Noel Coward on Acting

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  • čas přidán 10. 02. 2013
  • Interviewed by Michael MacOwan.
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Komentáře • 125

  • @marilynhayden527
    @marilynhayden527 Před 10 lety +78

    Noel coward was on the radio quite a lot when I was a high school student.
    We kids entertained each other singing the lyrics of his complicated, clever patter songs-a tour de force for kids or anybody, but noboy told us we couldn't do it. I still know every word of "Mad About the Boy." (Well, I'm 92.)

    • @bobbbxxx
      @bobbbxxx Před 3 lety +2

      Mad about the Boy is a classic; good for you for having learned it and still remembering the words!!! :)

    • @davidburbage3348
      @davidburbage3348 Před 3 lety +2

      @@bobbbxxx And even more apropos now!

    • @annbush1826
      @annbush1826 Před 2 lety

      “Mad Dogs and Englishmen.” My sister and I used to spout it to each other daily. We also loved Cole Porter’s “You’re the Top”
      Coward is forever the most sophisticated man of his time in “Blithe Spirit,”
      He also wrote and produced “In which we Serve.””
      Our brilliant Irving Berlin created the loving prayer “God Bless America.”

    • @BaddaBigBoom
      @BaddaBigBoom Před rokem

      I think it's a privilege for those who care to watch them that there are recordings like this for future generations to see, I will be 60 next year and I am contented that these precious pieces of film are now immortalised digitally and know that there will always be youngsters that will be interested to watch them.

  • @suebarner8364
    @suebarner8364 Před 9 měsíci +3

    Really, I could listen to him for hours. Delightful.

  • @hyramesshiramess1035
    @hyramesshiramess1035 Před 7 lety +36

    Brittle? Mannered? Affected? NO. This was at bottom a lovely man with a great and tender heart capable of the greatest degree of subtlety. Funny? Well, yes, but capable too of the geatest poignancy. He often had us smiling through tears with a lump in our throats. A very great artist, indeed! But I imagine he'd hate me for saying it out loud.

  • @photographingtoronto2350
    @photographingtoronto2350 Před 4 lety +17

    Sometimes you are disappointed when someone you loved in a film turns-out to be very different themselves. Noel Coward never disappoints! In all respects he is the equal of any character he has ever played and is more interesting than some of them.

    • @julianvanleer9042
      @julianvanleer9042 Před 6 měsíci

      TIf y😅😅y😅t 😅😅ytytytyoyour ryt u😮 😮😮yryt yootuoftoo😮tyryry few yr rex yryiy ryruyruy TorTutu yrytytiytytytyty tea 😮uftiyiiiyr it rytyryri G😊thatrr😮ttyty

  • @vertxxgg
    @vertxxgg Před 10 lety +12

    blood sweat and tears - the greatest..Spanish theater people love mr Coward no actors like the old Brittish actors

  • @bodder777
    @bodder777 Před 9 lety +15

    Given the time in history, Mr Coward had the theatre world at his feet - he was greatly revered by most of the 'great' theatre luminaries for a long time. His plays, done correctly, are great comedic and social commentaries. It can seem period, and some must be played accordingly, but many remain quite contemporary. What he says about acting is from a lifetime of experience at dizzying heights, and extraordinarily insightful. As far as 'being affected', the great Stella Adler was in England and out shopping. A clerk asked where in London he should have the packages delivered. 'New York', she replied. 'Oh!', said the clerk, 'I thought you were British!' 'No,' replied Ms Adler, 'just affected.' Those people had wit and style. And that ain't easily done...

    • @douglasmilton2805
      @douglasmilton2805 Před 4 lety +1

      bodder777 Lovely story about Stella Adler, thank you.

    • @wbcjr17106
      @wbcjr17106 Před 11 měsíci

      Jonathan Harris (Dr. Smith of Lost In Space), himself a New Yorker of Jewish extraction, later used that story to great effect on one of his many fans.

  • @akarpowicz
    @akarpowicz Před 7 lety +21

    Amazing interview on the art of acting. The best I've seen so far. Many thanks for uploading.

  • @HarryDennit
    @HarryDennit Před 7 lety +12

    Pearl after pearl of wisdom. Wonderful stuff!

