Bela Lugosi: The Ultimate Dracula

 

The character of the vampire lord, Count Dracula, as made famous by Irish author Bram Stoker, is one of the most recognized and iconic figures in not just horror fiction, but ALL of popular fiction. There are very few people in the "developed world" today, I'd wager, who didn't at least have a general passing knowledge of who Dracula is. He's been depicted in everything from serious works of art, to toys, to comics, to cartoons and even sketch comedy. But the medium in which he became most famous, naturally, was film. 

There have been many, MANY depictions of Dracula in film, by some counts, the character has made over 200 film appearances, allegedly second only to Sherlock Holmes. But again, I would wager that more people, especially young people, know who Dracula is, than even the great detective. Narrowing it down a bit, there have been, at the LEAST, around or probably over 40 films made that center around the character of Dracula more specifically, most of them direct adaptations, of some manner or other, of Stoker's original novel. But while several of those film depictions of the Count have been quite memorable, some even iconic, there is one who, I think it's completely fair to say, stands head and shoulders above all the rest.

Lugosi in the original Broadway play.

Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó, otherwise known as Bela Lugosi, was born on October 20th, 1882, in Lugos Austria-Hungary, what is now known as Lugoj, Romania. Meaning that, ironically, the man who would go on to become synonymous with the character of Dracula, was originally from the same basic land that was also home to the Count's native Transylvania. Lugosi dropped out of school at age 12 (something not at all uncommon in those days), and began his acting career in the very early 1900s. After years acting in stage plays in Hungary and elsewhere, he got his first silent film role in 1917. He went on to act in several Hungarian and then German films, before finally leaving Europe for political reasons, to immigrate to the United States in 1920. After living and working in the States for many years, both as a laborer and immigrant actor, by 1931 he finally became a naturalized citizen. 

Lugosi's acting work in America started out in his native Hungarian, playing to immigrant crowds. His first English speaking role came in 1922, and for his first several English plays, he had to learn his lines phonetically, as he could not yet speak English very well. During the 20s, he also acted in several silent films, the first of which being J. Gordon Edwards' The Silent Command. But the role that would come to define his career, for better and for worse, fell into his lap in the late 20s. In the summer of 1927, he was approached to play the role of Count Dracula in a Broadway production, which would go on to be a smash hit, playing 261 times before embarking on a national tour that ended in California. 

A poster almost as iconic as the film's actor.

When Universal Pictures optioned the rights to the play and began production in 1930, as hard as it may be for many to imagine, and in spite his own lobbying for the role he felt was his, Lugosi was actually not the studio's first choice to portray the title role. After considering many other actors, in part because he lobbies hard and won them over, but also reportedly in part because he agreed to take the role for considerably less money than he could have commanded, Bela Lugosi did, however, win the role that so badly wanted to portray on the "silver screen". 

Spanish Dracula

Spanish Renfield

Spanish Van Helsing

In an unusual, but in those days not uncommon occurrence, Universal had two productions of Dracula filming at the same time. The more famous English production would film during the day, and then when they were done, the Spanish production would use the exact same sets at night. For many years, the Spanish version of the film was actually thought to be lost, though surviving prints were eventually found. It would seem that to many film historians and even some film buffs, this Spanish language film is considered "superior", mainly due to a few, in my opinion minor points. For one thing, the Spanish production apparently had the advantage of watching the English "dailies", watching their camera-work etc., and were able to try and improve upon it, such as the camera moving up the stairs to zoom in on Dracula when he first appears to Renfield. They also added a bit more "flair" in certain scenes, such as smoke rising from Dracula's coffin when he awakes, and things like that. Lastly, the Spanish film, for whatever reason, clocks in at nearly 20 minutes longer than the English version, which some feel gives the story a bit more room to breath, and a bit more time for character development. 

Personally, however, I reject the notion that the Spanish version is "superior". I absolutely recognize the longer running time, slightly more lavish special effects, and somewhat more complex camera-work. But to me, none of these things really "improve" the story itself to a significant degree. I think for what it was, especially considering it was made on a smaller budget than the English version, the Spanish film is well done, and a solid movie overall. But as far as I'm concerned, there really is no contest between the two, and I'll explain why. 

English Dracula

English Renfield

English Van Helsing

The English version has also been criticized by some critics retroactively, for being "too much like silent film". And I honestly, for the life of me, don't understand how this is a legitimate complaint. Director Todd Browning, though he left a lot of the actual filming to Director of Photography Karl Freund, was a successful director of silent films. He reportedly was never quite comfortable with sound films, and this being one of very first, it shows. But as far as I'm concerned, his silent era proclivities are not a hindrance to the movie, but rather, a strength. The film has a lot of silent moments, with hardly any music (which wasn't unusual for early sound films anyway), and a lot of long, still shots. To me, this lends to the creepy atmosphere, mood and tone of the story. The darkness, silence and stillness, lend the film, in my opinion, a much spookier and more menacing air, than the busier, more technically complex Spanish production. 

The acting in this movie, has also been described by some as basically being stage acting, which, again, I don't find any real fault in. For one thing, Bela Lugosi and Edward Van Sloan, had already played Dracula and Professor Van Helsing respectively, opposite one another hundreds of times in the play. Which, I might add, attributes itself both to their chemistry together on screen, working off of each other so very well. But it also explains, as far as I'm concerned, why they both seem so comfortable and natural in their roles. Because they had literally already played them to death. And really, I think along with what I personally consider more appropriate cinematography for the tone of the film, that the acting is really the shining strength that makes the English, not the Spanish version, the "superior" 1931 Dracula. 

Perfect in their roles.

While I have no wish to slight the acting job of the Spanish crew, to me at least, the acting in the English version of Dracula, is simply better. It's top tier, in all of the major roles, and even in some of the smaller ones. One such smaller role that really stands out, as a bit of valuable comic relief, is that of the Seward Sanitarium attendant, Martin, played Charles K. Gerrard. His thick, Cockney-esque accent, delivering humorous jabs in his interactions with the insane Renfield, are genuinely funny, and shine appropriately comedic light on the otherwise macabre nature of the man eating flies and spiders. Helen Chandler and David Manners also stand out, as the haunted Mina Seward, and her concerned, protective lover John Harker. 

But the three characters who truly steal the show, and carry the film, are appropriately the three biggest roles. First off, it should be mentioned that Dwight Frye was an incredible character actor of his era, bringing both capable physicality, and true dramatic chops to his roles. The role of Renfield, I think, is arguably the finest of his career, and certainly the most complex of the entire film. Renfield starts off a very decent, if somewhat simple, and good-natured, well meaning real estate solicitor, who was hired by Dracula to arrange for his purchase of the decrepit Carfax Abbey in England. But after Dracula gets control of him, becomes a man quite literally possessed, a tortured soul who hates and mourns what he is made to do, and what he has become, but is also thoroughly controlled by his cravings for "smaller lives" (flies, spiders and other bugs), and his fearful loyalty to his "master". 

