused stare, and Peter O'Toole looking around like, "C'mon, give it to me! Give it to me!"
@@quincycampbell9828 I think in this case his use of the words "dyke" is more endearing than it is meant as an insult. They are after all talking about a fellow actor(Greta Garbo), whom they no doubt, in reality, respected.
Essentially, them talking about Shakespeare is little different than some Marvel nerds discussing and over analyzing a comic book. All covered with a veneer of fancy words and polished accents.
1000 comments about a four-way dialogue. I enjoy reading the comments about the actors' comments. This discussion brings a depth that you rarely see in academia, where, again, it is all about a collection of comments accumulated over time. This is no mere get-together, for the actor knows it is the BBC and they are acting at the top of their form. They are acting as you would act where brilliance and artistry are involved. They did their homework and it seems so spontaneous to us, the audience. The spirit of acting and living the parts pervades and informs the discussion, as they are performing for each other... and us. What comes out is a dazzling display of brilliance, wrapped in the light of language and conveying the soul of a very dark play -- in the experience of these children sitting and playing with each other at the seashore.
Of these brilliant three, O'Toole speaks with a confidence that would be insufferable if it were not so clearly genuine and almost ingenuous that is he among them who knows Hamlet best as a person, as an alter ego, as a friend, as a sibling.
What a wonder ... What a pleasure, to be a witness, to such a thoughtful discussion. And though, I'm certainly No expert, on Hamlet. Listening to these Gentlemen. I'm reminded of being a child. Listening on end, to my parents, and their friends. As they would all be seated at the dining table; discussing a myriad of topics, long into the night. And although, I was young, perhaps being only 7 or 8. But being completely enthralled, by their banter. As for Hamlet himself, here's my take. During my "formative years" and beyond; My Dad often assailed me, with His chronic observation, "You think too much !" Perhaps that "nature"; If that's the curse of "genius" ? That, ultimately drove Hamlet Mad. All that was needed was a catalyst. And that was provided by circumstance. All accelerated, by what is now referred to as, " Sensory Overload". Like all Great Writers - Shakespeare obviously had His hand, on the Pulse of the Human Condition. That is Genius.
KenKen3593 I don't think the reason they speak so clearly is because of the pressure of appearing on TV or anything associated with it for that manner. I think it's more to do with appealing to the common denominator in TV and dumbing everything down, instead of speaking to your audience as if they had some understanding of what you were saying.
zipher123 I think the modern problem of TV you are describing is the incessant need for laughs brought about by the 'Late night' comedic host, which has infiltrated all TV interviewing and talk shows. It is about narcissistic promotion and forced comedy, which is why we can't have nice things like this. Actors roundtable comes rather close though, as does one on one director interviews.
They never became drinkers until much later my dear. It is clear that, at this point (Oct. '63), they are bright, and their memories are functioning wonderfully in their primes. The stress and drinking that ravaged all of the great actors during this period, was just a ways off.
Just found this! An American of fierce intelligence and love of Shakespeare , an Anglo/Irish actor of equally dedicated love, an Anglo/American actor with a life spent in the glory of the Bard. Bliss!
@@linshanhsiang Well his mother was Scottish, his father was Irish but he was born in Leeds in England. So yes, Anglo/Irish. (Whatever yarn he span Carson).
@@pedelibero Being born on English soil does not make you English. And "Anglo Irish" has a precise meaning, that is, a descendant of English settlers on Irish soil who did not intermarry with native Irish. Look it up. And could a name be more Irish than "O'Toole"?
@@linshanhsiang'Anglo Irish’ does not just mean 'a descendant of English settlers on Irish soil'. The trouble with people like you is you look something up on Wikipedia and think you’ve done the research. Unlike you I am Irish and I get very tired of English people like O’Toole claiming they are Irish born when they’re not. To quote a headline in the Irish Independent ‘O'Toole's claims of Irish roots are blarney’. If you don’t know what ‘blarney’ means, look it up. PS having an Irish surname doesn’t make you Irish, that’s a fantasy indulged in by Yanks.
