Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY is known for its outer space special effects, prehistoric monkeys and a nefarious computer. As for humans there are two British actors (Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood) and one American as that pair of astronauts' chief...
But William Sylvester, though born in Oakland, California, is as much a British actor as they are, trained in RADA and a fixture of England's cinema since after the war...
Though known mostly for the Godzilla/King Kong homage GORGA {pre 2001), Sylvester's best performance is the title character from MAN IN THE DARK, actually called BLIND CORNER, which sounds more like the Noir that it is, one of many low budget 1960's crime flicks from the British New Wave.
Playing a pianist with Ray Charles-like shades, Sylvester's Paul -- without falling into too many blind character clichés -- plays talented, classically-trained musician who writes teeny-bopper tunes for the money, and he's got plenty of that...
Enter his gold-digging betrothed, and half of the very familiar plot-line of a cheating wife with a young/poor handsome dolt, and like all these Cuckold-Noir templates, the lover's sent in for the "perfect murder" so the wife can get both men out of the way and, with the money, hook up with someone else...
All this however occurs in the 11th hour through action-set dialogue by William Sylvester defending himself inside a house that he's "felt out" over the last three years and knows like the back... or rather, the inside of his eyelids...
A tightly-wound climactic fight scene igniting into an original twist that makes this Lance Comfort programmer a nifty, far above average hour-long thriller. And it's a chance to see "Dr. Heywood Floyd" take the full reigns without competing with outer space special effects, prehistoric monkeys and... Isn't this where we came in?
But William Sylvester, though born in Oakland, California, is as much a British actor as they are, trained in RADA and a fixture of England's cinema since after the war...
Though known mostly for the Godzilla/King Kong homage GORGA {pre 2001), Sylvester's best performance is the title character from MAN IN THE DARK, actually called BLIND CORNER, which sounds more like the Noir that it is, one of many low budget 1960's crime flicks from the British New Wave.
Playing a pianist with Ray Charles-like shades, Sylvester's Paul -- without falling into too many blind character clichés -- plays talented, classically-trained musician who writes teeny-bopper tunes for the money, and he's got plenty of that...
Enter his gold-digging betrothed, and half of the very familiar plot-line of a cheating wife with a young/poor handsome dolt, and like all these Cuckold-Noir templates, the lover's sent in for the "perfect murder" so the wife can get both men out of the way and, with the money, hook up with someone else...
All this however occurs in the 11th hour through action-set dialogue by William Sylvester defending himself inside a house that he's "felt out" over the last three years and knows like the back... or rather, the inside of his eyelids...
A tightly-wound climactic fight scene igniting into an original twist that makes this Lance Comfort programmer a nifty, far above average hour-long thriller. And it's a chance to see "Dr. Heywood Floyd" take the full reigns without competing with outer space special effects, prehistoric monkeys and... Isn't this where we came in?