Frye expresses such a fantastic range of emotions as this character, from well mannered and even joyful, to outright menacing and stark raving mad. And then of course there are his periods of solemn, remorseful sadness. By comparison, Pablo Alvarez Rubio as Renfield in the Spanish version, is convincingly manic and insane. But he also comes off, at least to me, as a bit TOO over the top with his craziness. Dwight Frye's performance, even at its most manic, just comes across as more subtle and menacing. He also, to me, feels like more of a conflicted character. All around, his performance is an absolute highlight to the film.

Dracula descending.

The true "meat and potatoes" of the story, of course, is the mental chess game, and actual conflict, between the characters of Van Helsing, and Count Dracula himself. As stated before, I feel that Edward Van Sloan and Bela Lugosi were perfect for these roles, both because they had already made these roles their own on stage, but because their individual personas, acting idiosyncrasies, and even their accents, in Bela's case natural, were perfect. For his part, Van Sloan as Professor Van Helsing, is great to me, tied in my mind with Peter Cushing's portrayal of the character in the later Hammer films. He is all at once wise and very learned about supernatural and scientific matters, even a tad arrogant while also still coming off as politely humble. He is a charming and commanding presence, who garners the respect and often obedience of those he is trying to help, merely by his presence and personality. He is a self-assured, yet cautious hero, who would rather quietly observe, waiting for the right moment to strike, rather than rush in foolishly. He is a man of action, but only when the proper situation presents itself. 

Eduardo Arozamena, Van Helsing in the Spanish version, does a perfectly fine job in the role. In fact he shares some of the characteristics of the character as Van Sloan does. But at the same time, his Van Helsing also seems to bit more of a timid, even bumbling old man, at times even somewhat fearful of Dracula, something that Van Sloan's Professor never is. Whether he is faced with Renfield's madness and threats, or Dracula's brooding yet charming menace, Van Sloan's portrayal of the good doctor, never once bats an eye. Not that he isn't, perhaps, deep down fearful, but because he is confident that he knows how to deal with it.

Even in the iconic scene where they are alone together for the first time, and they both "lay their cards on the table", so to speak, and Dracula tries to mesmerize and control Van Helsing, he does now cower. He does, in fact, momentarily nearly fall under the Count's sway, so strong is the undead fiend's power, but Van Helsing's will proves to be quite strong, as he steadies himself, standing up straight and defying the vampire lord. Lugosi's Dracula expresses, more than once, genuine respect, perhaps even slight admiration for his new enemy. And because of Van Sloan's confident, wizened portrayal of the character, you can actually believe that he truly means it. His Van Helsing earned Dracula's begrudging respect, even though they fully, and openly, intend to destroy one another. 

Those haunting eyes.

As for the person we're really here to discuss, Lugosi as Count Dracula, if you've ever even seen but a small clip, or even just a picture of his performance, really speaks for itself. His exotic, charming yet sinister look, and his natural Hungarian accent, just lent themselves to the character. He isn't an immediately physically imposing figure, not someone who commands instant fright upon first seeing him. And yet, you can also immediately tell there is something more, something dangerous about this persona, and he is not someone you would want to meet alone, in the dark. By comparison, Carlos Villarías' Dracula in the Spanish version, while capably acted, both because of his general mannerisms, but also because of his quite frankly sometimes goofy looking facial expressions, comes across as a far less menacing, sometimes even comical vampire. Again, no offense to Carlos, but to all those who try to claim that the Spanish version is "superior", I don't think his portrayal holds even a small candle to Lugosi's.

Lugosi's Dracula is a monster, no doubt about it, but he is a monster who is not often given to recklessness or foolish chance. Much like his opposite, Van Helsing, he too is a very calculating mind, who plans much and risks little. Not because he is afraid, but because he is a mastermind who is always several steps ahead of most of his victims and enemies. He's a man who has had centuries to learn and hone and perfect his role as vile hunter of the living, and his mental command of the weaker-minded is pretty much unparalleled. He is still supernaturally strong, mentally powerful, and able to change his physical form, etc., just as most versions of the character are. But with Lugosi's portrayal, the characters strength lies more in his cunning, and almost sardonic charm. He's scary, but often more because of what he COULD do to you, or even make you do to yourself, than because of more graphic acts of intimidation or violence. 

Max Schreck's Count Orlok.

Christopher Lee's "Hammer" Dracula

Bela Lugosi's OG Dracula

 

I think in the minds of most film fans and historians (often little distinction between the two), there are really three main film portrayals of Count Dracula, that are the most memorable and iconic. They are pictured above. While in the 1922 silent film Nosferatu, for legal reasons they had to rename the character Count Orlok, it is still meant to be Dracula. And in all blunt honesty, Max Schreck's incredible turn in that film, is hands down the creepiest. His character eschews any pretense at handsomeness or charm. He looks and acts like the monster he truly is, and his image and performance are no doubt the scariest, if we're talking about pure horror. 

As for Sir Christopher Lee, he played the character of Dracula probably more times, in both Hammer films and outside of that studio, than any other actor. His portrayal is unquestionably the most intimidating and certainly the most actively, visibly violent. But for all of his visual evocativeness, I must say, for all the times he played the character, Lee's Dracula also has the least "character" of the three. That definitely isn't a knock on him, as Lee was a great actor in his own right. But the combination of how he was directed, the scripts he was given (or sometimes chose to ignore), and his own personal choices in portraying the role, while his Dracula is absolutely fearsome, even "badass" as some would rightly say, you could also argue his Dracula has the least "to him", if that makes sense. If anything, he almost feels like more of an evil force, than he does a character.

 

 

That pose.

 

That expression.

That stare.

But for my money, as a film fan, as a horror fan, as a fan of supernatural fiction in general, Bela Lugosi is, as the title of the article states: The Ultimate Dracula. His character is the prefect mixture, of just charming enough, just intimidating enough, and just sinister enough, that he is the complete total package as far as I'm concerned. There are good reasons why it is his portrayal and very image, that is most popularly and most infamously associated with the character. He made that role his own in a way that few actors ever accomplish in their entire career. And this was, on a professional note, both a boon and a curse to him as an actor. That one iconic role achieved him a kind of "immortality" that few ever achieve. But at the same time, being so associated with that role, along with his thick Hungarian accent, also caused Lugosi to become very typecast for the rest of his film career. A fact that he, rightly, hated. He loved the character, so much so that he was buried with the original cape when he passed away, something his family thought he would have liked. But he also hated what it did to his career, a career full of many other iconic roles and great turns. But he could never quite escape The Count, much like his victims in the story. 

Regardless of that unfortunate fact, the truth is, Lugosi was a fantastic actor, a reality that shines in his immortal performance as Count Dracula. The Spanish version made by Universal may well have been more "technically sound" in certain ways. But I hardly think those extra touches make it "superior", and as as stated, I feel that acting-wise, it is most certainly the inferior film. And there have surely been a great many adaptations of the story since 1931, which have been more lavish, more expensive, more technically impressive, etc., including Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 film, which featured Gary Oldman in a very strong performance. But I do not earnestly believe, out of all the films that have come since, or perhaps ever WILL come, that any of them are as simple, pure, and darkly, hauntingly beautiful, as Todd Browning's 1931 classic. That Dracula, as far as I'm concerned, is perfect, and is one of the few films I would give "5 Stars" to. 