@@pedelibero "People like me"? You assume I base my remarks on Wikipedia, when they are actually based on years of reading about the Anglo-irish. Dictionaries support my contention that "Anglo-Irish" as a noun refers to descendants of English settled in Ireland. Second meaning is adjectival, referring to a treaty between the countries. Additionally, there is no reason to doubt that O'Tooles father was from Ireland. His mother may have been Scottish but archeologists tell us that the Irish settled Scotland in ancient times, eventually intermarrying with the native Picts, so Scots have the right to claim they are of Irish descent. You seem to support your opinion on a newspaper article. Well, we all know how much they are worth. Mostly good for lining the birdcage.
The talent in that room would keep the lights on alone. Giant talent and men in control of their profession like no other. Where oh where are such actors now... 24.18 minutes of pure gold!!
I'd like to put in a good word or three for Ernest Milton. I think his observations about Hamlet were as valid as Welles's and O'Toole's, strengthened by his experience with the play (portraying Hamlet and the Ghost).
This is like watching an interview with Shakespeare himself. There is no better authority or interpreter of the Bard than Saint Peter of O’Toole or Sir Orson Falstaff Welles. Thank you for this clip.
peter said , around these years that Hamlet was difficult to play, and he found him confusing to play at times and felt he couldnt play him. but boy, the intelligence they have about hamlet, or even Shakespeare is outstanding
@@viracocha A show like this would never get network time today. And even when one compares late-night tv shows like Johnny Carson to Jimmy Kimmel (and all the rest) you will notice the same disparity in quality.
I craved to meet Welles, whom I thought had few peers in cinema or in thought - but I missed him. I came close, meeting with John Houseman at DeKalb College in GA. We talked about Welles' "Don Quixote," which Houseman felt might never be completed. This conversation among major Shakespeareans absorbs us for the virtuosity of discussion, the sheer revel in language and for those who themselves celebrate language. It might be three powerful, musical conductors who reminiscence on those pieces of divine music and their finest interpreters, and each recollection evolves into its own, unique performance.
Just a word here about my father, Huw Wheldon, who chaired this conversation, and who was the presenter and editor and generally grand panjandrum of 'Monitor' - he and Welles had worked together before, for the BBC, and OW was keen that Wheldon should be his producer. Dad wisely turned the offer down. He said that being in a room with OW 'was like being in a room with a cathedral', a surreal, but brilliant description.
That's genuinely fascinating. Thank you for sharing it.
Is there any chance that more of this interview exists?
Wynn Pierce Wheldon,
Your father was mind-controller. Obviously, nothing to be proud of.
'Monitor' - mon - moon - the left-side of the brain. He was only, programming the masses to use their lower-self. Actors, directors and editors and such are employed to train something sinister into to sub-conscious of the unwitting.
The BBC ain't nicknamed the British Brainwashing Corporation, for nothing.
Incidentally, it is also, called the British Buggering Corporation because it is full of paedophiles and other freaks. That's why there is a statue of a boy and a weird looking man at the front entrance to it's studios.
Your Dad was almost certainly, a Freemason (as they-all are) so, if you don't think I'm correct
realise, that their is sentence punishable with death for those who, disclose their sordid secrets.
Realise they are master manipulators and deceivers, which is why you are utterly clueless, I am sad to write
💙.
WOW.
I just watched your father's interview of OW in 1960 and it was brilliant. And I remember thinking so well that Welles enjoyed the interview and appreciated your father. You must be very proud. Thanks for sharing.
I came here for Orson, but Peter O'Toole clearly could give a master class on Shakespeare--not just from the acting perspective, but from the philosophical, emotional, historical, and poetic perspective. I learned so much from his few minutes of commentary and conversation. The importance of letting the verse guide the thought and action, the relevance to the Renaissance audience of drawing out particular passions, the relevance of Church doctrines and belief to the interpretation of the Ghost. Wow! So much to chew on from such a short clip! A very learned man at only 31. I wish he was still with us. I wish they all were. I won't look at any of the plays again without considering O'Toole's comments.
This is what makes UA-cam great! Not things like tic tok or vine.
When I read Peter Otoole and Orson Welles having a discussion about Hamlet....wonderful!!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen footage of o’toole speaking so freely or of Welles being so candid and gregarious. They must have enjoyed each other immensely.
I'm sure they did but this is about the 7th interview in a row I have seen on You Tube and Orson has been pretty consistently candid and gregarious in all of them. From young, mid, to old age he seemed to have walked a thin line between being very intellectual and yet very candid and affable.
I like to imagine them going down the pub and continuing this conversation over Scotch and pints of Guinness.
