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(1921–2004). British actor and writer.
Provided voice for animated films: Adventures of Mr.
Wonderbird (Pierre Grimault 1959); Robin Hood (Wolfgang Reitherman
1973); The Mouse and His Child (Charles Swenson 1977); Dr. Snuggles
(animated tv series) (1979); Grendel Grendel Grendel (Alexander Stitt
1981); Animal Farm (John Stephenson 1999).
Directed, wrote, and appeared in: Romanoff and
Juliet (1961).
Seeking to determine precisely where Ustinov
should have focused his energies, one might settle upon writing as his true
calling, however difficult that might be to argue on the basis of his
ineffervescent update of the Ruritarian romance, Romanoff and Juliet,
and his other now-forgotten efforts. But writing even a mediocre play or film
demands a modicum of skill, and Ustinov manifestly had the intelligence,
erudition, and wit to produce something worthwhile. What he lacked, in the final
analysis, was dedication to the craft.
Yet who can blame him? He was a sociable person, ill-suited to the lonely
existence of the full-time author, and performing as an actor or television
personality demanded far less energy and brought far greater rewards.
What spoiled him for good, perhaps, was the misfortune of winning
two of the most undeserved Academy Awards in film history—one for
not being Chill Wills, and one for not being Stanley Holloway. Regardless
of the evidence, a person's ego naturally recoils at the notion that
one has received an honor solely by virtue of being a safe alternative
to a despised favorite, preferring to imagine that his skills truly
merited recognition. So, Ustinov acted more and wrote less—though
he did not always choose his assignments wisely, backing out of the
role of Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther, allowing Peter
SELLERS to become a star, while cheerfully
staying on board the risible John Goldfarb, Please Come Home.
An actor whose prestige exceeds his abilities will always be welcomed
by films which otherwise would enjoy no prestige at all, such as fantasy
and science fiction films aimed at young audiences, where Ustinov
soon found an occasional home. Without conveying the slightest hint
that the fantastic in any way engaged his formidable intellect, he
at least seemed to be enjoying himself in films like Blackbeard's
Ghost, The Last Remake of Beau Geste, and The Thief
of Baghdad, though he appears a bit uneasy in the company of Muppets,
as if cognizant that he has improvidently stepped one rung too low
on the Hollywood ladder. As for his major science fiction role, in
Logan's Run, one would like to imagine that inept director
Michael ANDERSON cast his film with slyly ironic intent: after Michael
YORK haplessly flounders through his adventures,
utterly unable to project any sort of passion or conviction, he finally
escapes a nightmarish world filled only with overgrown adolescents
like himself, looks for a mentor to provide some needed guidance,
and stumbles onto Peter Ustinov. Oops. (For if anything, Ustinov seems
even more befuddled than York, as if he didn't bother to read any
of the scenes not featuring his character.)
Ustinov's career in the 1980s and 1990s was a
muddle of sporadic leading roles, more frequent cameos, some easy money earned
as a cartoon voice, and numerous appearances as Peter Ustinov, the urbane
savant, in various television productions. Presumably to recognize all of this
work, the British government then decided to award him a knighthood. Future
generations of filmgoers will predictably wonder why.
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