A Classic Era LOTR Movie - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Estelyn Telcontar · 07-05-2010, 01:42 AM

Quote:

Britney Spears as Éowyn

Underhill, you're a sadist! How could you even dare to introduce a thought like that into the collective consciousness?!

"Gollum = Urkel", on the other hand, amuses me.

Thanks for the link to that old thread - very amusing to read, and very nostalgic to see names that are now legend...

Morthoron · 07-05-2010, 07:05 AM

AN UNPRECEDENTED TECHNICOLOR EXTRAVAGANZA, PRODUCED BY DAVID O. SELZNICK (UNDER JOINT AGREEMENT WITH MGM/WARNER BROS.), DIRECTED BY VICTOR FLEMING, MICHAEL CURTIZ & CECIL B. DeMILLE.

Bilbo -- Charles Laughton
Thranduil -- Paul Henreid
Elrond -- Robert Donat
Gandalf -- Walter Huston
Beorn -- Victor McLaglen
Thorin -- Monty Woolley
Smaug -- George Sanders

Frodo -- James Cagney
Sam -- Thomas Mitchell
Aragorn -- Errol Flynn
Legolas -- Leslie Howard
Gimli -- Alan Hale
Denethor -- Claude Rains
Theoden -- Ralph Richardson
Boromir -- Cary Grant
Faramir -- James Stewart
Arwen -- Vivian Leigh or Merle Oberon
Saruman -- Sidney Greenstreet
Grima/Gollum -- Peter Lorre
Galadriel -- Greta Garbo
Éomer -- Tyrone Power

Archaic Elf · 07-05-2010, 09:52 AM

Clint Eastwood as Aragorn? Hmm. I think he would be a cool Strider, but once he declares himself to be Aragorn son of Arathron, it would be kind of weird. Eastwood is so gritty, I couldn't see him as a king. He could pull it off, but it would be surreal.

Carroll O'Connor as Theoden would be funny if he called Pippin a 'meat head' just one time. I don't think anyone would complain when he goes off to his funeral pyre.

Thanks for the link Mister Underhill. There's some hilarious stuff in there. I would have to say that Samuel L. Jackson should be Aragorn and Denzel Washington should be Saruman instead. Jackson would not be easy on the hobbits at all. That would be great.

LionPixie said the Mouth of Sauron should be Kurt Russell
RKittle said Butterbur should be Meat Loaf
Both those ideas are can't miss, especially if the Prancing Pony turns into a huge musical. Kurt Russell would own that role. Hopefully they give him an eye patch just for theatrics.

The Devo soundtrack idea would be funny for a LOTR John Hughes type teen flick. We have to destroy the ring or there won't be a Spring Break in Hobbiton. No way! Molly Ringwald for Eowyn. Maybe Patrick Swayze can be Boromir. Andrew McCarthy as a very, very unlikely Aragorn. Now I want to see Bill and Ted (Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves) as Frodo and Sam. I have to say though that a metal soundtrack would just be too cliche, so keep it New Wave.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morthoron

Frodo -- James Cagney

Now that would be something to see.

Morthoron · 07-05-2010, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morthoron

Frodo -- James Cagney

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archaic Elf

Now that would be something to see.

Hey, they were trying to make Cagney take the Robin Hood part that Errol Flynn eventually turned into the classic adaptation. Cagney as Frodo makes more sense than as Robin of Loxeley. Cagney was very short, after all.

skip spence · 07-05-2010, 03:50 PM

How about Charton Heston as Boromir?

He would be perfectt for the scene when Boromir tries to take the ring from Frodo. No-one can despair in the gravel quite like old Charton Heston...

Mithalwen · 07-08-2010, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skip spence

How about Charton Heston as Boromir?

He would be perfectt for the scene when Boromir tries to take the ring from Frodo. No-one can despair in the gravel quite like old Charton Heston...

I saw him on stage in London years ago in "A man for all seasons". He was really very good which I didn't expect from a film star. Really had a great stage presence.