Bela Lugosi IS Dracula, to entire generations of people, and deservedly so. If you've never seen the movie, I implore you, this Halloween Weekend, please do yourself a favor and watch it. It is a slow, often understated burn of a film. But it is never boring, always captivating, often creepy, and if you ask me, a pure delight to take in. I'd like to wish everyone a Happy Halloween, and stay safe out there!

For The Love of Jon Pertwee: Why The Third Doctor, Was The Best Doctor

Over the last several years, Doctor Who, after largely fading from the public consciousness for over a decade, has become very popular again over here in the states. That is because people are really enamored with the reboot/continuation series, which started in 2005. Unfortunately, at least in this man's humble opinion, in my experience the vast majority of people who are huge fans of the new Doctor Who, that I've personally encountered, seem to only be fans of the new show. Meaning, they have either little or no knowledge or experience with the original show that lasted for the better part of three decades. And more bothersome to me, a lot of those same people show little to no actual interest in ever bothering to see the original show, at all. They have "their" Who, and that's all that matters to them.

To me, as a longtime Doctor Who fan, that is a bit of a problem. I'm going to go ahead and "out" myself right here and now, by revealing that I am not much of a fan of the 2000s Doctor Who show. I tried, watching multiple episodes of both of the Ninth and Tenth Doctors. And in all honesty, I just couldn't get into it. But why the fact that it seems so many "Nu Who" fans don't really know or care about the original series bothers me, is twofold. For one thing, while I do consider the new show to be something of a "reboot", it is more what is known as a "soft reboot". Meaning that it is, in my opinion, a slight reboot of the series, and it has many (to me rather dumb) retcons and stark differences from the original show. But it is also supposed to be a continuation of the same story, the same canon. So because of this fact, I personally think that it behooves the audience of the new show, to be familiar with and care about the original show it is a "continuation" of. I have always found that you gain a far deeper respect and appreciation for a thing, if you actually know it's history, where it came from, how it got here, etc.

It just so happens that in my personal opinion, mind you, the new show, quite frankly, often comes off like badly written fan fiction. I know my saying that would certainly serve to rile up quite a lot of "Nu Who" fans. But that's not why I'm here, at all. Why I'm here, in point of fact, is to not only illustrate why the original series is crucial to at least see some of if you're a fan of the new show. But also to illuminate people to what I personally consider the strongest period of the entire franchise, centered around what has become my very favorite incarnation of The Doctor of all time: Jon Pertwee, The Third Doctor.

It is my intention and aim, therefor, to try and explain to you why he is the "best" Doctor of them all, and why, subsequently, you should care, and give his seasons, and the old show in general, a chance. So without further adieu...

The Third and Fourth Doctors.

By and large, to most of these "Nu Who" fans I refer to, the ones who love the new show but know or care next to nothing for the original, the one (out of seven) original series Doctor that they DO seem at least passingly familiar with, is the Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker. Brimmed had, curly mop, acid wit, ridiculously long scarf. I will fully admit here and now, that he was my original choice for "favorite Doctor". Mainly because he was the one I had somehow seen the most of. I first became aware of Doctor Who, and saw my first episodes, at the age of 7 or 8 years old. I would sometimes go over to spend the night at my friend Harold's house, and his brother William was absolutely obsessed with Doctor Who, which they would show on the PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) channel. But they did it in a weird way, where they would show a mix of older episodes, meaning like the First Doctor, Fourth, Fifth, etc., before showing whatever happened to be the newest episode of the then current (and for a long time last) late 80s Doctor, the Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy.

So I got a pretty broad taste, though sadly, I did not get to really experience the Second and Third doctor back then. I got a taste of #'s 1, 4, 5, 6, and 7, however, and decided, for whatever reasons, that I thought the Fourth, Tom Baker, was the coolest. I did not get to see any Doctor Who again for several years, as for some stupid reason, even though she was a massive fan of most things science fiction, my grandmother arbitrarily decided that she didn't like Doctor Who, and didn't want me watching it. Later, in the late 90s, in my teens, Harold's brother William would be over visiting at their house, and would either bring down his own tapes, or rent ones he didn't have, so I then got to see other Doctor Who episodes I had not yet seen. Mainly Fourth Doctor ones as I recall, and that probably just helped drive my original love of Tom Baker more.

Now, beyond my own personal history with the series, I will say that overall, after having in my 20s  and 30s seen all of the Third and Fourth Doctor stories , that the 1970s were, in my opinion unquestionably, the best period of Doctor Who there has ever been. The stories were at their strongest, the companions were (mostly) great, and those two distinct personalities of The Doctor were by far the most popular. That is backed up by the fact that Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker are the second and first longest running Doctors in the history of the franchise. Jon Pertwee had five seasons, and his run only ended at five because he chose to walk away from it. Tom Baker then came along in 1974/75, and fans loved him so much he hung around until 1981, seven whole seasons.

A young Jon Pertwee acting alongside First Doctor actor William Hartnell.

My insistence that Tom Baker was the best Doctor continued well into the 2000s, until at some point in my late 20s, I started making it a point to see a lot more of the original series. Unfortunately, because the 1960s BBC were apparently short-sighted morons, they didn't bother backing up and maintaining an archive of ALL of the First and Second Doctor episodes, six seasons worth of the show. So there are many episodes or outright full story arcs of both, most especially the Second Doctor Patrick Troughton, that I will likely never see. And that sucks, really badly. As it stands, from what I've seen, I really like all four of the first four original Doctors, with Troughton possibly now being my second favorite.

In my opinion, the show made some serious leaps when it jumped into the 70s and into color, but the 60s show had a very classic feel, and some really great stories. And the first two Doctors had a singular wit and charm all their own. But upon starting to actually watch the Third Doctor's episodes (I had only really experienced him prior to that in the early 80s special "The Five Doctors"), I noticed something. Jon Pertwee, the Third Doctor, was really fucking awesome! And the more I watched his stories, the more I began to gradually come to grips with a startling new reality: I became aware of the fact that the Third Doctor was actually, at least in my opinion, even cooler than the Fourth. I eventually saw all of the Third Doctor's stories, yes all five seasons' worth. And it became apparent that I did indeed have a new, and permanent, favorite Doctor of the series.

Pertwee's first companion, Dr. Elizabeth Shaw.

Now the way that the Third Doctor came about, for one thing, was rather unique and original. Anyone who has even a decent knowledge of Who Lore, knows that Time Lords, the ancient race to whom The Doctor belongs, by either natural or unnatural super-science means, each possess a set of "regenerations". Meaning that when they die, instead of dying outright, they "regenerate" into a new incarnation of themselves. This is finite, or was supposed to be, of course, with it at some point being established canon that each Time Lord had precisely Twelve regenerations, or thirteen lives if you will. The idea being that once they ran out, that was finally it. In addition to regenerations, Time Lords, having a different physiology than humans (two hearts, etc.), tended to live quite a bit longer than humans, hundreds of years in fact.