  • @LeChezPoulet
    @LeChezPoulet Před 10 lety +7

    What an enjoyable program! Thank you so much for posting.

  • @citizendavid
    @citizendavid Před 3 lety +2

    he smokes the cig like he's on stage .. I would sit and listen to his voice on NPR radio programs .. and many times repeat his words .. hearing the pronouncing ... Great voice

  • @AmericasChoice
    @AmericasChoice Před 4 lety +3

    In Which We Serve is a favorite of mine, I have it on DVD. It was interesting to hear him say it was one of the most difficult projects/roles he ever did. He pulled it off with aplomb.

    • @AmericasChoice
      @AmericasChoice Před 4 lety

      Having David Lean as Assistant Director and Guy Green as 1st Cameraman didn't hurt...

  • @GENNERELLO
    @GENNERELLO Před 3 lety +3

    Noel was irresistibly talented actor ...a very classy witty intelligent guy ...thanks for this interview...👏👏👏👏👏👏

  • @phaidonnikolaus9841
    @phaidonnikolaus9841 Před 9 lety +6

    Rupert von Trapp - I could not agree more! I met him when I was a child and too young to know that I was meeting a celebration of life and wit. The latter is dead and the former comes to all of us, but Noel made even this a celebration.

  • @hermajesty52
    @hermajesty52 Před 3 lety +24

    Wonderful interview. HOW Noël would have loathed what passes for entertainment today... 😭 and how I miss the civility of his time.

    • @Uthedudeful
      @Uthedudeful Před 2 lety +1

      He also loathed what passed for entertainment in his own time - he had a real go at the Angry Young Men and the Kitchen Sink style plays of the 1950s. The backlash was so great he actually recanted and tried to repair his relationship with John Osborne, but alas to no avail.

    • @jeanash9502
      @jeanash9502 Před rokem +2

      Marvelous interview 👌 grateful for utube 🍻 cheers

    • @Hutch41
      @Hutch41 Před rokem

      Yeah but he was a screaming pillow biter wasn’t he … not very gentlemanly that … should have been locked up for life shouldn’t he … (cough)

  • @58christiansful
    @58christiansful Před 7 měsíci +1

    Mesmerizing to listen to and watch!

  • @MrDewynter
    @MrDewynter Před 8 měsíci +1

    Splendid! Thanks for posting!

  • @lapponia77
    @lapponia77 Před 7 lety +21

    He seems a much kinder and more generous man that his reputation would have you believe.

    • @credenza1
      @credenza1 Před 4 lety +9

      His great quality was to demand that things be given their true value. He had no patience with laziness, dishonesty or self-indulgence, so he could seem blunt and demanding. However, it is never helpful or respectful to accommodate mediocrity when people are capable of great things.

    • @lapponia77
      @lapponia77 Před 4 lety +2

      @@credenza1 Extremely well put. And true :-)

  • @erpollock
    @erpollock Před 7 lety +8

    As a child, I saw him in an obscure film called Bunny Lake is Missing, playing a character part. I had no idea I was watching a theatrical legend. I didn't know who he was. I think the film is on CZcams.

    • @gamers7800
      @gamers7800 Před 4 lety +2

      Ya he played a pervert with a wipp

    • @frankpiaaza5442
      @frankpiaaza5442 Před 3 lety +2

      My friend Keri Dullea starred in that film .

  • @flossie1961
    @flossie1961 Před 7 lety +11

    Reminds you how inspiring Coward was/is

  • @rupert2591
    @rupert2591 Před 9 lety +107

    Oh come back, Noel...just for half an hour and put the world to rights. What a total breath of spring you remain in this hateful, lack lustre world of mediocrity we now find ourselves in.

    • @1968Neruda
      @1968Neruda Před 9 lety +12

      Well put.

    • @pix046
      @pix046 Před 7 lety +1

      Camp Freddie, everyone is bent. In today's world.

    • @mckavitt13
      @mckavitt13 Před 4 lety +1

      rupert von trapp So damn true.

    • @citizen1163
      @citizen1163 Před 3 lety

      Lockdown 2020. What would Noël say?