What a pleasure to experience Peter in his genius rather than acting the charming fool as he so often did in interview settings. To hear him speak of Hamlet, to understand all that he carried in his thoughts and knowing as he enacted the parts, is to understand why he was such a great actor.
Kinda reminds me of that gag in the Simpsons where it’s revealed the Krusty show was originally an intellectual talk show from around this time. Krusty even has a similar get up to o’Toole’s lol
I love Peter O'Toole and Orson Welles so much.. so seeing them together gives me so much happiness. XD
Welles considered O'Toole in what turned out to be the Huston-role in the as yet unreleased The Other side of the Wind.
@@tomnovak9658 Available on Netflix at the moment.
Oh well... what a tool!
It's a privilege to hear this beautifully rich conversation.
These type of interviews with serious people are so missed. This is absolutely fascinating and it’s so spontaneous and genuine. Just wonderful.
I can't even imagine any American actors engaging in a discussion this brilliant today.
Agree. Sad.
@@carefulconsumer8682 Why do you say “American” in particular?
Inn Part tea cool l'aire
nö party, gain
Incredible to see this glimpse of O'Toole's intelligence and education. Obviously he was a great actor but it's clear to see he knew his stuff inside and out and was truly passionate about it. Of course Welles could talk insightfully at length on almost any topic, but I hadn't seen O'Toole talking seriously about his work before
Welles always strikes me as extremely affected. He doesn’t argue here so much as proclaim, and he is so pleased with his proclamations and pronouncements that he usually repeats them verbatim immediately. He also repeatedly shouts down Ernest Milton’s very reasonable and considered opinions while Peter O’Toole piles on. It’s nice that Peter O’Toole has done a bit of homework and is willing to share it with us, but that’s all I can really say in his favor.
@jeffburns4219 imo O'Toole was the only one who was talking from knowledge. Milton was mainly talking personal perceptions and spirituality - nothing wrong with that except it being not particularly informative or insightful unless you're invested in knowing about Milton the man himself. If only Welles had allowed the other two to finish their sentences once in a while. But I do think O'Toole had the correct approach to the inquiries (using contemporary discourses to aid the textual analysis whilst aware of the historical impliations of there being various quartos etc) they touched upon even though he hadn't been right all the time, and him and Milton would have perhaps been able to hold an actual conversation without someone with 10X volume constantly shouting down and piling on.
Absolutely marvellous conversation just shows how dumbed down television and audiences are today! Cant stop playing it back.
Yes, I have watched it six or seven times.
Get over yourself
Yeah, I have a hard time imagining this conversation on modern TV, even on PBS.
Oh, lord. Have you seen the Dagwood movies? There was PLENTY of crap back then - and always. Just as there’s plenty of highbrow stuff now.
You can't stop playing this back? 😂 😂 😂 Get Netflix fast.
I love the moments of silence ... unimaginable nowadays ...
Yes moments of silence so the mouth does not spurt out gibberish like nowadays. Dumbing down for 21st century wimps.
@@alexr2172 great counterpoint. I think both points are equally valid.
Peter O’Toole was not only a great actor but also a true intellect.
At its most captivating in his assessment of Ms. Garbo.
@@mortalclown3812hahahaha 😆
It was the glasses.
Can anyone imagine having this on the bbc today? How far we’ve fallen.
Indeed
Probably would be considered problematic and far-right.
@@emilinebelle7811 that made you sound exactly like an angry clinical psychopath and Nazi
@@emilinebelle7811 STOP BEING MAD AT IMAGINARY PEOPLE
@@Lircking
Um, take your meds.
5:22 Welles: "I don't think any madman ever said 'Why what an ass am I.'" - this moment brought tears to my eyes for reasons I don't fully understand. Powerful words.
Study shakespeare and the great british actors. Its not just philosophy, its embodying life in all its permutations. Read about Harris and O’Toole. Believe me theres nothint wrong with you. Youre human, its the world thats growing sick. Men in this era understood deeply the literature and art of our history. You should too! Memorize some shakespeare
I should think it would depend on the particular mental malady. Certainly Donald Trump would never say it, but as far as we know he’s not psychotic; he suffers, rather, from multiple personality disorders. I’ve known (not very well, though) two schizophrenics, and I can imagine both of them saying it or something more or less like it.
Can you imagine Donald Drumpf saying "What an ass am I?" His brain would literally explode. And that is why he cannot be allowed another term as President.
