... On David Lean's EPIC 'Lawrence of Arabia':
The role of Sherif Ali was originally intended for Horst Buchholz but he was forced to turn it down owing to his commitment to Billy Wilder's movie One, Two, Three. Second choice Alain Delon tested successfully but suffered problems with the brown contact lenses required for the role. Maurice Ronet was then cast but was replaced after difficulties with his French accent and his Arabian dress (Lean complained "He looked like me walking around in drag").
Marlon Brando was signed for the role of T.E. Lawrence in 1960 but dropped out to take the role of Fletcher Christian in Mutiny on the Bounty. After that, Anthony Perkins was also briefly considered.
While filming, Peter O'Toole bonded with co-star Omar Sharif. Recalls Sharif, "Peter and I were like brothers immediately. He said to me, 'Your name is not Omar Sharif - no one is called Omar Sharif. Your real name is probably Freddy something!' And for the rest of the film and the rest of our lives, he's never called me Omar. He calls me Freddy."
To film Omar Sharif's entrance through a mirage, Freddie Young used a special 482mm lens from Panavision. Panavision still has this lens, and it is known among cinematographers as the "David Lean lens". It was created specifically for this shot and has not been used since.
Peter O'Toole finally mastered his camel-riding technique by adding a layer of sponge rubber under the saddle to ease his bruised backside...a practical innovation quickly adopted by the actual Bedouin tribesmen acting as extras during the desert location filming.
Peter O'Toole is considerably taller and better looking than the real T.E. Lawrence (6'3" to Lawrence's real life height of 5'6"). Noel Coward is rumored to have said, on seeing the premiere, "If he'd been any prettier, they'd have had to call it Florence of Arabia."
Alec Guinness had a life-long interest in T.E. Lawrence, and had played him in a production of Terence Rattigan's play "Ross" on stage. Guinness wanted very much to play Lawrence, but David Lean and Sam Spiegel both told him he was too old. Laurence Olivier was the original choice for Prince Feisal, and Guinness was shifted to that role when Olivier turned it down.
Peter O'Toole was nearly killed during the first take of the Aqaba scene. A gun (used to signal the beginning of the scene) went off prematurely, and O'Toole's camel panicked, throwing him to the ground, while the extras on horseback began charging. Fortunately for O'Toole, his camel stayed still and stood over O'Toole, saving him from being trampled.
The film took longer to make than it did for the real T.E. Lawrence to go from lieutenant to colonel, to see the desert tribes united and tip the balance in the Allies' favor against the Turks in World War I.
Alec Guinness was made up to look like the real Faisal as close as possible. When they were shooting in Jordan, several people who knew the man mistook him for the real thing. Guinness shaved his head for his role.
Anthony Quinn applied his own make-up and would often arrive in real Arab clothes. At one point, David Lean mistook him for a native on the studio lot and so he sent his assistant to tell Quinn that he had replaced by this new arrival.
The film was banned in many Arab countries as they felt they were misrepresented. Omar Sharif arranged with President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt to view the film to show him there was nothing wrong with the way they were portrayed. Nasser loved the film and allowed it to be released in Egypt where it went on to become a monster hit.
Peter O'Toole claimed that he learned more about acting from his few days of filming with José Ferrer than he did in all his years at drama school.
At one point when filming was progressing far too slowly for his liking, producer Sam Spiegel invited William Wyler to visit the set. He wanted Wyler to encourage Lean to rely more on his second units for filming additional scenes, as he had done on Ben-Hur. The visit was to no avail, however, as Lean was too much of a perfectionist to relinquish control.
The film missed out on a 11th Oscar nomination - for Best Costume Design - because someone forgot to submit Phyllis Dalton's name for consideration.
Dalton devised a subtle way to indicate T.E. Lawrence's failing grip. As the film progresses, his robes become thinner and thinner until they are virtually translucent.
Hi, Ruth and company:
It looks like November was a very good month all the way around.
Great piece of work with your ‘A to Z’ Blog-a-thon. Was surprised and pleased to see such a well thought out, diverse array of talents.
I did manage to catch ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ a few weeks back. A very well written and laid out adult, sometimes brutal ‘Who Done It?’ that doesn’t come close to insulting intelligences as layers are peeled away.
