Passing of Mr. Scofield

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The reserved, dignified and sonorous Paul Scofield, one of the greatest stage actors of the 20th Century who starred in relatively few films, has died at age 86. His landmark role was his Oscar-winning portrayal of Sir Thomas More in Fred Zinneman's A Man for All Seasons ('66).

Scofield had one of the most beautiful speaking voices I've ever heard come out of an actor's mouth. Listen to this short mp3 clip from a portion of A Man For All Seasons in which the meaning of the keeping of an oath is explained. Although the words were written by Robert Bolt, in my heart I've I've always thought of Scofield as the man who understood, sculpted and knew the truth of them best.

I love this line from the Associated Press obit about Scofield's "unforgettable voice [being] likened to a Rolls-Royce starting up or the rumbling sound of low organ pipes."

My second most vivid Scofield memory is suffering through Peter Brooks' King Lear ('71), in which Scofield played the lead. I only saw about 2/3 of it (the agony became too much and I had to leave) but it ranks as a legendary downer for its gray, grim dreariness. I can't even remember Scofield's performance. I've blocked it out.

The AP obit doesn't even mention Scofield's performance as the art-loving Nazi Colonel in John Frankenheimer's The Train ('64), which is one of the key reasons for that film's continued potency. I also enjoyed his graceful, low-key performance as a Russian spook named Zharkov in the little-remembered Scorpio ('73), a decent Michael Winner-directed espionage thriller that costarred Burt Lancaster and Alain Delon.

Scofield was fine but unremarkable as the patrician father of Ralph Fiennes' Charles Van Doren in Quiz Show ('94), but his last legendary screen moment was his performance as Reverend Danforth in The Crucible ('96), particularly when, as EW's Owen Gleiberman noted, he "wrapped his great basso profundo" around lines like ''Now we shall touch the bottom of this...swamp.'"

comment #1

Mgmax says ...

Well, by way of making the case for his performance in Quiz Show, I'm going to quote what I posted in the Bonnie & Clyde thread: "he was marvelous as Mark Van Doren in Quiz Show, intelligent but faintly out of it, pampered without realizing it-- beautifully capturing the spirit of the WASP intelligentsia in the last moment before showbiz took over everything."

comment #2

Rich S. says ...

From my post in the Bonnie & Clyde thread:

Don't forget Branagh's Henry V, where Scofield guns down the Dauphin for getting overly cocky about whuppin' on the English. It's little more than a cameo, but boy is he good.

comment #3

cinefan says ...

I disagree too that Scofield was unremarkable in Quiz Show, although I do think that John Turturro should have been nominated for Best Supporting Actor for the film and I would have picked his performance over Scofield's performance if I had to choose only one supporting performance from the film to nominate. I also like mgmax's eloquent description of Scofield's interpretation of who Van Doren was: "intelligent but faintly out of it, pampered without realizing it..."

comment #4

christian says ...

I loved Scofield in QUIZ SHOW. You needed an actor of great theatrical weight to compare against Fiennes, and to show what the younger Van Doren was up against. Just a great actor.

comment #5

Joe M. says ...

Off topic, but Jeff, have you considered making Hollywood Elsewhere one of the blogs available for users of the Amazon Kindle to subscribe to? As "Elsewhere" is mainly text based, it would work great. The Kindle needs a good entertainment blog. Check the device out at Amazon.com for more info. Could be a new revenue source for you with zero extra work.

comment #6

Celebrity Werewolf Hunter says ...

He also gave an excellent turn in Gibson's "Hamlet" proving to be a much more composed and regal Ghost than the bombastic Brian Blessed take in Branagh's version.

comment #7

CinemaPhreek says ...

Don't think I've ever seen the death hat trick happen so quickly:
Well respected English director, author and actor within 2 days of each other.

Still waiting for rest of the "Death trio" associated Ivan Dixon to pass.

comment #8

dixiedugan says ...

I will second his Henry V performance Rich, not a big role but he's one of those actors that's both sublime and superb and the same time - oddly enough I had just bumped up The Train on my Netflix queue yesterday or the day before.

comment #9

drillo cocco says ...

A true giant of the stage and of the cinema has left us and all of us are poorer. I never had the fortune to see Mr Scofield on stage but his recorded performances are a treasure, the brilliance of his talent almost blinding; as long as people act -- on a stage, on a film set, and on whatever medium people will act in the future when technology changes everything -- Paul Scofield's work will still be cherished.

You cannot say the same of very many actors.

Thank you Mr Wells for giving us the chance to pay hommage here.

comment #10

the king says ...

FROM MY B & C comment:

He was great presence. His unyieding spirit and unwillingness of acceptance in the light of evidence in "The Crucible" -- one of my favorites. It sounds like he is the same in "Man for All Seasons." I'm looking forward to checking that one out.

comment #11

Edward says ...

What a repertory theatre we have in the afterlife. How many of today's actors have the training and depth of those who have gone before?

My condolences to his family.

comment #12

lipranzer says ...

I know Jeff - and others - have a hard time watching Peter Brook's KING LEAR (Pauline Kael passionately loathed it), but it's one of the best Shakespeare movies I've ever seen. It may not be poetic, but it lays the characters bare before us. And a lot of that is due to Scofield's fearlessness as Lear. He doesn't grandstand, he simply is Lear. I've never seen him on stage, but watching this, you get a sense of why Richard Burton said once that if you listed the ten best moments in the theater, eight of them would be by Scofield.

I also liked him in SCORPIO (though I wasn't wild about the film), QUIZ SHOW, THE CRUCIBLE, and a little-seen movie in 1992 called UTZ, made by George Sluizer (THE VANISHING), where he plays the best friend of the title character (Armin Mueller-Stahl), a porcelain art dealer. It's a somewhat slight film, but Scofield again lends authority to it.

comment #13

Rich S. says ...

Someone, I can't remember who, once said that one of the perks of winning an Oscar was that from that day on, you were always described as an "Academy Award winning actor/actress/director, etc." That included your obituary, which would lead off with "Oscar winner so-and-so passed away today."

It's been a very tough way to discover it, but reviewing the internet over the past week, I'll be darned if it isn't true.

comment #14

Edward says ...

I've got to see Scofield's Lear now!

comment #15

jjgittes says ...

Great actor.........I thought he was brilliant in Quiz Show myself and merely ok in The Crucible (a film I kinda hate).

Trivia : Scofield is one of only a handful of male actors with lead actor wins for the Oscar, Emmy (movie/mini-series) and Tony Award - his Tony and Oscar were for the same role.

(Al Pacino is the only male actor to do this Lead trifecta for 3 different roles).

comment #16

candice208 says ...

I have seen him on marrymillionaire.com. What did he do on that site?

comment #17

moviemaniac2002 says ...

"The Train"! Yes, that incredible Scofield performance that I chimed in about when the
"The Train" was first mentioned on this site
months ago.
Scofield's work in that film should be
required viewing for any actor who gets cast
as a villain in a high profile action movie. Maybe
iinstead of seeing the usual procession of
one-dimensional creeps acted like pop-up
targets on an FBI shooting range, we'd get an
actual multi-faceted human being, a flawed but
still fearful character and a worhty adversary
for the hero. RIP, Mr. S.

comment #18

Mgmax says ...

"I have seen him on marrymillionaire.com. What did he do on that site?"

He died, sweetie.

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