Aiwendil · 07-09-2010, 12:12 PM

This will probably mean nothing to 99.9% of people, but I've been watching a lot of Fritz Lang lately, so here's The Lord of the Rings as a Weimar-era German silent epic:

Directed by Fritz Lang
Screenplay by Fritz Lang and Thea von Harbou
Produced by Erich Pommer for UFA
Music by Gottfried Huppertz

Frodo: Walter Janssen
Sam: Georg John
Merry: Gustav Frohlich
Pippin: Gustav von Wangenheim
Bilbo: Otto Wernicke
Gollum: Peter Lorre (obviously!)
Gandalf: Bernhard Goetzke
Aragorn: Gustav Diessl
Boromir: Hans Adalbert Schlettow
Denethor: Rudolf Klein-Rogge (actually he'd make a great Orc but is much too good an actor to waste in such a small role)
Faramir: Erwin Biswanger
Legolas: Conrad Veidt
Gimli: Heinrich George
Theoden: Theodor Loos
Eomer: Paul Richter
Eowyn: Camilla Horn
Wormtongue: Alexander Granach
Celeborn: Alfred Abel
Galadriel: Brigitte Helm
Elrond: Fritz Rasp
Saruman: Werner Krauss
Radagast: Gosta Ekman
Arwen: Lil Dagover
Grishnakh: Max Schreck (you could even use his costume/makeup from Nosferatu)
Barliman: Emil Jannings

Actually, Peter Lorre as Gollum would also be a great choice for a '30s British version or a '40s Hollywood version.

I was going to do one as a Kurosawa samurai epic too, but realized I don't know enough Japanese actors. But how about Toshiro Mifune as Aragorn and maybe Takashi Shimura as Boromir?

***Mister Underhill*** · 07-05-2010, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar

Underhill, you're a sadist!

I aim to please.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morthoron

Aragorn -- Errol Flynn

I was thinking more like Macbeth-era Welles:

Something about that wild look in the eyes and the nerve it takes to wear a crown fashioned out of a cigar box with such swagger. Laughton as Bilbo is spot on however.

How about Spencer Tracy as Frodo?

Ibrîniðilpathânezel · 07-05-2010, 08:47 PM

Perhaps James Stewart could double as Treebeard. He has that slow... way... of... talking...

Morthoron · 07-05-2010, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mister Underhill

I aim to please.

I was thinking more like Macbeth-era Welles:

Something about that wild look in the eyes and the nerve it takes to wear a crown fashioned out of a cigar box with such swagger. Laughton as Bilbo is spot on however.

How about Spencer Tracy as Frodo?

I had Errol as Aragorn merely to have his sidekick, Alan Hale, as Gimli. Great chemistry. The effete Leslie Howard would be a dainty Legolas.

Welles would be a good choice, although a bit more diabolical role seems in the offing for him. Have you ever seen the movie Prince of Foxes starring Welles as Caesare Borgia? He played that role to a tee, and might be a good candidate for the ill-fated Boromir.

Sepncer Tracy is an interesting choice for Frodo. We could add Frederick March and the character actors Henry Daniell and Conrad Veidt to the list somewhere as well.

***Mister Underhill*** · 07-06-2010, 10:21 AM

Ah yes, of course, I completely overlooked Hale. But now that you mention it, Flynn-Hale as Legolas-Gimli would be a good combo. Flynn has that superhuman athletic ability that would translate well -- you imagine that if he shield-surfed, he would really do it, and it wouldn't be so bad. And of course he was a beautiful man, if you think of elves in that way, but he was a man, not a boy. He could rescue Legolas from that pretty-boy vacuousness that Bloom brought to the role.

Leslie Howard does have a mopiness that generally fits the gloomy side of the Eldar, but he always comes across as impotent too. I think he'd make a good Celeborn.

Mention of Conrad Veidt makes me think, of course, of Casablanca, which makes me think of Paul Henreid as a possible Aragorn, especially if you saw him more as a supporting player than in the central role that he assumes in Jackson's version. He has that sort of uncompromising righteousness down pat. Eh, but he could never stand up to Welles as Boromir. Speaking of which, "diabolical" is the perfect word for that quality that Welles has, not only in Prince of Foxes but in most of the roles he played. He'd make a great Feanor.