Written by Stephen Zalilian and dripping with slushy mood and intrigue. Zailian also directed ‘Searching For Bobby Fischer’ back in 1993. Excellent, well rounded, believable characters all around. With a surprisingly wimpy, non-Bondian, every guy, Daniel Craig in the lead role.
Hi Jack! Why thanks for the kind words my friend. I actually haven’t seen any of the Dragon Tattoo films, not sure if it’s really something I’d enjoy to be honest.
Oh I didn’t know Craig is in ‘Searching For Bobby Fischer,’ I heard about it as you mentioned Joe Mategna’s performance it in your list from last week. I should give that one a rent one of these days.
Hi, Ruth:
I made an error in sentence structure that you misunderstood.
Daniel Craig is not in ‘Searching for Bobby Fischer’. Though it was directed by the same guy wrote the screenplay for ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’. Which has Craig as the lead character.
And since I liken your sensibilities in film to be just a bit bolder than those of my older sister. There are a few scenes in ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ that probably would not set well with you.
Oh, thanks for clarifying Jack. My mistake
Yeah, I figure the ‘Dragon Tattoo’ might be a bit too dark for my taste.
Yeah Ruth I think Dragon Tattoo might be too intense for your liking, they actually followed the book very close, the graphic scenes I meant. For people who’ve never read the book, the scenes might be too intense.
Yep I’ve decided that those films are not for me. It’s ok, I don’t think I’ll be missing out on those.
Sounds like a splendid trip awaits you Ruth! Wishing nothing but a safe and blessed time away with your family.
November was hectic for me but I did see two movies that certainly left a great impression, Lincoln and Skyfall. There are a whole load of December releases that I’m anticipating.
Oh and congrats on 1,000 and on your press credentials! Nice!!!
Thank you Keith, my blog will go dark for a couple of weeks during my vacation. I really could use a break from working in my computer, ahah.
I saw your review of Lincoln, glad you enjoyed that one and Skyfall too. December sure has a ton of great movies.
First of all…see you soon Ruth
I have seen more movies in November than in October
I am still glued to The Mighty Boosh and The Buzzcocks but still manage to sneek in some movies 
My fav movie in November is the one where I have the worst movie viewing ever…you have read my review on Napola. I really like it despite the horrible dubbing and subtitle
Ha..ha.. your obsession with Noel is still going strong eh. I’m sure you’ll have a Mighty Boosh marathon in late December into January then
Oh yeah I remember Napola. Very cool, Nov.
Wow..safe travels Ruth. I hope you take and share lots of pictures
I didn’t see that many movies in November…but SKYFALL was my favorite for sure.
Will do, Paula, thanks Doll! Hey glad we agree on our fave movie of the month!
He..he.. sounds like we do
But I still carry a torch for Dalton though.
Skyfall was my big new movie this month. Glad to hear you enjoyed it Ruth. I loved it!
Hey glad we’re in agreement Dan! It was agonizing to wait a month after it premiered in the UK but it was well worth the wait
Yeah Skyfall was the only movie I saw in theater last month and of course I thought it was great since I already saw it twice. The other new movie I saw was The Amazing Spider-Man which I thought was a snoozer, totally unnecessary retelling of Spiderman’s origin.
Have fun on your vacation, if you can get to Maui and do a helicopter ride into “Jurassic Park” Island. It’s pretty cool.
He..he.. I knew we’d agree on our movie of the month, Ted.
I’m actually staying in Kauai Ted, so definitely will take the helicopter ride to Jurassic Park falls!
Cool, have fun! It’s very cool to have seen “Jurassic Park” entrance in real life.
Thanks Ted! I wish I could go on the Jurassic Park tour but that’s in Oahu and we don’t have time for island hopping, so perhaps next time. Fortunately the JP Falls is in Kauai though, can’t wait!!
Skyfall was one of my favorite films from November, but my overall favorite I saw last month was Bergman’s The Passion of Anna. It’s one of his best films IMO.
Man I still haven’t seen anything by Bergman. Yeah, shame on me
Great choice! I got to see more movies than usual in the month of November but out of all of them I would have to put Skyfall at the top also. It was a really great month for movies though. Flight, Lincoln…
Hi Javier! Glad to hear we agree on Skyfall. I haven’t seen Flight or Lincoln though, both are more of a rental for me.
