Hey! I Know That Guy! #7

 

Hey! I know that guy!

Donald Pleasence had a career that lasted from 1952 until his death in 1995.  And that's just on film.  He really got started in 1939 doing some stage acting, with a brief stint in the Armed Forces during World War II causing a short break in his chosen career. He is probably primarily remembered by a majority of people for his recurring role in the Halloween movies as Michael Myers' psychiatrist, Dr. Sam Loomis. Some of you may even remember his role as Blythe "The Forger" in The Great Escape, and still others may remember him from his role as the James Bond nemesis Blofeld (specifically in You Only Live Twice. There were several people who filled that role over the span of the franchise.) And there may be even a smattering of you who remember him as the President of the United States (complete with his British accent!) in Escape from New York.

Whether he was playing the villain, or the hero, Pleasence was definitely one of the more memorable figures in whatever movie or TV show he appeared.  As stated above, he had a brief interlude during WWII, which he initially declined to join in the fray, citing being a conscientious objector.  But he eventually joined the RAF after Germany started bombing London.  He was shot down and became a P.O.W.  Thus when it came time to play a P.O.W. in The Great Escape, he had some experience to bring to the role. During his career he had some roles in movies as well as T.V. (He has the distinction of having played a murderer in both Columbo and Mrs. Columbo.  (Did you know there was a Mrs. Columbo TV series?  It only lasted 13 episodes, and was not very well received...)

Although he never really was a headliner, he did manage to get noticed and had plenty of work over his career.  Pleasance made an impact in his appearances, and even when he was what was essentially the "bad guy" you often couldn't help but feeling somewhat sympathetic for his character, mainly due to his demeanor in the role.

An early appearance for Pleasance was in a Twilight Zone episode, "The Changing of the Guard". A departure from the typical TZ fare, that of some malcontent getting his just desserts, or even of some unlucky Joe Schmo who just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. This episode was one of those rare sentimental ones that some viewers tend to like better than the typical darker episodes.

In this episode, Pleasance plays an aged professor at a prep school. (And the makeup for the actor is pretty decent.  Pleasance, who was only 42 at the time, is made up to look like he is somewhere over 70.) Pleasance is a professor at a Boy's School, one of those institutions that used to be more prevalent in bygone days. He is a genteel and well-liked teacher, although he is a bit dismissive of his current charges. But deep down, you know he loves them and his job.

 

Which makes it all the more devastating when he finds out that, as opposed to his thinking that he is going in for another contract to teach for another few years, he is being forced in to retirement. He begins to feel sorry for himself, and is convinced that he has had no long lasting effect on his students through the years. He comes to a decision that he is going to commit suicide rather than face that retirement.

But while he is at the marker for the founder of the school he hears the school bell ring. Curious, since it after hours, he investigates. Lo and behold, in his old classroom he finds the spirits of long dead students of his past terms. And each of them relates what a profound effect he had on them. Several of them, war casualties in former wars (WWI and WWII) cite the courage that inspired them to perform heroic deeds during their war service, and one, who died during an experiment with radioactivity, also cites the effect that his professor had on him.

Ultimately, he decides that he did indeed have a lasting effect on his charges and does not commit suicide after all. Rather than the usual "just desserts" type of moral story that was a part and parcel of The Twilight Zone, this episode has a homey feel good ending.

Of the films that Pleasance was a part of during his career, my favorite has to be when he appeared in the aforementioned The Great Escape. In this film, Pleasance plays Blythe, a roommate of James Garner's Hendley. Although he is not the only character we get to see developed during the course of the film, he had some memorable scenes. In this film he is a forger, the guy who is responsible for creating false documents for the escapees to use to pass as German citizens after the escape.

 

A couple of the scenes really stand out.  It turns out that myopia is causing Blythe to go blind. The head of the escape troop makes a decision that Blythe is therefore an unacceptable risk and is cut from the escapee list. The devastation that Blythe feels over this is chiefly seen in Pleasance's facial expressions after being told of this.  And the bright look of hope when his roommate Hendley insists that he will be responsible for helping Blythe.

One really hopes that Blythe and Hendley will be successful, and they are to some extent, although eventually Blythe is shot shortly after the plane he and Hendley are using to escape is shot down.  Pleasance really brings this character to life, and although as the viewer we hope they ALL succeed, I can imagine that many were disappointed when one of them wasn't Blythe.

Well, that ends this entry.  See you soon for the next entry in the Hey! I KNOW that Guy!

Quiggy