@@itsallgoodman4108 The least we could do is educate ourselves, whoever we are and wherever we are from, everyone should be learned in history and literature.
@@andrewwilliams9599 to be fair his brain did come close to exploding
Amazing! Was that what BBC viewers could encounter on their TV set in 1963?
Where have we come in 60 years?
From this to transsexual perverts talking about PRIDE week !
🤮🤮🤮
Down, down, down
What I like about this is that it is not overly moderated but feels like a real and spontaneous conversation. Today moderators impose themselves too much in seeking to guide conversation, hand out parcels of speaking time to each speaker, et . But in real every day life we don't have moderated conversations and that is what helps the flow of ideas. Here are four people talking.
i've always admired and revered orson welles, but am captivated by o'toole's intellect as highlighted in this excerpt. what a freaking genius he was - and what a delight this video is to watch!
cynicalgirl67 - Yes. Until the booze took its toll! What a pity!
@@wiseonwords
Intellectuals and alcohol always go together and hand in hand.
OW was probably very jealous of PO.
It is not true that others follow the same path as you, Mylady
what a wonderful insight analysis on HAMLET ... THANK YOU FOR UP-LOADING THIS JEWEL ..
There comes a time in every man's life when he encounters the stark realisation that he will never be as cultured and articulate as Orson Welles
It's hard to believe that he's from the midwest in U.S.
Wow, this is one treasure of a conversation.
This is literally a meeting of the minds, captured on film. The way Orson & O'Toole discover they agree with eachother, those aha! moments when each one hears their own thoughts put into words by the other. It's lovely, the conversation really blossoms when they discover they're kindred spirits about certain elements of Hamlet. That it's documented on film is just one of the everyday miracles of modernity.
Isn't this video?
Elegant way of speech, fascinating conversations, and THESE TWO PEOPLE IN THE SAME ROOM?!!!! Thank you internet for this...for a way I can live in a beautiful past.
I have listened to this many times, watched or read Hamlet, and watched this again. What a rare and superb nugget to have survived on film and made it to the electronic archives. These two are probably the premier Shakespearean actors of their time (yes, I really believe so), and their observations helped my really understand Hamlet for the first time.
How can you watch and read Hamlet without understanding what it means. Ridiculous
This is a verbal ballet. I love it.
i.e. "I think everybody in the play is mad; Hamlet's the only sane one in it." 5:06
Thanks for the lovely image I now have in my head of Orson Welles in a pink tutu and points...
Lovely Peter o Toole with spectacles,,, ❤️
Peter O'Toole was a genuine scholar! He didn't come off that way at all on Carson, etc. And, Welles was a real class act (In social settings ... check out videos of him directing. As you might expect, quite focused and a perfectionist.)
I can listen this over and over.
Wow! How gratifying to see 4 very smart men (2 of whom may have been geniuses) discuss a complex and obtuse series of Shakespearean passages with such insight. They don't have TV like this anymore.
Paul Wardle - I think you chose the wrong word to describe the Shakespearean passages. Shakespeare was not "obtuse" and he didn't write obtusely. Perhaps you meant to write "obscure."
.
6:27 Seeing Orson Welles laugh always makes me feel good about living.
I don't know why i often return to the video to see him laugh out loud. So satisfying non scripted spontaneous reaction!
Yes
Personally, I was more taken with the twinkle in another man's eye - (and the gentle exasperation) as OW was guffawing in reaction to one of Peter's many elegant slam-downs.
Especially when they cut to the other guy who refuses to participate in such low brow humor lmao and then back to welles' contorted face.
Could someone exlain please what he laughs at?
I could listen to them speak about this for days and never get tired of it.
God I wish somebody could post the full discussion
hysterical laughter.... drops to straight face, "Indeed."
Travis Rios hahahahahahaha thats hilerious
6:35 for reference
@@Herodollus I'm sorry I have a bad English I can't understand what peter o'toole said before orson laughed. Can you please tell me?
Actors are insane .. all of them
@@SLASHzoneYEAH raving Swedish lesbian! I had to look it up too!
Wow! I am almost spell bound by these intelligent, loquacious, mellifluous and eloquent orators. People spoke beautiful in those days, even OW mid Atlantic English
it's just so satisfying how Peter and Orson are so in sync....they really enjoy each others company and it's almost like the other 2 are school professors and their the bad students.
