The Comedy Man

Actors must lead a tough life: not only does the trade deny them the luxury of a steady income, but the challenge of constantly changing roles can throw their own identity out of shape. Or so one English actor (Kenneth More) discovers as he sinks to success in this caustic but witty comedy drama, in which the extroverted façade of the dedicated thespian stands revealed for what it really is: a protective shield against the burden of inconsistent work, the humiliation of endless auditions, and the hunger for popular acclaim. More's luck begins to turn after professional desperation and a need for quick cash lead him to accept a job in the lucrative but disreputable world of television advertising. Nothing, he soon learns, corrupts like fame and fortune, especially when neither is earned (it's easier to be morally pure when you're a starving artist). The film was made in 1963, but is so rarely revived that it qualifies as a lost treasure of sorts.

"The Comedy Man" is a drama (with some comedy) about a struggling actor named Chick Byrd in swinging London. This is one of the most accurate depictions of the grotty underside of showbiz. The film is very realistic, sometimes depressingly so. Byrd dreams of stardom, but he lives in a cheap bedsit and collects dole cheques. He can't get a "real" job because he's always making the rounds of casting calls. Byrd is played by Kenneth More, a dramatic actor with comedy experience, who gives an excellent performance here. Billie Whitelaw is excellent too. I won't divulge the movie's ending, except to say that it's unexpected yet very plausible. Watch for a very large man in a very small role: the gigantic union steward wearing a Red Indian war bonnet is played by Freddie Mills. He was Britain's heavyweight champion who tried to parlay his boxing fame into an acting career, but his large size typecast him in Richard Kiel-type roles. I recommend this film.

I saw this film some years ago before Kenneth Moore sadly passed away. Unfortunately he could not do the story justice as the film, due mainly to time I believe, did not portray the character of Nathaniel (Chick) Bird, accurately. It was not able to relay the relationships between Chick and Prout nor with the Twins let alone with the hospital where he worked as a hospital porter before he took on a staring role. Nor did the film show how he created a character and gave the producers of a new film a 'Type' as they called him. Nor did it really display how he and his friend Julian who did go to Hollywood, had been. Nor how he eventually settled with his Stardom and fame and his ever growing love for the woman who changed his life. The book by Douglas Hayes, which sadly is no longer in print. But it is a story that should be re-created in a much more in-depth film that depicts a character which sadly the late Kenneth Moore should never have played.

A surprisingly good comedy/drama about a group of British actors on the periphery is THE COMEDY MAN, which stars Kenneth More as a down-and-out actor who finally finds success, but in a series of TV commercials about breath mints. The various members of the group experience all sorts of ups and downs and live in a shared, squalid flat. They chase all over London looking for work but fall prey to the indifference of producers. An oily agent (Dennis Price) lords overs them and plays favorites as he bestows various small jobs. One actor (Edmund Purdom) lands a small film role that that launches him to major screen success ... much to the bitter envy of the others. It's a great look at the small lives of actors who have the fire to perform but never really make the grade.

Billie Whitelaw is good as an actress working as a waitress. Cecil Parker nearly steals the film as the old gent whose best days are long gone but he still clings to the hope of one last great role ... while he sponges off the younger actors. Frank Finlay, Alan Dobie, and Angela Douglas also appear.

Kenneth More is excellent as the 40-ish actor who can never quite make anything of the small chances he gets. More seems pretty much forgotten today but ranked as a major Brit movie star in the 1950s. He's excellent here.

The ending is quite good.

Moore's career was in the doldrums when he made this film,his first for two years.He was in a relationship with Angela Douglas,whom he called Shrimp as in this film This film seems to give an accurate idea of the desperation of actors without work.