The way that the concept of "regeneration" came about in the show, originally, was a matter of necessity. William Hartnell, the First Doctor, was very popular, and the show itself was very popular, but he was getting on in age, and by his third season, he was in declining health, was having trouble remembering his lines at times, etc. So instead of cancelling the show, they came upon a novel idea. There had been shows that had just outright changed actors before this, but instead of insulting their audience, they devised an actual explanation for this occurring: Time Lords could "regenerate". And so the beloved First Doctor died, but while that was sad, fans now had an all new, Second Doctor's adventures to follow, and the show could carry onward this way indefinitely. Which it did, as every Doctor at some point in the series, for whatever reason, suffers a mortal blow of some sort, and "regenerates" into his own next incarnation.

 For the Third Doctor however, it was much more unique. The Second Doctor was also very popular, but Patrick Troughton, after three seasons, wanted to move on to something else, and so as his last story arc, the writers gave him this massive, ten-episode epic called "War Games", which saw aliens testing humans for strategies and weaknesses by keeping many from different times trapped in a "playing field", convinced that wars from different eras were still ongoing. The Doctor, as he usually does, got involved and interfered, and at the end of the arc, once he had more or less managed to save the day, suddenly his fellow Time Lords appeared. They were not at all happy with their renegade fellow, and thus, for the only time (as far as I'm aware) in the history of the series, a Doctor regeneration occurred without death. As punishment for his constant interference in the affairs of other planets and races, which is supposed to be against stuffy Time Lord law, they sent the Second Doctor's companions back to their rightful times, and forced The Doctor himself to regenerate. As an additional part of his punishment, they also blocked his knowledge of how to run his Timeship, the T.A.R.D.I.S. (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space), and left him stranded on the planet he had shown such fondness for: The Earth.

Live and in Color?

This was all very new and a radical departure from what fans had thus far seen from the series. For one thing, when the show first began, it was intended to be more of an "educational" science fiction series, aimed at children and families. Which is why many of the First Doctor stories show him winding up back in different historic time periods of the Earth. But due to the raging popularity of the second ever Who story arc, "The Daleks" (a personal favorite of mine), monster and alien episodes quickly became extremely popular with fans, so the producers felt they should make more. The Second Doctor still retained some of the historical type of episodes, specifically the story arc "The Highlanders", where we first meet Scottish companion Jamie. But the Second Doctor really delved deeper into monster and alien type storylines, such as his biggest recurring threat, the Cybermen. But by the time the Third Doctor rolled around, the historic episodes were basically entirely gone, and in the 70s, the show gradually took on a darker, more serious tone overall.

When the Third Doctor began, it's important to note that not only was the transition from Second to Third Doctor very unique and bizarre, but the entire tone and pacing of the show was about to shift dramatically. And to top it all off, the Third Doctor also exploded for the first time into color! The BBC had previously filmed Who in black and white, because it was allotted fairly low budgets, and black and white film was cheaper to use. But with Who proving a six-year smash success for them, they finally decided to cough up a little more cash, and started using the more expensive color film. Beyond the aesthetic, however, the more drastic shift for the series, was the very important fact that The Doctor now found himself stranded on one planet: Earth.

Previously, and for the vast majority of the show's existence in fact, part of the gimmick of Doctor Who, was that he is a renegade Time Lord, who stole a T.A.R.D.I.S. because he is an insatiably curious explorer, who just wants to gallivant around studying the universe. Because his Timeship is rather old and a bit busted, he often cannot precisely control where (or when) his jaunts through time and space will lead him. But in Season 7, and for the majority of his first three seasons, the Third Doctor found himself unable to remember how to work his ship, so he was stuck on Earth, a fact he despised.

The Doctor's friends in U.N.I.T.

However, also being one to always try and make the best of his given situation, The Doctor found himself falling in with the somewhat clandestine outfit called "U.N.I.T." The United Nations Intelligence Task Force was secretly formed after the invasion of aliens in the Second Doctor story "The Web of Fear", and they later faced their first crisis, with the Doctor's help, when Cybermen try to invade Earth. The outfit is led by British Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, a stern but fair man. So when the Third Doctor turns up, he remembers "The Brigadier", but Lethbridge-Stewart doesn't recognize his new face. He later becomes convinced it's the same man, however, during the thwarting of yet another alien crisis. And so The Doctor, stuck on Earth and needing an explanation for his sudden existence there, begrudgingly comes under the employ of U.N.I.T. as it's unofficial "Scientific Advisor". The relationship between Lethbridge-Stewart and The Doctor is often somewhat comical, as the ever-serious military man usually plays the "straight man" to the flamboyant alien, as well as serving to frustrate The Doctor with his military rules and procedures. But at the end of the day, The Brigadier trusts The Doctor's wisdom, and is always there for The Doctor when he is needed. It's kind of odd, but The Brigadier is actually one of my favorite Doctor Who characters of all time.

To me, while I like all of Jon Pertwee's run on the show, these times with U.N.I.T. were some of the best. The Doctor is often at his most interesting or exciting when he is off exploring other worlds. But being forced into a new situation, where you not only had one of his more traditional "companion" characters, you also had these regulars that he worked with in U.N.I.T., who were companions in their own right too, and something of a regular cast. It also provided what I think were good and interesting challenges for the writers, who having to mostly stick to Earth (or for that matter England), had to in many ways become more focused and inventive. Consequently, I think some of the show's strongest writing and stories happened during this period.

Along with Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, you also had U.N.I.T. regulars like Sergeant John Benton and Captain Mike Yates. In Jon Pertwee's first season, he is paired with Dr. Liz Shaw, who had been tapped as U.N.I.T.'s "Scientific Advisor" right before The Doctor reappeared. She is brilliant in her own right, and usually catches on to The Doctor's advanced Time Lord science fairly quickly. I personally really enjoyed her, and wish her character would have stuck around longer. At first she is more of a foil for The Doctor, the scientific skeptic of all of this U.N.I.T. nonsense, but she eventually comes to be a believer through experience, as well as developing a closer relationship with the stodgy and eccentric Doctor.

Pertwee's second companion, Jo Grant.

After Season 7, the show runners decided to get rid of Liz, not because she didn't work (she did), but because they felt like she was "too smart", and they wanted a companion that The Doctor had to explain science-fictiony things to, thereby also better explaining them to the audience. Kind of a contrived reason, if you ask me, and worse yet, they didn't even give her a fond fairwell type of sendoff. At the beginning of Season 8, they just mention that she has moved on, off-camera.

As her replacement, the Doctor is assigned a less brainy, but still fairly bright young woman named Josephine Grant, as his new assistant. What Jo lacks in Liz's raw intelligence, she makes up for by being both very resourceful when called upon, and fiercely loyal to The Doctor, whom she grows very fond of. I really like the character of Jo Grant, to be honest, as I admire her loyalty to The Doctor, and always persevering even though she is usually a "fish out of water" in all of these bizarre situations they encounter. But I think in some ways, Liz Shaw might be my favorite Third Doctor companion, because her character, in spite of her initial stodginess, is quite awesome. And her relationship as something more of an equal (not quite but close enough) with this brilliant and comparatively ancient alien Time Lord, presents a unique dynamic that you don't often see in the show.

The Doctor's single greatest nemesis, The Master.