Great round-up post! My favorites of the month are 21 Grams and The Lives of Others. I haven’t seen any of the movies that are currently in theaters.
Thanks Stephanie! Oh 21 Grams is a good one, very intense. I haven’t seen The Lives of Others but have heard great things about it, I should put that on my to-see list!
So… when we get to meet later in Jakarta, can I tag along with you to Hawaii? I’m pretty small, so I’ll fit perfectly into your suitcase. Just give me a lot of sedatives and I won’t make a fuss. What say you?
Btw, I’ve just read your Movie Alphabet blogathon and was completely attempted to participated. But I’m pretty sure it’d be way too late by now, so I’m going to keep a lookout for the next one
PS: It feels wrong leaving a comment on your blog without saying anything about movies, so I’m just going to say this: Skyfall is actually the only movie I saw in theater last month, therefore I’m choosing it as my favorite November movie, hahaha..
Ha..ha.. well if you can fit into my suitcase, why not?
Oh I’m sure it’s fine if you wanna do the Movie Alphabet thing. No such thing as too late, girl.
Glad you agree on Skyfall!
Sounds like you have an awesome month ahead of you! I will be taking a holiday vacation as well, but to a far less interesting location — Michigan.
Also, nice job on getting on the press list! I should see about doing the same.
Hey, Michigan isn’t too shabby, man. I actually have been wanting to visit Mackinac Island. Which part of Michigan are you going?
Yeah you should try getting the Press list. I’m sure there’s a marketing company that you could contact. I was fortunate to know about Allied through TCFF.
I’ll be all over the state, actually. My family lives up north and my girlfriend’s parents are near Detroit, so we’ll be hitting up both. It’s been a while since we have been there, so it will be good fun, but it’s no Hawaii or Indonesia.
How do those advanced screenings work? I have been to a few, but I still had to wait in line for hours to get in and grab a good seat. Are they similar, or is it easier to get in?
Sounds like a fun trip, Eric. I’m sure you’ll have a blast.
Oh, if you’re on the Press List, you don’t have to wait in line. They’ll reserve the seats up until 15 min before the movie. Awesome isn’t it?
Perfect! Yeah I need to get on that then
Thanks Ruth.
Nice round-up. A slower month if you compare it to October but not a terribly slow one. Again, have lots of fun on your upcoming vacation. Take a break from the internet and enjoy the beach and the warmer weather
My favorite November films were De Rouille et D’os and Killer Joe
I saw more films in Novembre than the previous month, I think.
This year has flown by. Can’t believe there’s 28 days left in the year :O
Hi Fernando, I guess I didn’t realize how few movies I saw as it was quite a hectic month. I am looking forward to a break from the computer though, ahah.
So have you bought your Christmas presents yet? Not sure if that’s a tradition in Mexico as well. It wasn’t that way when I grew up, we only give presents for our immediate family, but not friends or even aunts/uncles.
Yes, we do that here, too. And no, I haven’t bought them yet. I’m waiting for my Christmas bonus. I’m only getting presents for my immediate family and not for aunts, uncles or cousins. I have a pretty big family and if I got presents for everybody, I’d go broke! haha. With my close friends and also here at work, we’re doing a Secret Santa kind of thing so that everybody has to get only one present, so that’s great.
Interesting bunch! Seen probably 3 of my top 10 of the year in November alone. The Hunt, Skyfall, and End of Watch.
Which one is The Hunt again? Well glad you agree on Skyfall!
Slow months for me in terms of movie watching. I think I only saw:
- Skyfall
- Silver Linings Playbook
uh… that might be it?? I will do better in December though. Way too many movies I want to see coming out.
You’ve been working nonstop eh Cas? Hope you get a bit of a break around the holidays man. Yeah December is one busy time for moviegoers
Skyfall was great wasn’t it, it somehow got the right balance of serious and then the one-liners.
Good Will Hunting is on my top 100 films list, I love the characters, especially the scenes with Robin Williams.
Thanks for adding me to your bloglist, by the way!
Yes indeed! I like GWH but it’s more of a one-time viewing for me. I thought Williams was great in his role.
Oh my pleasure! I don’t know why it took me forever to update my blog roll.