What a treat to listen to two of my favorite actors discuss with such aplomb and humor about a great play like Hamlet. How brilliant they were.
APLOMB? dont even try
Thank you so much for this wonderful fragment. The loss of Peter O'Toole is the one that saddens me most.
It's wonderful to see how brilliant Peter O'Toole could be when he wasn't drunk. So marvellous to see and hear this conversation.
He didn't drink for more than the last thirty years of his life so I'm not sure what you mean.
@@garymitchell5899 Orson Welles looked young in this and so did Peter O'Toole, and at that time he really did drink very heavily, as he was the first to admit. He honestly looked very different when he was older, poor man, as he suffered from some very serious health problems. From the appearance of both men, I took this conversation to have taken place a long time ago.
Oh, I'm sure he's a bit drunk here...Welles probably was too. They're just not "blotto" or anything...
I feel so privelaged listening to this conversation. This is so special to hear these giants among men talk with one another nonchalantly.
Shakespeare has a line to sum up every mood. My favourite is, “ When sorrow comes, they come not as single spies but in battalions.” Hamlet.
One of the best discussions about Shakespeare and Hamlet ever. Peter O'Toole is on fire. Orson Welles is a great foil.
What good fortune to come across this film. The finesse of these two then young actors - two geniuses with their langourous-like charm and tremendous spontaneity/passion and cheek/humour. This is a real discussion and very enriching. The two old fogeys are out of their depth in terms of personality. Who's like these two today I wonder ?
Can you imagine a round table with Robert DiNiro, Lee Marvin, Warren Oats and Andy Warhol (he was a movie director)? I have seen them all on TV separately. Excruciating.
I'm pretty sure a round table with those four would be anything but excruciating - on the right day.
Isn't this just wonderful; isn't it just the best!!!! What a moment in time captured forever!!!
I find it self indulgent and cringey.
Find the end......fascinating insight and exquisite use of a long forgotten language, English.
"He must have been a great actor.... He must have been a great actor" The look on Peter's face - Truly brilliant!
Goodness that hard break at the end was painful. What a delightful discussion. Thank you.
There just aren't any personalities like Welles anymore. Shame. Thank God for UA-cam.
Some temporal context for this intellectual and cultural feast:
At the time of this airing, Johnny Carson had helmed the "Tonight" show, over here in the States, for almost exactly a year; O'Toole had become an international superstar in "Lawrence of Arabia," one year earlier; Welles had done the same thing with "Citizen Kane," 22 years earlier; and the Beatles were due to take America (and, by extension, the world) by storm in four short months.
I love the delight with which O'Toole and Welles enjoy each others' observations about "Hamlet" and Shakespeare... did they ever work together? What I would give to see that...
To my knowledge, I have neither heard of, nor seen, the work of Ernest Milton, but based on his contributions here, I must assume that, as an actor, he was marvelous.
Thank you for this. Yes, it would've been great to see a collaboration between the two great talents.
Excellent perspectives on a delightful conversation.
As far as I can find, they never worked together on a film or play and our world is poorer for it, without doubt. However, they had a healthy stable of mutual friends (Anthony Quinn, John Huston, Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, and John Gielgud being among the more notable) and so the two likely shared a dinner table more than once. Oh, to be a fly on the wall for those conversations, especially after a bottle of wine (or two, or three). Hopefully, the two are in the great theatre in the sky, splitting a humidor of fine cigars and whiling away eternity with the Bard himself.
Ernest Milton, by the way, was an Anglo-American actor who played Hamlet regularly on the London stage from the 1920s to the 1940s, and in his day was considered one of the finest interpreters of the Danish Prince. The list of actors who could have made a better third triumvir for this discussion is remarkably short; in their day, it might have only included John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, and were it possible, perhaps the ghost of Edwin Booth (conjuring a spirit to discuss Hamlet seems doubly fitting).
Without resorting to gross sentimentalism, I wish modern television featured more stirring discourses like this. Look at the popularity of podcasts; clearly a market exists for fine conversation and expert discussion. And yet all our networks seem to produce is trite, sensationalized sludge. Thank goodness for UA-cam, preserving the thoughts of these masters for the interested and erudition-starved.