I'd say Olivier for Aragorn, but I always thought he was overrated. It's a tough role to cast. I could almost see Clark Gable in the part (think Mutiny on the Bounty), but he's such his own thing. Still, he could do the sly wit as well as the pathos. What about John Wayne?

Morthoron · 07-06-2010, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mister Underhill

I'd say Olivier for Aragorn, but I always thought he was overrated. It's a tough role to cast. I could almost see Clark Gable in the part (think Mutiny on the Bounty), but he's such his own thing. Still, he could do the sly wit as well as the pathos. What about John Wayne?

Clark Gable does not seem too Aragornish to me. Too much of a smart-aleck and doesn't have a regal look (more like a knave bedding the court wenches

). Although, Gable would have been a huge box office draw, which is really all the studios cared about at the time.

John Wayne? That is funny. I still crack up at his portrayal of Genghis Khan in The Conqueror. Talk about miscasting!

How about Ronald Colman? He can be a rogue (Francois Villon in If I Were King) and lordly (Prisoner of Zenda). And let's not forget one of the greatest of character actors, Basil Rathbone!

***Mister Underhill*** · 07-06-2010, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morthoron

Clark Gable does not seem too Aragornish to me. Too much of a smart-aleck and doesn't have a regal look (more like a knave bedding the court wenches ).

All true. Gable is best when he's being a rascal, so even if he could play it straight, he'd be mostly wasted as Aragorn. Still, he'd have great chemistry with a Spencer Tracy Frodo.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morthoron

John Wayne? That is funny.

I'd pay good money to hear his low and slow line-reading of Aragorn's, "I am Aragorn son of Arathorn, and if by life... or death... I can save you, I will."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morthoron

And let's not forget one of the greatest of character actors, Basil Rathbone!

I thought of Basil Rathbone, but he's a little too cold and remote for Aragorn for me.

Henry Fonda or Gary Cooper are interesting to think about, but they're both so quintessentially American somehow that neither seems right.

Then again, you could do the John Ford version with his company of players:

Aragorn -- Wayne, natch.
Faramir -- Henry Fonda
Boromir -- Ward Bond
Saruman -- Victor McGlaglen
Gandalf -- John Carradine
Galadriel -- Claudette Colbert
Arwen -- Maureen O'Hara
Merry -- Ben Johnson
Pippin -- William Holden
Sam -- Andy Devine
Frodo -- Richard Widmark
Wormtongue -- John Qualen

But now we're getting really specialized...

Ibrîniðilpathânezel · 07-06-2010, 03:48 PM

How about Stewart Granger or Gregory Peck for Aragorn? Granger swashes a good buckle, but Peck does that humble angst so well...

07-05-2010, 07:05 AM	#2
Morthoron Curmudgeonly Wordwraith Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Ensconced in curmudgeonly pursuits Posts: 2,515	An MGM/Warner Brothers cast circa 1939... AN UNPRECEDENTED TECHNICOLOR EXTRAVAGANZA, PRODUCED BY DAVID O. SELZNICK (UNDER JOINT AGREEMENT WITH MGM/WARNER BROS.), DIRECTED BY VICTOR FLEMING, MICHAEL CURTIZ & CECIL B. DeMILLE. Bilbo -- Charles Laughton Thranduil -- Paul Henreid Elrond -- Robert Donat Gandalf -- Walter Huston Beorn -- Victor McLaglen Thorin -- Monty Woolley Smaug -- George Sanders Frodo -- James Cagney Sam -- Thomas Mitchell Aragorn -- Errol Flynn Legolas -- Leslie Howard Gimli -- Alan Hale Denethor -- Claude Rains Theoden -- Ralph Richardson Boromir -- Cary Grant Faramir -- James Stewart Arwen -- Vivian Leigh or Merle Oberon Saruman -- Sidney Greenstreet Grima/Gollum -- Peter Lorre Galadriel -- Greta Garbo Éomer -- Tyrone Power __________________ And your little sister's immaculate virginity wings away on the bony shoulders of a young horse named George who stole surreptitiously into her geography revision.