With the previous two Doctors, you briefly saw him run into another Time Lord or two, but really, his race is seldom seen or even heard of. But another foundation of the the Third Doctor, was the introduction of a more regular, recurring villain. They introduced the character of "The Master", a fellow renegade Time Lord who is every bit as brilliant as The Doctor, a perfect equal in some ways, but also a perfect opposite. While the Doctor seems to cherish and value all life, The Master absolutely doesn't, and only seeks to control it, as he constantly tries to attain greater power for himself. Played by the incredible Roger Delgado, The Master was, in essence, the perfect arch-villain for The Doctor. He was, in some ways, the cheesy, mustache twirling, maniacal laughing supervillain, who always seems to find a way to escape and fight another day. For one thing, that was also part of what made him awesome.  But for another, there was a lot more going on under the surface with The Master than your typical, generic bad guy.

While yes, he was usually maniacal, coming up with some new scheme or aligning himself with some other villainous threat, he could also be quite complex. He admired and respected The Doctor, even though he hated his nobility, and often tried to sway The Doctor to join him, because together they could rule the universe. And you got the feeling that The Master wasn't always bullshitting, that some part of him, deep down, was perhaps lonely, and really did want a companion, an equal, to share in his villainous glory.

There was more than one Third Doctor story arc, where you were presented with an initial villain or threat, only to have that "Dr. Wily" type moment, revealing that that bastard The Master was at it again. In point of fact, The Master first appeared in the first story arc of Season 8, "Terror of the Autons", and he subsequently appeared in eight out of the ten story arcs covered in Seasons 8 and 9. He was featured in every single story arc of Season 8 in fact, which could rightly be considered "The Season of the Master". But it honestly didn't get old during those stories, as he was always popping up in some different way, with some new dastardly plan at work. They gradually started to phase him out, not using him as much in Season 10. But sadly, his only story appearance in Season 10 would also be Roger Delgado's last, as he tragically died in a car crash in Istanbul, Turkey, in June 1973. Jon Pertwee and Roger Delgado, in spite being enemies on screen, were actually close friends behind the scenes, and Delgado's death deeply affected Pertwee.

One of my all-time favorite stories, "The Curse of Peladon".

Now while The Doctor was completely Earth-locked in Season 7 and most of Season 8, in the Season 8 story "Colony in Space", they introduced the idea that the Time Lords might fancy using The Doctor by sending him on specific space/time journeys in his T.A.R.D.I.S. Proving that while they generally seemed to be against interference, there were also apparent extreme cases where they thought it wise to step in. They just weren't going to do so themselves, so they'd send that meddlesome Doctor instead.

They did this again twice in Season 9, including one of my personal favorite Doctor Who stories of all time, "The Curse of Peladon". The Doctor and Jo Grant find themselves shunted off into the future, but to the relatively primitive, medieval type planet of Peladon. The Doctor, being nosey as usual, winds up putting them in a position where they have to pretend to be official representatives from Earth, as the Galactic Federation, a joint force of many alien races, decide whether to admit Peladon into its ranks. It's a great story, with a nice mix of medieval superstition and futuristic science fiction, and a dash of political intrigue as well. Not to mention a nice return, and even surprising evolution of the classic Second Doctor villains, the Martian "Ice Warriors".

Three Doctors, one story.

Another of my favorite episodes, once again saw The Doctor shunted off to another time and place, but this time, he was joined by his two previous incarnations, in the first story arc of Season 10, "The Three Doctors". This kind of thing would be done again, but at the time, I'm sure it was a huge deal to see all three original Doctors in one place (well, relatively speaking). The First Doctor, unfortunately, by 1973 was too old and ill to really have an active role, so instead, he appeared via a "Time Transmission" of sorts, meaning that his part was basically recorded separately, and Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee had to react to it. It's still nice that William Hartnell himself got one last appearance and bow for Who fans, before his death in 1975. And seeing the Second and Third Doctors play off of each other, one the "Cosmic Clown" and the other a "Gentleman Dandy", is really a lot of fun. Not to mention The Brigadier's reaction when he has to deal with both of them.

But the one major development to come out of "The Three Doctors", besides the spectacle of the different actors together, was the fact that as a reward for helping them save the universe from the mad Time Lord Omega, the Time Lord council finally decide to free the block they had put on The Doctor, once again leaving him free to explore the galaxy as he saw fit. Or at least, as his wonky T.A.R.D.I.S. randomly allowed him to. Even though he was now free to get the hell off of "near future" Earth again, as he frequently bemoaned, The Doctor did still continue to work with U.N.I.T. from time to time, when he wasn't off on some other world. So in the later Jon Pertwee seasons, you got a nice mix of the more traditional "Doctor popping up all over time and space" stories, as well as the occasional "Meanwhile, back on Earth" U.N.I.T. based stories as well.

Good ol' Bessie.

One of the signature trademarks of Jon Pertwee's Doctor, was that perhaps more-so than any of the other Doctors before him or since, he was the consummate Inventor. Since he couldn't travel the stars, and hated being stuck on primitive 20th Century Earth, he was constantly tinkering with something or another, and his tinkering not only helped U.N.I.T. face various threats, but he also came up with some rather cool and useful inventions. He was also rather fond of telling people they needed to "reverse the polarity of the neutron flow", which became something of a trademark saying of his, with slight variations.

One of the most iconic of his inventions, was his beloved "Bessie", a classic "Edwardian Roadster" model car, that he had souped up to be able to travel at incredibly high speeds. The effect of him driving this old-timey car super fast could be comical, but it added to the overall charm and class of the Third Doctor. He was immensely fond of Bessie, and became very cross if she was ever damaged. Late in his run, Pertwee's Doctor even built a futuristic, winged silver flying car, which was dubbed by Pertwee himself "The Whomobile" (unofficially). As a cool bit of trivia, this vehicle, which was basically a one-man hovercraft, was not originally made for the show, but was actually commissioned by Pertwee himself, and it was so cool they wound up using it in the show.

THE Sonic Screwdriver.

Another such invention, though it had appeared before during the Second Doctor's run, was the so-called "Sonic Screwdriver". A piece of highly advanced Time Lord tech, which The Doctor claims to have originally invented himself, Pertwee's Doctor built a new, larger one that he made more frequent use of throughout his run. In fact, his Sonic Screwdriver became so iconic, that they continued using it during Tom Baker's run, and even into the Fifth Doctor, Peter Davison's run, where it was finally retired. The screwdriver could be used for a variety of effects, from disrupting equilibrium, to destructive frequencies, to hypnotism, and of course, even acting as an actual screwdriver, by sonically removing screws or bolts from doors and such. In the 80s, show runners of that era felt the tool had been used "too much" over the years, so it was retired for the rest of the decade. Though a new, more "lightsaber" looking version of it would reappear in the modern Doctor Who show.

The Doctor's third companion, Sarah Jane Smith.

At the end of Season 10, in the story arc "The Green Death", Jo Grant falls in love with an eccentric scientist, Professor Clifford Jones, who helps them face down the newest threat, and after it's all over, she chooses to leave U.N.I.T. and join him in a quieter, less dangerous life, studying in the Amazon, in Brazil. She gets a fairly emotional sendoff, something that poor Liz Shaw deserved but didn't receive. The Doctor even later receives a letter from her, informing him that she has married Jones, and is happy and well. When Jo leaves, The Doctor, who often tries to act as if he is indifferent to his human companions (even though that's always obviously untrue), acts visibly saddened and disappointed that she won't be joining him to go explore the stars.

