REVIEW: Alexander the Great

The Story

The danger in making a spectacle is that the widescreen format and the cast of thousands often submerge the central theme and its characters in glittering trivialities. So many of the spate of spectacles in the mid-to-late Fifties suffered in that way. Writer, director and producer, Robert Rossen, however, succumbed to another danger. So passionate was his admiration for Alexander; so sincere was his interpretation of the Warrior’s life and times, that the rambling narrative lost its dramatic momentum and the final result was to instruct rather than entertain.

The greatness of this film is that it represents one man’s conception of Alexander, a conception based on two years study of the documented evidence from both classical and contemporary writers. Rossen saw Alexander as something more than the world’s first great militarist – he drew him as a man convinced that his destiny was to be a god.

Most people may not be aware of it, but Peter – a relative unknown in 1956, was chosen to play the lead role after Rossen saw him play Dunois in ‘St Joan’ at the Art’s Theatre’ in London. Although he was excited about the opportunity of appearing in a major Hollywood blockbuster Siobhan McKenna, his co-star in play wasn’t quite so enthusiastic.

In a private letter to Peter, she expressed her misgivings, saying that while he was “ALL Dunois”, he would be sorely miscast as Alexander. Ms McKenna was right. In the end, director Robert Rossen saw it too, and Richard Burton was latterly brought in to take over as the film’s leading man. Peter was then offered the role of Pausanius –the General’s lieutenant and confidant.

It has to be said that Burton was a much better choice. Whilst Dunois was a deep-thinker who was both unswervingly devoted and sexually attracted to his Commander, Joan, Alexander was single-minded and driven by power.

In spite of the obvious shortcomings, the construction of the sets that made use of the natural surroundings for their backgrounds proved very successful. There was none of the unrealistic perspective models that frequently marred Cinemascope productions. The many battle scenes were on a vast scale but were frequently a bit tame.

Thankfully, Robert Rossen didn’t succumb to the temptation to follow in the footsteps of Orson Welles and play the lead as well as direct and write the script. Yet ‘Alexander the Great’ would’ve been a superior film had Rossen sought a second opinion on the script. As it is, it is among the few spectacles that merit intelligent consideration as it made no small contribution to the progress of the cinema.

Making Of…

At the foot of a mountain outside Madrid, muscular Greek warriors were being taken to fight the Persians in luxury – motor coaches! General Alexander, alias Richard Burton, was dealing with the vanquished before the battle had even begun, and Claire Bloom, who was almost stripped to the waist, was a “spoil of war”.

Then a whistle blows for a break in filming. The armies fraternised; Burton eased his blond wig, and Ms Bloom slips into something less scanty than her hostage’s gown. Meanwhile, Peter arrives in Madrid airport, fresh from playing Dunois in St Joan, to play Alexander’s confidant, Pausaunius.

After settling in to his hotel, Peter is welcomed by writer, producer and Director, Robert Rossen. During his first visit to the make-up department, Peter’s hair is lightened from its natural dark brown to blond, and his beard trimmed to a more appropriate 356BC style.

According to well-documented history, Pasaunius – a 20-year-old commander in King Philip’s army, was the lover of both Queen Olypias AND her son, Alexander. Both Peter and Richard Burton feel that this fact is integral to the story, and that it would go some way to explaining the young Macedonian’s infatuation with Alexander and his eagerness to do the Queen’s bidding.

Although Rossen agrees with the two actors in theory, after further study courtesy of the British Museum, The Hellenic Society and the French Classical Dictionary of Great Antiquity, Rossen deem this pre-Christian love- triangle to be too risqué for 1950’s cinema audiences, and decides to leave some of the footage they’ve shot on the cutting room floor.

Scenes ranging from Alexander’s army of 30,000 crossing the Hellespont, the mass wedding of 10,000 soldiers to Persian maidens, and the cutting of the Gordian Knot (which was soaked in acid to make it easier to break), take its toll on Rossen’s $5,000,000 budget, and as a result, many other scenes are cut – including some of Peter’s.

