Burt Lancaster
Remember him? Some actor he was, a peer among his coevals. He was galvanized by life and in turn galvanized everyone, everything around him. The perfect animal, human though he was. He was the embodiment of masculinity; virile, handsome, action-oriented, endowed with a physical grace to match his perfect physique.
Well, that's going back a bit. But then I do, we both do, my husband and I. When we were young teenaged kids going out together this was our favourite actor. He embodied, we thought, all that was noble in being human. He expressed compassion, wonder, sensitivity, curiosity, bravery, curiosity, and did so believably and with utter aplomb. He could be hilariously sardonic, seductive, he was a cunning master of any situation; every fibre of that man's body and being was vital, alive with energy. No one could come close to him for perfection of being as expressed by the Big Screen.
So why Burt Lancaster? As in why think of him now, why bring him up, he's dead and gone, after all. Well, his screen presence is still there and it can be accessed and admired at any time. And sure enough, we watched a Saturday night playing of his 1960 film "Elmer Gantry", for which he received a well-deserved Academy Award. Even back then he wasn't anyone's idea of a spring chicken, but regardless he exhibited all of those wonderful traits and attributes one expected of him. It was an excellent movie, imbued with many facets, and it was a treat to watch.
I didn't always think that way, for when I was young and originally saw the film, I was disappointed. Not in his acting or his magnetic presence, but in the portrayal, however wonderfully well done it was, of what was to me, a far lesser being than he was himself. But that too is reflective of his art, his abilities, if not his personal orientation. At that time, nothing could have revulsed me more than the portral of a bumptious, slimy, however lovable, purveyor of Free Enterprise Christianity, a sly master of Christian Revivalism.
Older and wiser I am now, and more able to appreciate various facets of reality and the world about me than I was then. My vision of the world is somewhat larger and far more inclusive than it was when I was so young. This man, this elegant actor was superb as a showbusiness rabble-rouser offering a needy public entertainment in salvation. The unfortunate viewpoint of religion as a money-generating business may be anathema to true believers, but that too is so often yet another fact of life, lamentable as it may be.
This bigger than life, charismatic, seductive actor portrayed a character type that is not entirely unknown to the community at large. A lovable scoundrel, more than a deliberate and outright crook, although the latter description serves well also to describe that complex yet simple personality type. Who could possibly have offered such skills as had this wonderful actor to bring that character alive than Burt Lancaster? Even his excesses are forgivable.
This man with a coiled spring for a spinal cord, oozing self confidence and yes, a kind of universal love (God is love/Love is god) was one of a kind, and we will never again see anyone who could mesmerize as he was able, with his ability to perform. Yet, there is also an element of the unknown here, a bit of smoke and mirrors. He was said to have stated that people thought he shaved with a blowtorch, but in fact he was bookish, problematic. You could indeed see thoughtful introspection, sorrow in the pain of existence from some of his roles, and that too may well have reflected who he was. Take what you will from that.
It was said that before he became a film actor he was employed as a circus performer, a high-wire act. It was also said that when he made his name as an actor, he brought along with him his former circus partner, and this man appeared in some guise or another in every film that Burt Lancaster made.
posted by Pieface @ Sunday, December 11, 2005
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