    • @carolenewman5180
      @carolenewman5180 Před rokem

      Agree. Please come back and put the world right.

  • @drb141719
    @drb141719 Před 2 lety +14

    I could listen to this man for weeks, brilliant actor, playwright, and director. The shame he would feel for todays drivel we are fed.

  • @alsoknownas875
    @alsoknownas875 Před 10 lety +4

    Great upload, and a refreshing perspective on the craft of acting. Thanks!

  • @pvonberg
    @pvonberg Před 8 lety +8

    Wonderful.

  • @elizabethdarley8646
    @elizabethdarley8646 Před rokem +2

    The tapped r or the trilled r is here. I'm an elocution teacher in England and I teach it to children who were saying I'm 'alwhite' and now they can say I'm 'alright!'

    • @BaddaBigBoom
      @BaddaBigBoom Před rokem +2

      Congratulations. Good luck teaching them that "dove" is a bird and rhymes with "love" and is not the past tense of dive :-)

    • @judithcressey1682
      @judithcressey1682 Před 9 měsíci

      Good luck too in teaching them that 'gotten' is a three letter word.

  • @lynnbosworth2594
    @lynnbosworth2594 Před 7 lety +3

    FANTASTIC!

  • @Tenortalker
    @Tenortalker Před 9 lety +5

    Noel Coward always produced the best put down lines. Speaking of one of his friend Ivor Novello's earliest appearences in a play he said ' He was always very bad ...... even then!' A wicked sense of humour.

  • @johnnybsteelriff
    @johnnybsteelriff Před 2 lety +1

    The farewell speech in In Which We Serve kills me every time. Brilliant uplifting emotional and only serves to yell out why didn't the Master do more serious drama?

  • @Chris-wj8fz
    @Chris-wj8fz Před 3 měsíci +1

    It is not politically correct to say so I am afraid but I qualified as a social worker in Australia in 1976 and at no time have I done anything but act. My study of coward even in my family upbringing and during social work training gave me incredible resilience from.roles in social activism to palliative care. Despite the naive view about feelings being necessary to work with people Noel coward demonstrates the aloof science of theatre

  • @lilcicero77
    @lilcicero77 Před 10 lety +1

    Tis is incredible thank you! I had no idea this existed.

  • @darbyzworld
    @darbyzworld Před 4 lety +3

    Born on his birthday, i was introduced to his genius at age 11. Noel changed my life in the theatre and I have never forgotten him and his edge on humanity.
    .
    .
    .

  • @58christiansful
    @58christiansful Před 9 měsíci +1

    Unique talent.

  • @lindablanthorn7787
    @lindablanthorn7787 Před rokem +1

    So interesting.. thanks for sharing 💛

  • @BaddaBigBoom
    @BaddaBigBoom Před rokem +1

    Damn, if only he were alive in this century, I bet he would have surfed 21st century life in the same expressive direct and honest manner as he did back then.

  • @naly202
    @naly202 Před 2 lety +2

    When speaking about Apple cart by GB Shaw, Noel and the interviewer are in a slight disagreement, but they are handling it all so elegantly, cordially and professionally, that it's hardly noticeable.
    So unlike nowadays....

  • @douglasreid7727
    @douglasreid7727 Před rokem +1

    Fascinating.

  • @richardrosebealprestonjohn3144

    Brilliant actor!

  • @MrDavey2010
    @MrDavey2010 Před 5 lety +3

    Total professional the like of which is lacking today.

  • @robrienmoore
    @robrienmoore Před 3 měsíci

    1966 TV Special - interviewer is English actor/director Michael Macowan.

  • @derycktrahair8108
    @derycktrahair8108 Před 7 lety +3

    A lesson in acting that every actor should see. His overwhelming self importance can be off putting, but don't forget that he has been there and done it. Thanks for making it available.

    • @johnnybsteelriff
      @johnnybsteelriff Před 2 lety

      I think you have to remember that Noel Coward in an interview situation is a character too. He is always acting. It is part of his make-up.

  • @puppylove422
    @puppylove422 Před rokem +1

    Oh I love you Noel :D

  • @johnjosmith42
    @johnjosmith42 Před 11 lety +3

    for posting this, 'i can no other answer make but thanks, thanks and thanks again.'

