S2E33: “Malcolm McDowell Sings In The Rain”

For a film buff, Malcolm McDowell is a kind of movie god.

He played Alex Delarge, “hero” of Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece “Clockwork Orange”. Most critics agree: Clockwork is one of the hundred best movies ever made. Malcolm’s portrayal of Alex is iconic. So are the stories from behind the scenes. Kubrick wasn’t known for being warm and fuzzy with actors. He kinda saw them as useful cogs in his master vision. What was it like working with and for Kubrick? Malcolm will discuss!

Malcolm also appeared in what is arguably the best example ever of “how NOT to make a movie” – The Bob Guccionne-produced catastrophe “Caligula”. Peter O’Toole, Helen Mirren and John Gielgud all believed Caligula was going to be a serious movie made by serious film makers. No one expected Bob Guccione to cut a porno movie into their historical drama.

“Caligula” might be an even better example of how NOT to make a movie than Bordello Of Blood.

We’ll talk to Malcolm about “If…” the Lindsay Anderson master work that both introduced Malcolm to cinema and got him the Alex Delarge role. As Kubrick said when he saw Malcolm’s entrance in “If…”, “We’ve found our Alex!” On the one hand, getting the role of a lifetime early in his career helped make Malcolm’s career. On the other, playing Alex typecast Malcolm. He got few leading men parts (other than Time After Time) but plenty of villains.

He played Sauron in Star Trek: Generations – that’s the guy who killed Captain James T. Kirk! You don’t get more villainous than that. Of course, we’ll talk also about Tales From The Crypt. Malcolm appeared in “The Reulctant Vampire”, one of Crypt’s most beloved episodes.

Malcolm McDowell is truly iconic. The good news is he’s finally found a modicum of peace with the role that made him.