So at the beginning of Season 11, The Doctor, still working for U.N.I.T. somewhat, finds himself lumped in with another new companion. In the story arc "The Time Warrior", which introduces the villainous alien species the Sontarans (shown above), a British reporter, Ms. Sarah Jane Smith, has infiltrated a top secret science research facility to investigate the disappearance of several top scientists. She winds up getting shunted back into medieval times, along with The Doctor, and after surviving their adventure together, winds up sticking around U.N.I.T. as his newest assistant, even though she is hardly a scientist (to be fair, Jo really wasn't either). Sarah Jane would be one of the longest tenured companions of the series, lasting over three seasons, and spanning two Doctors.

One of my favorite Dalek stories.

Of course, the most famous Doctor Who villain/monster of all time, easily, are the Daleks. Spawning back from their original appearance in the second story arc of the First Doctor, these odd, robotic-speaking, "pepper-pot" looking, cyclopean mecha-terrors, became immensely popular with fans. So much so, that the First Doctor faced them in four different stories, one of which being the now mostly-lost twelve (technically thirteen) episode epic, "The Daleks' Master Plan". They would appear twice against the Second Doctor, again in story arcs where most if not all episodes are lost thanks to the BBC's negligence.

The Third Doctor was no different, of course. In fact, every single one of the original seven Doctors had at least one Dalek story. While Jon Pertwee sadly, for whatever reason, never faced the Cybermen during his run, he did wind up having a total of three (technically four) Dalek story arcs of his own. And while they're all pretty good, one of them, to me, stands head and shoulders above the rest. In Pertwee's final season, in 1974, he along with companion Sarah Jane, faced off against the mechanical monsters in the ominously titled "Death to the Daleks". My three favorite Dalek stories, are the First Doctor stories "The Daleks" and "The Chase", and this Third Doctor story. In it, the Doctor and Sarah Jane try to head for his beloved Metebelis 3 for vacation, but are instead drawn to the seemingly dead world of Exxilon. They discover (future) humans and Daleks have crash-landed there as well, as it turns out the ancient abandoned city on the planet, has a tower that powers the city itself by drawing energy from everywhere around it, even out into space. The Doctor and the humans form an uneasy alliance with the Daleks, as the monsters are rendered relatively powerless without their death rays, while the Doctor tries to solve the mystery of the ancient city.

Such nasty little buggers.

By 1974, however, after five seasons, Jon Pertwee too, was becoming tired of the role, most especially after the death of his friend Roger Delgado. It is entirely possible that he may well have chosen to do at least one more season in 1975, or even beyond, but Roger's death, I think, really stole away a lot of the life and fun of the role for him. He and Delgado were so great on screen together, playing off of each other wonderfully, always ever in the throes of their mental chess match. Delgado's Master would likely have made at least a couple more appearances, perhaps for all we know, even some half-planned epic final encounter between the two Time Lords, before Pertwee's time was done.

But his sudden death obviously cut any of that short, and thus The Master just abruptly disappeared after his turn in Season 10's "Frontier in Space", and he never reappeared again during the Third Doctor's run. The Master would indeed resurface, first as a weird looking ghoul, trying desperately to hang on after running out of regenerations, and later taking the form of another character, during the Fourth Doctor. And he would reappear again in the 80s, and again in the new 2000s series. But it has never been the same. Roger Delgado WAS The Master, regenerations be damned, and that dude owned that role for sure.

So even with a new companion on board, and his Doctor free to explore space to his heart's content, Jon Pertwee's incredibly popular incarnation of The Doctor was wrapping up. In May and half of June 1974, his final six-episode story played out. Entitled "Planet of the Spiders", The Doctor found himself having to go up against the evil of ancient psychic spiders from another world, Metebelis 3 in fact, who are bent on conquering Earth and other worlds. He winds up sacrificing himself, becoming poisoned while fighter their leader, The Great One, and he arrives back at U.N.I.T. base, with just enough energy to say goodbye before dying and regenerating into the infamous Tom Baker, The Fourth Doctor.

A tearful farewell.

 After experiencing all of his adventures, what I came to learn, and to love, about Jon Pertwee's Doctor, is that he was a man of complexity and balance. He was, in many ways, the most active and "action based" Doctor of the original series. He was very "James Bond-esque" in his dapper gentleman's manner, and while he, like any GOOD depiction of The Doctor, loathed fighting and killing, he was armed with what he called "Venusian Aikido", and rarely hesitated to use it when he needed to. He was, in that way, the most "kick ass" Doctor. But he was also incredibly thoughtful, as well as previously mentioned, a great inventor. He was, visually, inspired very much by Sherlock Holmes, in fact I think his outfits may well have come from Pertwee's own private collection.

The Third Doctor is my favorite, because not only are his stories, in general, the most well rounded (some are better than others, but there are none I dislike), but Pertwee's depiction of The Doctor, as this "Wise Silverfox" who can act cantankerous, but really loves people, is to me, THE defining depiction of The Doctor. He embodies a perfect balance of everything the character is supposed to be all about. Impossibly and eternally curious, often to his own detriment, often laughably eccentric and even arrogant, but also very affable and noble. His quick wit, his "very British" charm, the gentle but deceptively dangerous "old gentleman". His grounding on Earth for the first good chunk of his run, and his connection to U.N.I.T. as well as his companions, in some ways also serves to make him the most "humanized" Doctor.

I still love Tom Baker, and really, I love all of the first four Doctors. I even like, in varying degrees, the three 80s Doctors, Peter Davison, Colin Baker (no relation) and Sylvester McCoy, even though I feel that the series started to go downhill in that final decade. The 70s were, to me, unquestionably the height of the show's brilliance and greatness. Tom Baker brought a fresh and different energy, but while he is THE classic Doctor that anyone ever bothers to think of anymore, and his run, until near the end, was rather iconic, people also forget that Jon Pertwee's Doctor was incredibly popular, and his seasons put the show over the top in the first place. He built the foundation, you could argue, that allowed Baker and all following Doctors to succeed and thrive from. The show grew from a fun curiosity with the first two Doctors, to a British phenomenon and a household name with a worldwide audience in the 1970s. And Pertwee helped build that, he kicked it off.

Forever the best, at least to me.

Jon Pertwee would go on to success outside of Doctor Who, specifically in the family show "Worzel Gummidge" in the 1980s. But he would return to the role twice, once in the 1983 special "The Five Doctors", and one final time as a special, non-cannon appearance in the 30th Anniversary charity special "Dimensions in Time" in 1993. He also played the role on stage, and reprised the character for several BBC audio-stories. Pertwee died in May 1996, at the age of 76. He passed away before the release of the ill-fated, American produced Eighth Doctor movie (the only real appearance the poor bastard got), which is probably just as well he never had to see it.