07-05-2010, 03:50 PM	#5
skip spence shadow of a doubt Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Back on the streets Posts: 1,125	How about Charton Heston as Boromir? He would be perfectt for the scene when Boromir tries to take the ring from Frodo. No-one can despair in the gravel quite like old Charton Heston... __________________ "You can always come back, but you can't come back all the way" ~ Bob Dylan

07-05-2010, 08:47 PM	#9
Ibrîniðilpathânezel Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Back on the Helcaraxe Posts: 733	Perhaps James Stewart could double as Treebeard. He has that slow... way... of... talking... __________________ Call me Ibrin (or Ibri) :) Originality is the one thing that unoriginal minds cannot feel the use of. — John Stewart Mill

07-06-2010, 03:48 PM	#14
Ibrîniðilpathânezel Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Back on the Helcaraxe Posts: 733	How about Stewart Granger or Gregory Peck for Aragorn? Granger swashes a good buckle, but Peck does that humble angst so well... __________________ Call me Ibrin (or Ibri) :) Originality is the one thing that unoriginal minds cannot feel the use of. — John Stewart Mill

07-09-2010, 12:12 PM	#7
Aiwendil Late Istar Join Date: Mar 2001 Posts: 2,224	This will probably mean nothing to 99.9% of people, but I've been watching a lot of Fritz Lang lately, so here's The Lord of the Rings as a Weimar-era German silent epic: Directed by Fritz Lang Screenplay by Fritz Lang and Thea von Harbou Produced by Erich Pommer for UFA Music by Gottfried Huppertz Frodo: Walter Janssen Sam: Georg John Merry: Gustav Frohlich Pippin: Gustav von Wangenheim Bilbo: Otto Wernicke Gollum: Peter Lorre (obviously!) Gandalf: Bernhard Goetzke Aragorn: Gustav Diessl Boromir: Hans Adalbert Schlettow Denethor: Rudolf Klein-Rogge (actually he'd make a great Orc but is much too good an actor to waste in such a small role) Faramir: Erwin Biswanger Legolas: Conrad Veidt Gimli: Heinrich George Theoden: Theodor Loos Eomer: Paul Richter Eowyn: Camilla Horn Wormtongue: Alexander Granach Celeborn: Alfred Abel Galadriel: Brigitte Helm Elrond: Fritz Rasp Saruman: Werner Krauss Radagast: Gosta Ekman Arwen: Lil Dagover Grishnakh: Max Schreck (you could even use his costume/makeup from Nosferatu) Barliman: Emil Jannings Actually, Peter Lorre as Gollum would also be a great choice for a '30s British version or a '40s Hollywood version. I was going to do one as a Kurosawa samurai epic too, but realized I don't know enough Japanese actors. But how about Toshiro Mifune as Aragorn and maybe Takashi Shimura as Boromir?

07-06-2010, 10:21 AM	#11
*Mister Underhill* Dread Horseman Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Behind you! Posts: 2,744	Ah yes, of course, I completely overlooked Hale. But now that you mention it, Flynn-Hale as Legolas-Gimli would be a good combo. Flynn has that superhuman athletic ability that would translate well -- you imagine that if he shield-surfed, he would really do it, and it wouldn't be so bad. And of course he was a beautiful man, if you think of elves in that way, but he was a man, not a boy. He could rescue Legolas from that pretty-boy vacuousness that Bloom brought to the role. Leslie Howard does have a mopiness that generally fits the gloomy side of the Eldar, but he always comes across as impotent too. I think he'd make a good Celeborn. Mention of Conrad Veidt makes me think, of course, of Casablanca, which makes me think of Paul Henreid as a possible Aragorn, especially if you saw him more as a supporting player than in the central role that he assumes in Jackson's version. He has that sort of uncompromising righteousness down pat. Eh, but he could never stand up to Welles as Boromir. Speaking of which, "diabolical" is the perfect word for that quality that Welles has, not only in Prince of Foxes but in most of the roles he played. He'd make a great Feanor. I'd say Olivier for Aragorn, but I always thought he was overrated. It's a tough role to cast. I could almost see Clark Gable in the part (think Mutiny on the Bounty), but he's such his own thing. Still, he could do the sly wit as well as the pathos. What about John Wayne?