One minor thing I'd to add about the posting mentioning Johnny Carson. In The Best.of Johnny Carson 1970s-1980s, tape 2, halfway through, we.have "Huckster Hamlet" Johnny doing the To Be or Not To Be, constantly stopping to try and sell stuff. He says To sleep no.more... and pulls out over the counter sleeping aids! "The shocks that flesh is heir too..If you are having trouble with your shocks... and he pulls.out a card for car repairs..It's really not to be missed for fans of Hamlet.
What a flowering of popular culture that time was. Middle-brow culture at its height, and I don't mean "middle-brow" to be an insult in the slightest. It's a missing aspect of today's culture, where everything is either so supposedly "high" that it no longer has need for beauty, or is in the gutter, where beauty is mocked as something unattainable and therefore elitist and necessary to tear down.
How amazingly O'Tool talks about passion and human instinct and passion, how beautifully expressed and joy gets completed when Wells just talks with that tenor voice!
Damn, Peter O'Toole was cool.
I'd give a lot to get hold of this whole program.
Thanks so much for posting.
Wow, this is wonderful; I had no idea this existed. A true gem to watch and hear these legends.
At times Welles does overdominate the conversation but he certianly seems to like and appreciate O'Toole's thoughts.
Yes Orson is a beast of knowledge and domination. I agree he likes O'Toole's thoughts and company; that's an achievement, as Orson had zero tolerance for the weak minded.
Paul Baran The Orson can have a powerful influence on the weak-minded
well you could look at him in this way. The 'War of the Wars' was definitely a case of that. He was a control freak and perfectionist that influenced stanley Kubrick with that tendency, a monomania.
He's freakin' Orson Welles, pal
TheBritomart I'm a fan of Orson Welles.He is the greatest motion picture director of all time...
Enjoyed that thoroughly. Made me consider Hamlet in an entirely new way. O'Toole was such a brilliant man. I would have loved to have seen Richard Burton seated at that table. He too had a deep appreciation for Shakespeare.
wouldve been friction between him and Welles, Welles didn't like him one bit
Richard Burton would have loved this debate...
Burton? no way, I would love to have had Shakespeare himself there to clarify what these guys are talking about cus I don't have a
clue.
Too bad for you.
Thank you for posting this treat. It's great to see a conversation with Peter O'Toole and Orson Welles.
Seeing O'toole so young, sharp, piercing, is... He was a very different young man before all those years of living.
Exquisite discussion. Thank you.
This is such a WONDERFUL archive treasure - look how relaxed and yet so engaged they are! And how informed, how well-opinionated and informed. It is a pity that we do not have the equivalent format today.
These were the days when people wanted to be actors, not movies stars. And there is a big difference.
Spot on. Actors. Movie stars are incidental.
Great point and brilliant considering one of O'Toole's greatest lines from "My Favorite Year" is "I am not an actor! I'm a movie star!"
The greatest actors are movie stars too. Star quality is charisma.
Not true.
Actors pretend to be somebody
Movies stars pretend that somebody is them.
What a gift to look at now that Peter is gone.
And Welles.
Adonis O'toole
A Jewell! Milton' vs Otoole and Welles in the middle, lighting the fire of conflict. Great!
They are completely immersed in the flow of thought. What delightful brilliant men!
I enjoy watching this conversation a couple times a year
I'm with Orson
I remember Huw Weldon, and Monitor so well when I was at school. Monitor had so many great serious and intelligent topics and guests to analyse so many cultural aspects.
Reviving this comment stream entirely because Peter O'Toole understands something profound at 15:33 about how Shakespeare understood the passions. Through his character Hamlet (named almost after his dead son) he communicated how potent grief could become a trap for the human soul. Peter O'Toole's impassioned reading and analysis of Thomas More, and sadly for us, the archive gets odd splits in the tape, but still: Peter O-Toole has caught something in the creation of Hamlet (the character) in his contrast to Laertes and Fortinbras that was missed by his elders.
A must for school students doing Hamlet. Also, I didn’t know The Ghost was originally played by WS himself!
At 6:10, O'Toole comments on Garbo's Queen Christina - don't know what's funnier, Orson Welles' breaking up or Ernest Milton's silent glare!
Steven segal
57buickcentury. 7
I love them all together: Orson Welles busting out laughing, Milton's unamused stare, and Peter O'Toole looking around like, "C'mon, give it to me! Give it to me!"
Peter wasn't a homophobe was he?
