15 thoughts on “Alan Bates Movies”

1. With his appearance in 1962’s A Kind of Loving Alan was part of the “new wave” of British “kitchen sink” dramas which took audiences away from the gloss that they were used to in Hollywood films and showed them slices of the lives of ordinary working men and women.

   The “kitchen sink” films largely in black and white made stars/boosted the stardom of the likes of Tom Courtney/Albert Finney/Laurence Harvey as well as Bates himself. Sir Maurice Micklewhite’s 1966’s Alfie although in colour and more upbeat than most is today classed as a ‘kitchen sink” film as it follows the [bawdy!] exploits of a young working- class British male played with gusto and skill by Sir Maurice in his heyday and a performance which consolidated his successes in Zulu and as Harry Palmer.

   Alan had a distinguished TV and stage career on top of his filmography. Indeed Bates and his family created the Tristan Bates Theatre at the Actors’ Centre in Covent Garden England in memory of his son Tristan who sadly died at the age of 19. Tristan’s twin brother Benedick is a vice-director.

   “Nice little theatre in the heart of the London West End, but with the feel of an art-housy, drama-schooly theatre, Tristan Bates is a fantastic home for nurturing new talent right in the thick of things. We were here for Paved with Gold and Ashes, part of a day of six plays from Threedumb Theatre.” [Writeup included in Wikipedia].

   All-in-all therefore this new page is given a high “Vote Up” as Bates is a very worth recipient.

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   1. Hey Bob. Good information on the rise of so many young British actors. Of the group you list….I would say you should replace Terrence Stamp for Laurence Harvey. By the mid 1960s, Harvey’s 20 plus career was winding down…while Stamp’s career like the others was just winding up. Apparently that group of actors (let’s not forget legendary hell raisers O’Toole, Harris and Reed) liked to do some serious partying. Thanks for the vote up and the second comment.

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2. Alan Bates gave many performances that pleased me: A Kind of Loving, The Go Between; Women in Love [notorious for THAT male nude wrestling scene with Olly Reed]; Zorba the Greek; The Running Man. However it was his performance in 1967’s Far from the Madding Crowd as stalwart man of the country and of the soil farmer Gabriel Oak that I most admired.

   The film is based on Thomas Hardy’s 1874 book of that name and Hardy uses the down-to-earth nobility of Oak’s character to pursue his own hobby-horse of contrasting the qualities of the country rustics with the [as Hardy saw them] decadence and greed of the monied classes in the big cities of his time. The title was originally derived from Thomas Gray’s famous 1750 Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard and one verse from that Elegy neatly sums up Hardy’s later perceptions and reflects the stoic and reliable character that Alan Bates’ Gabriel Oak was.

   “Far from the madding crowd’s ignoble strife,
   Their sober wishes never learned to stray;
   Along the cool sequestered vale of life
   They kept the noiseless tenor of their way.”

   IMDB credits Alan with 12 acting awards and 15 nominations and his reported net worth at the time of his 2003 death is said today to be equivalent to $20 million.

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   1. Hey Bob….thanks for the comments on Alan Bates. Wow…see the following quotes from us. We are seeing things he same way….lol.

      Bob – “…..it was his performance in 1967’s Far from the Madding Crowd as stalwart man of the country and of the soil farmer Gabriel Oak that I most admired.”
      Cogerson – “……..but I liked Bates in Far From The Madding Crowd.”

      Good information on the book the movie was based on, the other quote, the action awards and his net worth. Good stuff as always.

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3. Great UMR Page

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   1. Thank you Mike.

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4. 20 Joel subjects to go. That is 390 completed and 20 left….or 95.12% finished.

   I have seen 10 of the movies above….no real favorites…..but I liked Bates in Far From The Madding Crowd.

   I always got him mixed up with Albert Finney and Robert Preston when I was younger.

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5. English actors sometimes seem distant and formal to American audiences. Even Dirk Bogarde, brilliant as he is, draws a thin line between himself and the viewer. Alan Bates makes direct contact. He’s warm and approachable, even in unsympathetic roles. – Rating The Movie Stars (1983 Book)

   Rating The Movie Stars 4 Star Alan Bates Performances
   Movie (Year)
   Whistle Down The Wind (1961)
   The Guest/The Caretaker (1963)
   Zorba the Greek (1964)
   Georgy Girl (1966)
   King of Hearts (1966)
   Far From The Madding Crowd (1967)
   The Fixer (1968)
   Women in Love (1969)
   Three Sisters (1970)
   The Go-Between (1971)
   Butley (1974)
   An Unmarried Woman (1978)

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