The Entertainer

"As the applause grew fainter … As the spotlight grew dimmer … His women were younger!"

1960 1h 44m EN

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 59

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Archie Rice, an old-time British vaudeville performer sinking into final defeat, schemes to stay in show business.

“As the applause grew fainter … As the spotlight grew dimmer … His women were younger!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Laurence Olivier
Archie Rice
Brenda De Banzie
Phoebe Rice
Roger Livesey
Billy Rice
Joan Plowright
Jean Rice
Alan Bates
Frank Rice
Daniel Massey
Graham
Albert Finney
Mick Rice
Shirley Anne Field
Tina Lapford

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Tony Richardson
Writers: Nigel Kneale, John Osborne
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

66 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Tony Richardson, shot by Oswald Morris. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Addison. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Alan Osbiston shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Laurence Olivier and Brenda De Banzie and Roger Livesey carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "As the applause grew fainter … As the spotlight grew dimmer … His women were younger!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0053796 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 59 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Tony Richardson directs. Oswald Morris behind the camera. John Addison scores. Alan Osbiston cuts. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

166 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by Tony Richardson, shot by Oswald Morris. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by John Addison. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Alan Osbiston shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Laurence Olivier and Brenda De Banzie and Roger Livesey carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "As the applause grew fainter … As the spotlight grew dimmer … His women were younger!".
7IMDB entry: tt0053796 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 59 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
9Classified under 10 themes, including "beauty contest", "based on play or musical", "dysfunctional family", "bankruptcy".

The technical file

Cinematography: Oswald Morris
Original score: John Addison
Editing: Alan Osbiston
Makeup / hair: Tony Sforzini
Runtime: 104 min · 1h 44m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Entertainer (1960)

Also by

Tony Richardson

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-04-04
★ 7/10
Certainly, Laurence Olivier is superb in this drama, but he is surrounded by a superior supporting cast that lend huge poignancy to this story. He is "Archie Rice", a seaside entertainer who has long since passed his use-by date. His quick witted, slightly risqué and smutty humour no longer amuses the theatre audiences who now require much greater sophistication. He can't adapt though - it's in his blood. As he desperately tries to stay one step ahead of the bailiffs and the taxman, he puts his nearest and dearest through a maelstrom of emotions and trauma. It doesn't help his wife "Phoebe" (Brenda de Banzie) that he is also a bit of a womaniser - usually with younger girls, too. His long suffering kids "Jean" (Joan Plowright) and "Frank" (Alan Bates) try to keep things running as they struggle to make ends meet and stay cohesive as a family. Add to these four, a sparing but super contribution from Roger Livesey as his father - another man who made his living treading the boards back in the day, and what we have here is a telling look at a man who just no longer belongs. Olivier, the actor, turns his hand to stand-up, tap dancing, singing - all standard skills that anyone making a living this way would have needed; and he does it really well. None of the theatrical, method style he is so often famed (and criticised) for. Indeed, I think this is the most natural I have ever seen him on film. He seems to be rejoicing in the role - and that's contagious to watch. It's not a bundle of laughs, we are given plenty of opportunity to dislike this rather selfish, narcissist - especially when he is with the excellent Plowright and de Banzie. Although there is an inevitability to the conclusion, I still felt for this family reaching a crossroads, ill-equipped to fit into a society they didn't recognise nor really want to embrace.

Production companies