Left: Peter (foreground) as Pausaunius

One sequence that does survive, however, is the assassination of King Philip by Pausaunius, which was filmed mid-afternoon under the relentless Spanish sun. So enthusiastic was Peter at his work that veteran American actor, Fredric March, who played Philip, cries: “Suppress your talent, kid. There’s one more take!”

Peter was also required to ride bareback during one scene, which he’d never done before. The horse he was given had come directly from the set of Lawrence Olivier’s Richard III, which had also been shot in Madrid.

Each evening after filming, Robert Rossen returned to his hotel room to sit down with a tablet of yellow paper – it had to be yellow, as it was the only colour he could work on! – to edit the script. Peter and Richard Burton, meanwhile, stayed in the same hotel, and Burton would often learn Peter to sing old Welsh songs whilst they showered – songs which he remembers to this day.

In the mornings, with the sun blazing, Peter would often strip off his leather armour and took a swim in one of the rock streams which flowed down the mountain to cool off.

Prince Peter of Greece joined the crew on set on one occasion to check on the authenticity of each scene. Rossen wanted the finished film to be as historically accurate as possible, and his assistants were forever seen rushing back and forth with various heavy reference books just to be sure. Of course, there were some things, like the Spanish extras playing both Greeks and Persians- sometimes changing sides during a mornings work!

On the set, Peter drank chilled milk and mixed with such legendary stars of stage and screen as Peter Cushing, Stanley Baker, Barry Jones and Harry Andrews. In total, actors from 28 countries. Bottles of cold water were regularly handed out to 30,000 or so extras gathered to take part in the Battle of Chaeronea scene, which would end the supremacy of the Athenians and make King Philip of Macedonia leader of all the Greeks.

For Robert Rossen, ‘Alexander the Great’ was the most ambitious film of his career –the result of a 5 year labour of love involving countless hours of painstaking research. Not usually given to lofty appraisals of his work, Rossen considered his performance in the Director’s Chair to be a serious one; “Everything Alexander said was beautifully, and constrained something worth saying. The utterances of Napoleon were those of a megalomaniac by comparison.”

Peter, who was the original choice to play Alexander, only lost out to Richard Burton at the eleventh hour, said: “At times when we were filming out there in Spain, I often felt very close to Alexander.”

‘Alexander the Great’ was much more than a big, bawling CinemaScope film. It was a symptom of film production in a n age of television.

According to American producers at the time, there were only two types of film at the time with enough intrinsic drawing power in the Fifties to lure the constant viewer. On the right, the gigantic-spectacle-historical-panorama-five-thounsand-extras-and-sixteen-fires-in-colour-and-preferably-CinemaScope epic. On the left, the so-called “off beat” picture, usually in black and white, grimly and “diametrically” analysing headline ‘problems’, like juvenile delinquency, Communism, trade unionism, drink/drug addiction, or political skulduggery.

To the producer, the new pattern made business sense. To his public, it offered size and shock, neither of which TV had yet learned to provide.

With $5,000,000 to spend (a fortune in those days), and a distribution contract in his pocket, the Hollywood producer of the 1950’s would try his hand at making the biggest, longest, most colourful film in the world. These cinema blockbusters were prepared with a ripe awareness of social and artistic responsibility and much scholarly devotion.

In Spain, Robert Rossen was joined by actors and technicians from 28 nations to work on ‘Alexander the Great’ – including Prince Peter of Greece who acted as a technical adviser, Andre Andrejew – the Russian-born Art Director, and Robert Krasker who photographed The Third Man and Romeo and Juliet.

With the enormous talent employed in its making, ‘Alexander the Great’ was much bigger than your average greatest-picture-ever-made. But its chief aim was to get the new TV generation way from their home screens and back into the cinema.

And to do that, it had to be GOOD as well as big!

Picture Story

King Philip (not pictured) has requested reconciliation with his estranged son, Alexander, who he wishes to lead his armies on a campaign into Europe. Philip, however, demands that four of his generals – including his most loyal companion, Pasaunius, must be sent into exile. The four men reluctantly agree, but upon their departure, Philip mocks Pasaunius, saying: “How will you live without your god, Alexander?”