  • @Dannycarry
    @Dannycarry Před 2 lety +3

    Wonder what Noel would have made of Love Island and The Only Way is Essex

  • @gazwillz3225
    @gazwillz3225 Před rokem

    A Great Talent ,A Hreat Vvoice, A great Wit. Orson Welles of his time, Thank fully without the Tragic end.

  • @TheProgressiveParent
    @TheProgressiveParent Před 8 lety +4

    thank you

  • @montybaby1826
    @montybaby1826 Před 3 lety +4

    12:51 He's so cute in that picture, not nearly half as bad as he thinks he is.

  • @scotnick59
    @scotnick59 Před 5 lety +4

    Nice speaking voice

  • @freddodirk905
    @freddodirk905 Před 9 lety +3

    hey thank you for the upload. i think we have lost a lot of talent especially here in the colonies

  • @Magnus1995
    @Magnus1995 Před 10 lety +3

    Icon.

  • @jimbow1113
    @jimbow1113 Před 2 lety +1

    Watching this interview I'm sure Michael Caine MUST have watched it a number of times before he did that interview with Michael Parkinson on how an actor must perform on camera.

  • @michaelhall2138
    @michaelhall2138 Před 4 lety +2

    Found him mannered as a young man but he improved in relation to the older I became.

  • @jeanash9502
    @jeanash9502 Před rokem +1

    What joy to see Mr coward

  • @borderbioscope1180
    @borderbioscope1180 Před 11 měsíci

    great voice

  • @circle2867
    @circle2867 Před 4 lety

    the actor on goodnight sweetheart nails his voice

  • @markholford6051
    @markholford6051 Před 10 lety +4

    1965 Interview

  • @sebastianmelmoth7331
    @sebastianmelmoth7331 Před 3 lety +2

    Did you ever wish you could meet someone…. I’d love to have a chat with Noel.

  • @ninahagen1453
    @ninahagen1453 Před 2 lety

    When was this recorded?

  • @kiltedjohn1000
    @kiltedjohn1000 Před 7 lety +1

    im on 1965 of the diaries

  • @SublimeStuff
    @SublimeStuff Před 11 lety +4

    Gold dust

  • @kleedhamhobby
    @kleedhamhobby Před 3 lety +2

    Very interesting. Touching and very funny at times. Though I must admit, I'm hard of hearing, so I put the close captioning on, and one of my biggest laughs was when the CC in the 'In Which We Serve ' scene rendered "Come a little closer" as "I'm a little pest". Clearly the automated CC is not well in synch with Noel's accent.

  • @franksmith2335
    @franksmith2335 Před 7 lety +3

    He always did very well in Londons West End Theatre but not too well in the provinces. His musicals were not as good as Ivor Novello who was more popular.

    • @mjd4502
      @mjd4502 Před 7 lety +1

      Novello was talented but did not write or compose anything as wonderful as 'Bittersweet'

    • @douglasmilton2805
      @douglasmilton2805 Před 4 lety +2

      Actually many of his plays had their first run in Manchester, where audiences were hard to impress but appreciated wit. Coward liked the place, for various reasons, not all theatrical. See Anthony Burgess's autobiography, Little Wilson and Big God. The main character in Burgess's great novel Earthly Powers is a blend of Somerset Maugham and Noël Coward.

  • @JohnHartNYC
    @JohnHartNYC Před 9 lety +1

    Quite nice actually.

  • @rosainecalmeyer4428
    @rosainecalmeyer4428 Před rokem

    What year is this?

  • @carlasimon4559
    @carlasimon4559 Před 3 lety

    43 Slovenly dress is a slovenly actor

  • @timbum1000
    @timbum1000 Před 11 lety +4

    He was not what you would call a naturalistic actor. He was very affected.