During The Third Doctor's five seasons, many new and even long-standing Who elements were added, such as the improved Sonic Screwdriver, the art of Venusian Aikido, the more fleshed out integration of the U.N.I.T. organization, and the introduction of beloved characters like The Master, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, and Sarah Jane Smith. And many monsters, such as the Sontarans, the Silurians, the Sea Devils, the Autons, etc. came into being. His run also saw the return of the Daleks after nearly five years, as the creator of the Daleks, Terry Nation, flirted with the idea of selling the monsters rights to some American company. Imagine how shitty it would have been to NOT have Daleks as part of Doctor Who anymore. Good looking out, Terry.

Pressure points are some serious shit.

I think my only regrets about The Third Doctor, are obviously first and foremost that Roger Delgado died, and secondly, that he should have had at least one Cybermen story, but never did. Outside of that though, I would be willing to say that, top to bottom, beginning to end, Jon Pertwee's run as the beloved Doctor, was the most even, and the most steady. Tom Baker's follow-up act was filled with many highs, such as his opening story "Robot", or the season long arc "The Key to Time". But it also had more uneven lows, such as quite frankly much of his final two seasons (1980 and 1981). To me at least, Pertwee's run didn't really have any major lows or dips. All of the stories were at least solid, and some of them, I would say, are some of the very best Doctor Who stories ever told.

In closing, if you've never seen old Doctor Who at all, or just never seen any Third Doctor episodes, I'd personally tell you that you were missing out, and should definitely check them out. All of Jon Pertwee, and most of Tom Baker's runs are really worth watching, and I would even go so far as to say that while the show budget and special effects weren't what they could have been or deserved to be, the stories and acting were usually top notch, and far better, in this man's opinion, than anything the modern show has produced.

While I would honestly recommend watching all five seasons of his entire run, some of my very favorite Third Doctor stories that I would highly recommend are (in chronological order):

Spearhead from Space

The Silurians

Inferno

Terror of the Autons

The Curse of Peladon

The Sea Devils

The Three Doctors

Carnival of Monsters

Frontier in Space

The Green Death

The Time Warrior

Death to the Daleks

Planet of the Spiders

So with that, I'll bid you all farewell. Make sure to check out some Third Doctor, and classic Doctor Who in general! Spread the word! 

Roger Delgado (1918-1973) and Jon Pertwee (1919-1996)

A Singular Voice: A Roddy McDowall Tribute

And now to take a look at the life and career of one of my favorite actors of all time...

Few things bother me more, when speaking of film and entertainment, than when I bring up a classic actor, and the reaction of most people is to have no idea who that guy is. It's happened with many older actors that I love, including Leslie Nielsen, a legendary comedic actor that you'd think people would know. But perhaps the single most notorious case in my personal experience, is pretty much any time I bring up the actor Roddy McDowall. Most people that I ever mention him to, have either zero idea who he is, or when I try to explain and mention a few of his more famous roles, they go "Oh". And part of the problem, I guess, is that his single most famous role, is one in which his face was completely covered. And many of his best roles, at least in my opinion, were voice roles for animation, as well. Which is why I decided on the title for this article, because like many of the greats, Roddy McDowall had a singular persona, and a singular, very unmistakable voice.

Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall was born in London, England, on September 17th, 1928. He was primarily of Irish and Scottish decent, a "True Celt" as some might say. His parents were big into the theater, and thus encouraged him to act at a young age. By the the time he was ten years old, he was already receiving film roles. And that is the first thing to note about Mr. McDowall, something that most probably don't know about him (if they know of him at all): the fact that in his youth, he was a fairly big child actor. 

The Pied Piper (1942)

Kidnapped (1948)

His first major film role, after several small ones, was also arguably the biggest of his child career. In 1941, he starred in How Green Was My Valley, the John Ford classic, as the young Huw Morgan. He also starred in the 1942 film The Pied Piper (not actually based on the story, but rather a war-time drama). In 1943, he starred in a pair of animal-based classics,  Lassie Come Home and My Friend Flicka. By 1948, now a young man, he was featuring in the likes of Macbeth as Prince Malcolm, and a starring turn as David Balfour in an adaptation of Kidnapped (pictured above). 

That is perhaps the next notable thing to say about Mr. McDowall, is that he was one of the rare cases, especially back in that "Golden Era" of film, who not only made the successful transition from child actor to adult actor, but actually had a long and prolific career as an adult actor. Hell, he acted for six-plus decades in total, so I'd say he did pretty well for himself. His career in film, television and theater continued on into the 60s, when he featured in the role of Private Morris in the war epic The Longest Day (1962), where he ironically played an American soldier, even though there was a sizeable British cast as well (including Sean Connery).  In 1963 he starred alongside the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison and Richard Burton in the historical epic Cleopatra, where he played Octavian, the man who would become Augustus Caesar. 

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)

That Darn Cat! (1965)

Now my own personal first exposure to Roddy, was probably the 1971 Disney fantasy film Bedknobs and Broomsticks, which just so happened to be one of my very favorite movies as a child. I mean, what's not to love about a film featuring a traveling magic bed and an enchanted army of empty armor come to life? His role was minor in the film, but notable, as Mr. Rowan Jelk, a local English clergyman, who while seemingly well-meaning, is subtly trying to get in good with Miss Eglantine Price (Angela Lansbury), a single heiress, because he wants to marry her (mainly for her property). He is, of course, unaware that she is a  witch, and later finds this out the hard way, coming calling once more, only to have enchanted boots almost literally run him off. I also probably saw him in That Darn Cat! (1965), a goofball mystery movie, wherein a feisty cat helps to solve a kidnapping. 

Another Childhood Favorite.

And another.

And ANOTHER.

He also had a minor role in another 1970s Disney film that was a childhood favorite of mine, The Cat From Outer Space (1978), a movie about an alien who happens to be a cat, who uses a high-tech collar to telepathically speak to some humans who are trying to help him get back out into space, without getting captured by the military. I also remembered him for his small but memorable part as The March Hare in the 1985 two-part TV adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. He featured alongside Anthony Newley as The Mad Hatter and Arte Johnson as The Dormouse, and they did that scene a fair bit of justice. It's hard to top Ed Wynn and Jerry Colonna in the original 1951 Disney cartoon, but they did "The Mad Tea Party" well nonetheless. 

And of course, I would be absolutely remiss if I didn't mention not only one of my favorite animated films of all time, but one of my personal favorite roles of Mr. Dowall, and that is his turn as the voice of hobbit Samwise Gamgee in Rankin/Bass' follow-up to their incredible The Hobbit (1977) TV movie, 1980s Return of the King.  Starring opposite Orson Bean, as Frodo Baggins, who also did the voice of Bilbo Baggins in the '77 Hobbit (and does Old Bilbo in this), Roddy really kind of steals the show as Sam. Return of the King, the novel, in many ways is Sam's time to shine anyway, as has been poisoned by Shelob, tortured by orcs, and is becoming overwhelmed by The One Ring. And McDowall does absolutely thrive in his lively performance of Sam, in what I would say is the best portrayal of the character (no offense meant to Sean Astin, who also did a great job in Peter Jackson's films). One of my favorite scenes from the movie, a slight embellishment from the novel, is a scene in which Sam is alone, and the Ring gives him a grand vision of himself defeating Sauron and becoming Lord of Mordor, which he transforms into a Eden-like paradise. A really powerful scene, one of many led by McDowall's powerful voice-work. 