The following evening, Queen Olypias invites Pasaunius to her bedchamber where she plies him with wine. He tells her of Philip’s insult, adding that the King had treated him no better than a stable boy.

Olypias divulges to him something her father once said: “He who wishes to hand his name down for prosperity should kill the person who has accomplished the greatest deeds. Whenever that person is spoken of, he too will be remembered.”

When Alexander arrives to ask his Mother what she has been filling Pasaunius’ head with, she replies: “Nothing that was not already there.”

The following morning, as Philip arrives in Pellas, Pasaunius darts from the cheering crowd and assassinates the King with his sword.

Publicity Materials

Above: Dutch brochure – Below: Inside

Above: (West) German brochure – Below: Inside

PETER WYNGARDE: Introduction

Forget what you’ve read on Wikipedia and other misinformed blogs! This is the REAL Peter Wyngarde…

THE HELLFIRE CLUB: THE OFFICIAL PETER WYNGARDE APPRECIATION SOCIETY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/813997125389790/

BIOGRAPHY

PETER PAUL WYNGARDE was born on Wednesday, August 23rd, 1933, in Marseille, Southern France. He is the son of an English father and French mother.

Owing to his father’s work, Peter spent much of his early childhood moving from country to country, and was educated in a number of different schools. One city that left a lasting impression on him was Shanghai where he’d been left temporarily in the care of a Swiss family while his father was away on business. Amidst the turmoil and confusion, news broke that the Japanese had captured the city, and when soldiers of the Imperial Army began arresting all British citizens, Peter found himself interned in Lunghau Civilian Assembly Centre ^[2].

Morale was low in the camp. However, when a radio was smuggled in, as one of the youngest detainees, Peter was used as a runner to spread the news between billets about the Allies progress, and the mood soon lifted. On one occasion while on his rounds, he was caught by a guard, who punished him by breaking both his feet with a rifle butt, and then throwing him into solitary confinement.

One concession the Japanese did allow was for the prisoners to put plays on in the canteen, and it was here that Peter got the acting bug. However, with the dropping of an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the war was suddenly over. The American’s finally liberated the camp and Peter, along with hundreds of his fellow internees, boarded a cargo ship for Liverpool.

Suffering from malnutrition, Beriberi and Malaria, he was taken to a sanatorium in the Swiss mountains where he remained for nearly two years. After completing his education in Switzerland, France and England, Peter reluctantly honoured his parents’ wishes, and entered university, where he began studying law, but dropped out soon after in favour of a career in advertising. After a brief spell with an agency in London, he walked into an audition, read the part, and was cast as the understudy for the lead in a play in Brighton.

Whilst in Rep at The Grand Theatre in Southampton, he met and fell in love with a young actress, Dorinda Stevens (birth name: Dorothy May Stevens), of whom he said: “She was the most beautiful girl on the block, and I got her!” They married in small church in Sicily. The marriage lasted over six years.

In the mid 50’s, he met up-and-coming actor, Alan Bates, with whom he formed a strong professional bond based on a mutual love of acting ^[3]. At the time, Peter was living in Kent, where he owned a next door to the actress, Dame Edith Evans. For convenience, the two actors rented a flat in London to use when either one of them was appearing in the West End.

While touring with ‘Duel of Angels’ (1958-1960), Peter and his leading lady, Vivien Leigh, became inseparable, and were soon romantically involved. Their Co-star, Claire Bloom, suggested later that Ms Leigh had set her sights on Peter from the outset. “All the girls in the play adored Peter”, she said in a letter to a student author ^[5]. ”He was a beautiful boy who we’d have all loved to take to bed! Vivien had her heart sent on him right from the start, and she managed to seduce him.”

There’s a rather cryptic reference to the pair in Lawrence Olivier’s biography, ‘Confessions of an Actor’, which reads: “My diaries bear witness of determined encroachments on my resolve; Vivien departs, Vivien back; Peter away, Peter back (this was evidence of another encroachment form another quarter).” Further reading: ‘Damn you, Miss Scarlett: The Private Lives of Vivien Leigh and Lawrence Oliver’ by Darwin Porter and Roy Moseley . Published Feb. 2011.