  •  Před 5 lety

    I wonder why so many great actors are gay: Noel Coward, Derek Jacobi, Simon Callow, Mc Kellen

    • @naly202
      @naly202 Před 5 lety +3

      i've came up with a simple answer: they probably have a more developed feminine side- greater sensitivity, intuition, they can express more feeling and dedication. i think .
      being a female, i'm always amazed at how brilliantly written Noel Coward's female characters are (especially Amanda- Private Lives ), they feel and react the same way as i or any other woman would in a certain situation. Noel understood women very well, which thing -anybody knows - men usually can't.

    • @jhassett2
      @jhassett2 Před 4 lety

      they're all hams......Robert Mitchum is better than Robert de Niro........

    • @Lytton333
      @Lytton333 Před 3 lety

      Wonder why so many aren't..
      Honestly, the way some go on about it nowadays you'd think Homosexuality was some sort of transcendent existence, it's just one man putting his front pipe up another's back pipe for a sexual thrill..

    • @Lytton333
      @Lytton333 Před 3 lety

      @@naly202 What a load of sexist tosh.
      Only women have filigree sensibilities? Only women have more feeling and dedication? Absolute piffle .. Was Bach a toilet trader? Did Shakespeare mince around like a 17thC Quentin Crisp? No...

    •  Před 3 lety

      @@Lytton333 No big deal, but your sexual orientation should not be advertised in Gay parades...... As it were a BADGE OF HONOR...

  • @james8583
    @james8583 Před 3 měsíci

    He's an okay actor, no John Barrymore et al.. as Orson Welles said about Barrymore, there is none like him the best and had that certain thing. I think Coward is better as a raconteur.

  • @sebastianmelmoth7331
    @sebastianmelmoth7331 Před 3 lety +1

    Noel made gay - cool, sharp, classy. Not camp, rude, feminine.

    • @BaddaBigBoom
      @BaddaBigBoom Před rokem

      So, with which stereotype do you identify?
      Or did you plan to switch from B to A?

  • @user-cp1mr3xi8p
    @user-cp1mr3xi8p Před 5 lety

    на руках,

  • @BlakeGildaphish76
    @BlakeGildaphish76 Před 9 lety

    i can't believe Lawrence Olivier (allegedly) slept with this man.

    • @David-mg1yj
      @David-mg1yj Před 2 lety +1

      They were both younger and prettier in those days.

    • @judithcressey1682
      @judithcressey1682 Před 9 měsíci

      He did not. Noel Coward said not. Noel Coward said Olivier was not interested in men sexually.

  • @andrewwilliams9941
    @andrewwilliams9941 Před 7 lety +2

    IF only contemporary actors could take on board this man's advice. He was much better at knowing how others should act than he was able to do himself. He was far TOO theatrical both on stage and in film. He was fundamentally false, probably because of the closet gay syndrome imposed upon him by the mores of his generation. Sad.

    • @alexkije
      @alexkije Před 6 lety

      HA! You are full of shit. He was not much closeted. He came onto other actors and total strangers. Arrested for public toilet solicitations.

    • @Twentythousandlps
      @Twentythousandlps Před 6 lety +4

      Coward was never arrested. And he was never in no closet, though he negotiated his public image with care. And he pushed it as far as possible. The 1935 musical Jubilee had a character modeled on him, called Eric Dare. He was always under attack for the lavender element in his work. Never bothered to wive it.

    • @douglasmilton2805
      @douglasmilton2805 Před 4 lety +3

      @@alexkije Coward never had any problems with the law, perhaps, paradoxically, because he never tried to hide his homosexuality. You may be thinking of John Gielguid.

  • @johnjessop6169
    @johnjessop6169 Před 11 lety +4

    He couldn't act at all.

    • @alexkije
      @alexkije Před 6 lety +5

      Good song writer though.

    • @tomkent4656
      @tomkent4656 Před 6 lety +1

      A touch ham.

    • @lotteweill
      @lotteweill Před 4 lety +5

      watch bunny lake, he's terrific.listen to either of his cabaret performances. Watch TV's together with music. He is wonderful

    • @ninahagen1453
      @ninahagen1453 Před 2 lety +2

      Did yu see his naval officer piece/ No, you must have commented without watching.

    • @David-mg1yj
      @David-mg1yj Před 2 lety +1

      Brilliant in The Italian Job.

  • @eamestv
    @eamestv Před 3 lety +1

    Wonderful.