I don't recall exactly when I became a fan, although Witness for the Prosecution must have had something to do with it, so now I catch whatever I can of this wonderful, towering actor.
And, I was not disappointed with the Beachcombers, although the plot let me down, and I did not watch it all the way through.
That being said, Charles Laughton is riveting as usual and dead-on as a stumble bum. I always wonder if modern-day actors can emulate the truly greats, and my answer is essentially no they cannot because, first, there aren't the scripts today, which greatly enhance an actor's performance and, second, it doesn't matter because, perhaps with the exception of Leonardo, D. Washington, D. Hoffman, and perhaps a few others, no actors today can tie on the bootstraps of the actors of yesteryear.
Not considering the greats of the silent age (I'm thinking C. Chaplin, B. Keaton and H. Lloyd, all exceptional, and the many, fantastic character actors throughout cinema who added inestimable richness to many a movie, my personal favorites, and I know it's subjective, and I'm speaking of film presence including Charles Laughton, are: William Powell, Spencer Tracy, and Jack Lemmon. Heck, I'm not allowing myself to include Steve McQueen, one of my favorites because he is a notch below the above-mentioned, in my overly haughty assessment.
P.S. I'm sure I'm leaving someone of the list, and, by the way, I notice the inherent sexism of my comments, but I chalk most of it up to contemporary society where woman are not afforded the stardom or roles of men. Again, an overly presumptuous statement.
