King Caine
Michael Caine is a movie star and his fame often eclipses his performances; modern audiences are probably more aware of Caine parody Stella Street than the original Alfie. The Michael Caine Season showcases Sir Maurice Micklewhite's performances in a selection of career best movies, allowing audiences to get re-acquainted with breakthrough role in Zulu, his memorably self-centred anti-hero Alfie, his flipside James Bond in the Harry Palmer films, plus more recent hits.Anyone thinking Michael Caine is a funny pair of glasses and a broad accent should make an appointment with Sky Movies Classics from Monday 10th to Sunday 16th March.
Caine has been honoured with over twenty acting awards, including two Best Supporting Actor Oscar wins for Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules, and a Best Actor BAFTA for Educating Rita. He's also been on the receiving end of two Razzie nominations - one unfairly for Dressed to Kill and the other deserved for Jaws: The Revenge.
But, watching Caine's early films it is apparent he would be regarded a movie great even if he'd quit the business after Get Carter.
By the time he'd made this iron-in-the-belly crime thriller Caine had appeared in over twenty films, including Zulu, Alfie, The Ipcress File, The Italian Job and The Battle of Britain.
Surprisingly, when looking at his early credit list, only Alfie and The Italian Job embody that swinging 60s English vibe Caine was so long associated with. And Alfie is an uneasy film to hook on to such an upbeat vibe.
Adapted by Bill Naughton from his own stage play, Alfie is the story of a serial womaniser and amoral commitment-phobe, and the various women he conquers.
Retaining the device of Alfie directly addressing the audience, Caine's character takes the audience into his confidence, but reveals himself an alley-cat morals cheat.
The part was originally offered to Terence Stamp who had played the role on Broadway, but Stamp didn't want to reprise the role for film and so gave his then-flatmate Caine the breakthrough role he'd been waiting for.
But, Stamp's mistake was the film's gain. Caine brings a disarming honesty to the role that the calculating Stamp would not have matched. His vanity free performance allows him to reveal the rotten underbelly of good time London boys, culminating in a scene when he leaves a woman to endure an illegal abortion alone.
Anyone in doubt of Caine's range is urged to watch the opening scenes of Alfie and compare them to his expression of grief and horror when he sees the end result of the terminated pregnancy.
This Oscar nominated performance joined other such impressive turns as anonymous spy Harry Palmer in the original trilogy, an anti-James Bond whose low-key, undercover work was closer to the real business of espionage and still influences films today.
The Italian Job was Caine's Bond, a colourful, fun and inventive crime caper, but just as indebted to Jason King and The Avengers.
But, with the fast cars, the dolly birds and Caine's smooth, relaxed performance as Charlie Croker, it remains an era-defining movie.
Count how many movies Caine seems relaxed in - for such a beloved institution it's not as many as you'd think, and he is rarely given credit for the diverse, brave roles he selected.
Caine's characters frequently discover themselves losing power in situations they believe they control (Zulu, Alfie, Sleuth), obsessively pursue a mission (Get Carter, The Eagle Has Landed), or are fighting mid-life crises - some well written
(Hannah and Her Sisters, Educating Rita), others not so much (Blame it on Rio, Surrender).
Caine's reputation for taking any old rubbish with a large payday is also, in the grand scheme of his career, over-inflated.
He berated Olivier for favouring stage over screen, telling Lord Larry, "You're the country's best actor and you've not got a pot to piss in", and Caine was acutely aware of how limiting poverty was, having watched his father work all his life and not escape hardship.
Therefore, it is unsurprising that he took nest egg roles in duffers The Swarm, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure and the career nadir of Jaws: The Revenge.
Of the latter, Caine stated he never saw the film but heard it was awful, but saw the house it bought and could confirm it was great.
The wonderful The Muppet Christmas Carol aside, most of the 1990s were a fallow time, but with Little Voice Caine entered a phase of his career as exciting as his best work in the sixties and seventies.
It is appropriate that Little Voice's Ray Say marked a career revival for Caine, as the character is arguably an older, embittered and defeated Alfie.
Since then he has balanced first rate performances in The Quiet American, Children of Men and The Prestige with grandkids' inheritance roles in Miss Congeniality and Bewitched, picked up an Oscar for The Cider House Rules and took only one job he should be thoroughly ashamed of: Stallone's noxious remake of Get Carter.
At this point, Michael Caine has settled into supporting roles, but seems to be wisely choosing roles that play to his strengths and are written well enough to register after the credits have rolled.
His Alfred in the re-energized Batman franchise lends heart to Chris Nolan's gritty, darker take on the characters, and as Clive Owen's confidant in the instant classic Children of Men he is the coolest uncle anyone could wish for.
At 75 Caine shows little sign of slowing down and his work ethic is our good fortune. In The Dark Knight teaser trailer Alfred's explanation of The Joker's nihilism sends shivers down the spine despite it being voiceover only.
No actor can try for better than that.
Rob Daniel