Whilst some misinformed sources suggest that Peter had become typecast by his spell in ‘Department S’ and ‘Jason King’, paperwork in the current possession of Peter’s Personal Assistant (see below), bear witness to the number of producers who were eager to cast Peter in new plays and revivals in the West End.

In the early 1980’s, he quit smoking and drinking, and embarked on a healthier lifestyle; jogging daily and visiting the gym four times a week. He also took up Pistol Shooting, entering and winning many local and national competitions. He’s also a master swordsman, who has fought many times at the world-renowned Green Club. He also enjoys watching Formula 1 racing, tennis, boxing and adores Classic cars.

He is a prolific writer, and still works.

CAREER

Naturally gifted, Peter Wyngarde had no formal training. His very first role was in in ‘Pick-Up Girl’ – a play about juvenile delinquency, in which he was cast in a triple role of ‘A Young Man’, ‘The Door Attendant’ and ‘Policeman Owens’. Once old enough, he began learning his trade in Reparatory Theatre in Colchester, York, Chester, Nottingham and Southampton. His first role on the London stage was with the Nottingham Repertory Company at the Embassy Theatre as Cassio in ‘Othello’. From there, he moved to the world famous Old Vic in Bristol, where he played the lead role in both ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ and ‘Taming of the Shrew’ (Petruchio), and also tried his hand at directing – most notably with ‘Long Day’s Journey into the Night’.

Whilst playing Dunois in George Bernard Shaw’s ‘St. Joan’ in the West End, Peter was invited over to the U.S. to take a screen test for the part of Pausanius in Robert Rossen‘s epic feature film, ‘Alexander the Great’ opposite Richard Burton and Fredric March.

Disillusioned with Hollywood, Peter returned to his first love – the British stage. He was immediately cast as Yang Sun, a Chinese pilot, in Bertold Brecht’s, ‘The Good Woman of Setzuan’, at the Royal Court Theatre in London. It was here that he first made the acquaintance of the Olivier’s – Lawrence and his wife, Vivien Leigh, the latter of whom he later played opposite in the critically acclaimed ‘Duel of Angels’.

In 1957, he was cast as Sidney Carton in a 7-part TV adaptation of Charles Dickens ‘A Tale of Two Cities’. As a result, he received over 4,000 letters from adoring fans, and got his first real taste of being a sex symbol.

Following its hugely successful run at the Apollo Theatre in London in 1958, ‘Duel of Angels’ was to transfer to the American stage. Although reluctant at first to reprise the role of Count Marcellus – mainly because he felt he wouldn’t be able to bring anything new to the part, Vivien Leigh, who’d become extremely close to Peter, managed to change his mind, and so in 1959 he made his American debut at the Helen Hayes Theatre on Broadway. During the tour of the States, he won both the ‘San Francisco Award for Best Actor in a Foreign Play’, and a Tony in the ‘Most Promising Newcomer’ category – both for his portrayal of Count Marcellus.

On his triumphant return to Britain in 1960, he was almost immediately cast as the enigmatic ‘Peter the Painter’ in Monty Berman’s production of ‘The Siege of Sidney Street’ – a film which was based on the true story of the British Government’s legendary battle with a notorious gang of Slavonic anarchist, whose reputation throughout Europe for robbery and murder lead to one of the bloodiest confrontations in British criminal history.

Between numerous starring roles in television productions such as Independent Television’s popular ‘Armchair Theatre’ and ‘Play of the Week’, Peter made two more big-screen appearances in the 1960’s – both Albert Fennell productions. The first, in 1961, was ‘The Innocents’ – a feature-length adaptation of the Henry James’ book, ‘Turn of the Screw’, which was followed in 1962 by the classic supernatural thriller, ‘Night of the Eagle’ (A.K.A. ‘Burn, Witch, Burn’) which was, once again, based of a novel – this time Fritz Leiber’s, ‘Conjure Wife’.