It would certainly surprise me if I discovered he was.
@@quincycampbell9828 I think in this case his use of the words "dyke" is more endearing than it is meant as an insult. They are after all talking about a fellow actor(Greta Garbo), whom they no doubt, in reality, respected.
We've gone from this to Joe Rogan podcasts. 😔
Thankfully we still have conversations like this, just with less viewers
Oh hush, some JRE episodes have more intellectual rigor than this over sophisticated babble.
Essentially, them talking about Shakespeare is little different than some Marvel nerds discussing and over analyzing a comic book. All covered with a veneer of fancy words and polished accents.
Holyshit ... Holyfuckingshit.
Truth!
A nation of illiterates.
@@PlayNiceFolks
Boy did you just make that guy's point.
"This discussion is going to wallow in agreement." It certainly did, and is all the more wonderful and revelatory for it.
1000 comments about a four-way dialogue. I enjoy reading the comments about the actors' comments. This discussion brings a depth that you rarely see in academia, where, again, it is all about a collection of comments accumulated over time. This is no mere get-together, for the actor knows it is the BBC and they are acting at the top of their form. They are acting as you would act where brilliance and artistry are involved. They did their homework and it seems so spontaneous to us, the audience. The spirit of acting and living the parts pervades and informs the discussion, as they are performing for each other... and us. What comes out is a dazzling display of brilliance, wrapped in the light of language and conveying the soul of a very dark play -- in the experience of these children sitting and playing with each other at the seashore.
They uncover some real jewels of thinking about the play as they discuss. A great find. Thanks for posting.
2 of my favorite geniuses: Peter O'Toole and Orson Wells. I love youtube for this kind of thing.
Love these old luvvies
Fascinating!
Oh, bugger! The clip ends abruptly.
Of these brilliant three, O'Toole speaks with a confidence that would be insufferable if it were not so clearly genuine and almost ingenuous that is he among them who knows Hamlet best as a person, as an alter ego, as a friend, as a sibling.
What a wonder ... What a pleasure, to be a witness, to such a thoughtful discussion. And though, I'm certainly No expert, on Hamlet. Listening to these Gentlemen. I'm reminded of being a child. Listening on end, to my parents, and their friends. As they would all be seated at the dining table; discussing a myriad of topics, long into the night. And although, I was young, perhaps being only 7 or 8. But being completely enthralled, by their banter.
As for Hamlet himself, here's my take.
During my "formative years" and beyond; My Dad often assailed me, with His chronic observation, "You think too much !" Perhaps that "nature"; If that's the curse of "genius" ? That, ultimately drove Hamlet Mad. All that was needed was a catalyst. And that was provided by circumstance. All accelerated, by what is now referred to as, " Sensory Overload". Like all Great Writers - Shakespeare obviously had His hand, on the Pulse of the Human Condition. That is Genius.
Orson was a raconteur. There are few of any like him alive today.
He was truly the most interesting man in the world and we have nothing remotely equal to his greatness today, much to our detriment.
They all talk so proper. No one talks like that any more... shame.
and they worked on some amazingly kick4ss, brilliant film projects btw ;-)
That's because no one talks about Hamlet on television anymore.
KenKen3593 I don't think the reason they speak so clearly is because of the pressure of appearing on TV or anything associated with it for that manner. I think it's more to do with appealing to the common denominator in TV and dumbing everything down, instead of speaking to your audience as if they had some understanding of what you were saying.
Especially when O'Toole called Greta Garbo a "raving Svenska dyke".
zipher123 I think the modern problem of TV you are describing is the incessant need for laughs brought about by the 'Late night' comedic host, which has infiltrated all TV interviewing and talk shows. It is about narcissistic promotion and forced comedy, which is why we can't have nice things like this. Actors roundtable comes rather close though, as does one on one director interviews.
I wish I had seen this film years ago. It helps you understand not only the play Hamlet but Shakespeare's plays in general.
What a gem!
The collective attributes of the gentleman in this presentation are phenomenal and irreplaceable... bravo!
My *god* this is glorious.
+Jake Mabe Spot on.
This is nonsense! 3 drunks.
They never became drinkers until much later my dear. It is clear that, at this point (Oct. '63), they are bright, and their memories are functioning wonderfully in their primes. The stress and drinking that ravaged all of the great actors during this period, was just a ways off.