The Bookworm

The Mad Hatter

Mr. McDowall also had appearances on many TV shows over the years. He appeared in two Rod Serling shows, both The Twilight Zone and Night Gallery, one episode each, "People Are Alike All Over" (TZ) and "The Cemetery" (NG). He featured in episodes of Mission Impossible, Wonder Woman, and even Quantum Leap. Late in his career, mainly in the 90s, he also got more into voice acting roles for animation, which included voices for cartoons such as Pirates of Dark Water, Pinky and the Brain, The Tick and Gargoyles. Of course, my personal favorite of those, pictured above, was his turn as The Mad Hatter in Batman: The Animated Series (and later an episode of The New Batman Adventures). He had previous history on the OTHER iconic Batman show, the goofy 1960s Adam West show, where he played the villain The Bookworm. But as Dr. Jervis Tetch, a classic Batman villain dating back to 1948, Roddy lent the character both a sympathetic, yet eerie edge. In fact, he did the role so well, that much like many of the OTHER key roles on that cartoon, I can't really imagine the Hatter having any other voice.

Planet of the Apes (1968)

Doctors Cornelius and Zira

Their son Caesar.

Of course, Roddy McDowall's most FAMOUS role, and one I myself would come to know him for as a child, thanks to a weekend long Apes marathon on TV, was his role under heavy make-up and prosthetics, in the science fiction classic (also co-written by Rod Serling), Planet of the Apes (1968). In the film, he played Dr. Cornelius, a humanoid chimpanzee archaeologist in a far future where apes had somehow evolved into bipedal, speaking civilization, and humans had regressed to non-speaking wildmen. His wife was Dr. Zira, a zoologist specializing in working with "man animals", played wonderfully by actress Kim Hunter. They assist some human astronauts (first Charlton Heston as Taylor and later James Franciscus as Brent) who find themselves time-warped into this future world. Later still, they manage to use one of their repaired spacecraft to escape the destruction of said-world, and time-warp THEMSELVES back to 1970s Earth, to a world ruled by intelligent humans. 


Their ultimate end, shall we say, is less than humane or glorious (which I always hated), but their son is secreted away by a human friend they've made in Armando, and is named Caesar, who is raised in an increasingly dystopian future where apes are made to be a slave-class to humans, which eventually leads to an uprising, etc. All told, McDowall starred in all five Apes films, in three as Cornelius and the final two as his own son Caesar. In fact he was so popular and connected to that series, that he even starred in the short lived (one season) Planet of the Apes TV show (1974), as a completely different ape named Galen. I would say that the Apes films might well have been a success without him, certainly the first. But I think it was McDowall's (again) iconic voice and his incredible presence and persona, that really brought his Ape characters to life, and really helped invest viewers in that world. Even though the original film was starring vehicle for Charlton Heston, and in all fairness he did a great job with it, I think that Roddy easily became the voice and face (prosthetic as it was) of the franchise. I could (and probably will in its own article) argue that the original Apes film never needed any sequels, but I am, on the other hand, happy for Roddy that they were such a success, and such a big part of his career. 

Roddy and the Golem.

Roddy the Psychic

Roddy the Vampire Hunter.

Naturally, it wouldn't be much of a Halloween article, if I didn't bring a bit of spookiness into the deal. And it just so happens that Mr. McDowall also had several roles in a lot of lesser-known horror films during his career, as well. One such role was that of Arthur Pimm in the 1967 British film IT, also known as Curse of the Golem, which borrows heavily for his character from the earlier 60s Hitchcock megahit Psycho (1960). The similarity is that his character, a museum employee, keeps his own mother's dead and rotting corpse in his home, and steals jewelry to put on her, because he's fucking nuts. But the twist is, he comes across a Jewish Golem in the museum, which he learns to control, and sends it out to do his bidding, with expectantly disastrous consequences. He also starred in the 1973 paranormal thriller The Legend of Hell House, where he plays Benjamin Franklin Fischer, one of a pair of psychics brought to Belasco House, the "Mount Everest of Haunted Houses", to conduct paranormal research. The group is tormented and even attacked by the forces of the house, and without spoiling too much, let's just say shit goes sideways. I would recommend the latter, as it is a fairly solid haunted house movie.


My personal favorite of these horror roles, of course, is 1985's Fright Night, in which he plays one of my favorite roles of his, the character of actor Peter Vincent (a send-up to both Peter Cushing and Vincent Price), an old vampire movie star who horror fanatic Charlie tries to gain help from in his quest to fight his next door neighbor. His neighbor, of course, happens to be a vampire, the fiendish Jerry Dandrige (played by Chris Sarandon). It's one of his best roles, and one of the most coolest characters in all of horror-dom, if you ask me, because he starts out as an obvious phony (or at least, just a washed up actor who doesn't have time for crazy fans), but eventually lives his character, being he Van Helsing-like hero that both Charlie believes in, and needs to save his life. 

Laserblast (1978)

The coolest robot this side of Robby.

McDowall also featured in other genre films, such as the highly questionable cult classic with great stop motion effects, 1978's Laserblast (as seen above featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000), as the character Dr. Mellon.  Or another of my personal favorites, and another voice role people are likely unaware of, he provide the voice of the robot V.I.N.C.E.N.T., opposite Slim Pickens as "Old Bob", in the 1979 sci-fi film The Black Hole. That is another film I saw in my childhood, and loved, probably mostly due to the fact that McDowall as the robot is both endearing and funny, in an otherwise very dark and somber (especially for Disney) science fiction story. "Vince" is easily one of the coolest robots in cinema history, which is sad, because again, he is a character from a film few really know about these days (and more should). 


All in all, at least in this man's estimation, Roddy McDowall had a long and very successful career. In fact, his last film role came the same year as his sad death to lung cancer, 1998, where he provided the voice for "Mr. Soil" in the Pixar hit A Bug's Life. Not an amazing role, but also not too shabby a way to "go out", so to speak. Mr. McDowall was an "actor's actor", as the saying goes, reported a consummate gentleman and kind man, and unlike many actors, he had a very long career that saw him in a wide variety of genres, from comedy and drama, to romance and historical epic, to horror and science fiction. He was a huge, iconic part of film history with the Apes series, played some of the best, and most interesting characters I know in film. 

It is my genuine hope, that after reading this article, that you will not only now be more familiar with Roddy McDowall and his work. But that you will also be inspired to go and seek out, and watch some of his work as well, to really enjoy and cherish one of the finer performers this medium of entertainment, in my humble estimation, has ever produced. If I had to give you some top suggestions of McDowall films to see, some of my picks would be:

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)


The Legend of Hell House (1973)

Planet of the Apes (1968)

How Green Was My Valley (1941)

It! (1967)

The Return of the King (1980)

Fright Night (1985)

And because it shouldn't be missed, the Batman Animated Series episodes "Mad As a Hatter", "Perchance to Dream", and "The Worry Men."


If you can only for some reason watch a couple, I would say to make sure you catch Fright Night and Return of the King, and the original Planet of the Apes.  It's the perfect time of year for them, and in my humble opinion, everyone could use a bit more Roddy in their life. Cheers!