From July of 1960 to March of 1969, Peter appeared in no fewer than thirty television plays, and twice won the coveted Actor of the Year award from the Guild of Television Producers and Directors (UK), in addition to being nominated for an Emmy for his portrayal of Stewart Kirby in the Avengers episode, ‘Epic’. He also made memorable guest appearances in such classic series as The Avengers, The Baron, The Saint, The Champions and The Prisoner, which today have a huge cult following.

In 1969, Peter was cast in what was undoubtedly his most famous role as author-cum-investigator, Jason King, in the ITC action series, ‘Department S’, and soon became the idol of thousands of women the world over. So overwhelming was his effect on television viewers that in 1971, a brand new series – ‘Jason King’ – was devised, which allowed the handsome novelist to go adventuring without restriction.

When the series came to an end in 1972, Peter decided to return to the theatre and, after being greeted at Melbourne Airport by 30,000 screaming fans, he took the city by storm in the World Premiere of ‘Butley’, which played to packed houses every night. Once back in London, he took the lead role in Charles Dyer’s ‘Mother Adam’ at the Hampstead Theatre, of which the highly respected theatre critic, Harold Hobson, said: “Peter Wyngarde gives a performance of near genius – a great actor in the very best sense of the word”. ^[7].

In 1973, he embarked on a British tour in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s ‘The King and I’ opposite Sally Anne Howes, appearing in all 260 performances. The following year, he once again took up the mantle of actor/director with ‘Present Laughter’, stopping off along the way to host the 1974 ‘Miss Television’ Contest.

In late 1975, Peter headed out to Austria to work at the English Theatre in Vienna, to both act in and direct productions of ‘Dear Liar’ and ‘Big Toys’, before returning to the big screen in an Austrian film (‘Himmel, Scheich Und Wolkenbrunch’) in the role of a latter-day Rudolph Valentino. The following year, he returned to the British stage in the Lawrence Parnes production of ‘Anastasia’, and to South Africa in 1978 to play Sidney Bruhl in Ira Levin’s new play, ‘Deathtrap’.

In 1980, he was cast as the evil General Klytus in Dino De Laurentiis’s lavish 1980’s sci-fi blockbuster, Flash Gordon. In 1984, after an absence of almost 12 years, Peter returned to the small screen, appearing in the four-part Doctor Who installment, ‘Planet of Fire’, which was followed in short succession by the Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense story, ‘And The Wall Came Tumbling Down’, and a memorable guest-starring role in Granada Television’s ‘Bulman’.

In 1989, Peter returned to the stage playing hard-man, Harry Roat, for a nine-months tour of South Africa, Asia and the Middle East in ‘Wait Until Dark’, and in the same year he was cast as the unsavoury character, Sir Robert Knights, in the stylish, yet explicitly violent British thriller, ‘Tank Malling’.

Although scarcely ever agreeing to be interviewed due to his being repeatedly misrepresented by the media, Peter consented to appear on SKY TV’s ‘Jameson’ Show’ in the early 90’s, and in 1994, he made a welcome return to British TV screens in Granada Television’s popular ‘The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes’ series opposite Jeremy Brett.

The long-overdue release of both ‘Department S’ and ‘Jason King’ on video in 1993 helped rekindle interest in the debonair Mr Wyngarde, with repeats of the series being shown on satellite and cable channels, and public pressure resulting in the re-release of his 1970 album on CD ^[8].

In recent years, Peter has made numerous TV appearances, which include ‘Astleys Way’, ‘Dee Time’, ‘100 Greatest TV Characters’, ‘Don’t Knock Yourself Out’ and narrated the acclaimed Timeshift documentary, ‘How To Be Sherlock Holmes: The Many Face Of The Master Detective’ in 2014.

Peter remains one of the most popular British actors of all time, with a thriving fan club (The Official Peter Wyngarde Appreciation Society)^[9] and a devoted worldwide following. His appearances at TV and Sci-Fi conventions have drawn thousands of attendees, eager to meet and shake the hand of a true acting legend.