@@lynnmiller3937 Your envy is showing, my dear.
I have viewed this video numerous times. Brilliant.
Just found this! An American of fierce intelligence and love of Shakespeare , an Anglo/Irish actor of equally dedicated love, an Anglo/American actor with a life spent in the glory of the Bard. Bliss!
Was O'Toole Anglo-irish? Think he was simply Irish. Carson once said to him "You're English" (what an idiot) and Peter had to correct him!
@@linshanhsiang Well his mother was Scottish, his father was Irish but he was born in Leeds in England. So yes, Anglo/Irish. (Whatever yarn he span Carson).
@@pedelibero Being born on English soil does not make you English. And "Anglo Irish" has a precise meaning, that is, a descendant of English settlers on Irish soil who did not intermarry with native Irish. Look it up. And could a name be more Irish than "O'Toole"?
@@linshanhsiang'Anglo Irish’ does not just mean 'a descendant of English settlers on Irish soil'. The trouble with people like you is you look something up on Wikipedia and think you’ve done the research. Unlike you I am Irish and I get very tired of English people like O’Toole claiming they are Irish born when they’re not. To quote a headline in the Irish Independent ‘O'Toole's claims of Irish roots are blarney’. If you don’t know what ‘blarney’ means, look it up. PS having an Irish surname doesn’t make you Irish, that’s a fantasy indulged in by Yanks.
@@pedelibero "People like me"? You assume I base my remarks on Wikipedia, when they are actually based on years of reading about the Anglo-irish. Dictionaries support my contention that "Anglo-Irish" as a noun refers to descendants of English settled in Ireland. Second meaning is adjectival, referring to a treaty between the countries.
Additionally, there is no reason to doubt that O'Tooles father was from Ireland. His mother may have been Scottish but archeologists tell us that the Irish settled Scotland in ancient times, eventually intermarrying with the native Picts, so Scots have the right to claim they are of Irish descent.
You seem to support your opinion on a newspaper article. Well, we all know how much they are worth. Mostly good for lining the birdcage.
That 'cool' reading from Orson and the reactions from the others is wonderful.
Thank you for this treasure! Genius at work!!!
The talent in that room would keep the lights on alone. Giant talent and men in control of their profession like no other. Where oh where are such actors now... 24.18 minutes of pure gold!!
I'd like to put in a good word or three for Ernest Milton. I think his observations about Hamlet were as valid as Welles's and O'Toole's, strengthened by his experience with the play (portraying Hamlet and the Ghost).
Love those great interviews with those great minds- rare to find anything like that today.
Fascinating discussion, and so painfully cut short at the end.
thank you for sharing this, just delightful to hear them talk about a play they were clearly so passionate about.
This is like watching an interview with Shakespeare himself. There is no better authority or interpreter of the Bard than Saint Peter of O’Toole or Sir Orson Falstaff Welles. Thank you for this clip.
Welles had the best voice of them all rip
fascinating: the range of thought that's in the play, the character, the varied interpretations.
This should become a national treasure
It's fun to see O'Toole in his real element.
When intellect and art meet, good things happen.
peter said , around these years that Hamlet was difficult to play, and he found him confusing to play at times and felt he couldnt play him.
but boy, the intelligence they have about hamlet, or even Shakespeare is outstanding
Man... mainstream TV's discourse has really gone downhill since 1963.
Downhill? The floor beneath it has concaved!
What makes you think THIS was “mainstream TV”
It was on BBC One and ran for many years. This was Mainstream TV.
Do you mean that Dancing with the Stars, American Idol, and Let's Make a Deal are the bottom of the barrel? Why I'm shocked!
@@viracocha A show like this would never get network time today. And even when one compares late-night tv shows like Johnny Carson to Jimmy Kimmel (and all the rest) you will notice the same disparity in quality.
I craved to meet Welles, whom I thought had few peers in cinema or in thought - but I missed him. I came close, meeting with John Houseman at DeKalb College in GA. We talked about Welles' "Don Quixote," which Houseman felt might never be completed. This conversation among major Shakespeareans absorbs us for the virtuosity of discussion, the sheer revel in language and for those who themselves celebrate language. It might be three powerful, musical conductors who reminiscence on those pieces of divine music and their finest interpreters, and each recollection evolves into its own, unique performance.
o toole, rising above the other members of the show, shows his gift of eloquence...beautiful