One of if not the best oral reading ever done. I first heard it 45 years ago in college and it has always served as the standard by which I taught public reading, forensics and speech. What a tour de force!
Ah, it was the Ed Sullivan Show, not credited here but obvious from the ending. I saw this on TV as a child and it stuck in memory. What a time machine we have here to take us back to the moment! The telling may seem hammy, but this is exactly the sort of animation it takes to put across these ancient stories.
Man, if someone had recited Bible stories to me like this when I was young I would have been a heck of a lot more interested! We had drippy Bible classses at elementary school (now interdit) of which I remember little sauf stories such as David and Goliath.Bravo!
While from a career standpoint these appearances may have lessened his brand, the media of the day would have been limited in allowing his remarkable expressive talent to flourish, documentaries aplenty today but so little in his era - thus these appearances and there are so many .... are little gold mines, we can remember them, apart from his illustrious career performances ... RIP great man, you gave to us and we did receive.
This selection is included in Mr. Laughton's 1962 recording, "The Story-Teller," which won a Grammy award for Best Spoken Word Recording. It is available for download on the Internet Archive. The Wikipedia article concerning Mr. Laughton's life and career contains a direct link to this recording, which was made only a few months prior to Mr. Laughton's tragic death from kidney cancer. The recording was assembled from several of Mr. Laughton's celebrated one-man stage shows during the 1950's and early 1960's.
I kind of feel sorry for the two strongest men in the army. It would have been a great honor to have that distinction, and no doubt they had contests to prove who the strongest ones were. Yet, they are unnamed and, in carrying out their duties, perished -- not what they had been thinking that morning as they got up.
His Quasimodo and Henry the VIII and Capt. Bligh entered the zeitgeist in the same way as Brando's "Stella!" Brecht certainly thought he was an artistic genius, and he ought to know; Laughton's Galileo is the only readable translation of any Brecht play that I can read and hear in my head. And have you seen "Night of the Hunter?"
This passage contains to much repetition, it could so easily be a huge bore; and yet he manages to make the words live, even when we know exactly what is coming, next. A remarkable example of the importance of delivery.
Bible, ballads, folktales, epics; traditional oral (folk) materials contain lots of repetition, which when read can seem tiresome. We're happy with similar repetitive elements in song; when the great chorus comes around again we don't roll our eyes or drum our fingers impatiently. But we're far enough removed from oral literature that it's a rare performer who knows how to revive such a passage from printed prose back into sound. Laughton absolutely does know how. He relishes the repetition, slows down confidently rather than speeding up nervously, and we enjoy it along with him. This is only one aspect of his storytelling expertise. Notice, for example, the nonchalant way he identifies where all the people in the story are in relation to each other, physically and socially, by where & how he looks and gestures while saying their lines of dialog, notice his minimal but effective mime. No wonder Brecht loved his acting, he never pretends that he's not there telling the story, and as a result the story is almost palpably present. Laughton honed this story by telling it to wounded soldiers during and after WWII in VA hospitals; notice the timely way he looks around furtively and leans forward confidentially when the bad guy says "Jews."
@blaise Marcc This is a recital and your point of reference is a quote within that recital. Even if you was considering scripture literally, you are an absolute moron.
I'm sure that Laughton was drawing attention to the persistence of Jew hatred. (Can't call it anti-Semitism in this context, since the Babylonians were fellow speakers of a Semitic language.)
Always loved His talent! This enhances Him in my opinion. Would that we had such an advocate of Scripture today!
Very beautiful and moving 🩵 Classic Laughton 👏
Charles Laughton was a genius, one of the greatest actors of all time! Thanks so much for sharing this masterpiece.
Quite simply Charles Laughton was on of the greatest actors ever.
He absolutely killed in "Witness for the Prosecution".
"I'm afraid I'm a little rusty," he says, and proceeds to nail it flawlessly!! XD Laughton RULES!!!
Actually, he stumbled several times.
@@EliezerPennywhistler who cares?
One of if not the best oral reading ever done. I first heard it 45 years ago in college and it has always served as the standard by which I taught public reading, forensics and speech. What a tour de force!
You know what, that was really good!
Wonderful - absolutely mesmerising.
Absolutely STUNNING.
Ah, it was the Ed Sullivan Show, not credited here but obvious from the ending. I saw this on TV as a child and it stuck in memory. What a time machine we have here to take us back to the moment! The telling may seem hammy, but this is exactly the sort of animation it takes to put across these ancient stories.
Hammy?? It is storytelling, and it is a talent that is now gone but was of eons past.
One of my favorite actors. One of the Best.
Charles Laughton was one of the best both in films and on stage, hats off to you.
Ke Zhao I disagree you. He was THE best.
INCREDIBLE! An AMAZING masterclass in how to deliver a monologue.
Man, if someone had recited Bible stories to me like this when I was young I would have been a heck of a lot more interested! We had drippy Bible classses at elementary school (now interdit) of which I remember little sauf stories such as David and Goliath.Bravo!
A great orator was he. Bravo
While from a career standpoint these appearances may have lessened his brand, the media of the day would have been limited in allowing his remarkable expressive talent to flourish, documentaries aplenty today but so little in his era - thus these appearances and there are so many .... are little gold mines, we can remember them, apart from his illustrious career performances ... RIP great man, you gave to us and we did receive.
Extraordinary !!
Absolutely fantastic
This fellow was the very best.
I remember seeing this on tv as a very young kid.
spine tingling, still
'An Evening with Charles Laughton....' You will never forget it.
One of the absolute greatest
Amen !That was a grand performance !
He's brilliant isn't he?
Impressive Bible recital
This selection is included in Mr. Laughton's 1962 recording, "The Story-Teller," which won a Grammy award for Best Spoken Word Recording. It is available for download on the Internet Archive. The Wikipedia article concerning Mr. Laughton's life and career contains a direct link to this recording, which was made only a few months prior to Mr. Laughton's tragic death from kidney cancer. The recording was assembled from several of Mr. Laughton's celebrated one-man stage shows during the 1950's and early 1960's.
archive.org/details/TheStory-teller
I kind of feel sorry for the two strongest men in the army. It would have been a great honor to have that distinction, and no doubt they had contests to prove who the strongest ones were. Yet, they are unnamed and, in carrying out their duties, perished -- not what they had been thinking that morning as they got up.
"The BURNING, FIERY, FURNACE!"
What a genius !
A great actor!
Brilliant oratory
And this in the face of those who condemn our Horror Icons to Perdition. We could all profit from these today!
Delightful.
Wow.
If you could bottle him and send him out to speak in the pulpit the size of the congregation would be phenomenal.
Genial. Master
He was a wonderful actor and an incredible speaker.
Genius etc. is a bit much as he performed the work of others.
His Quasimodo and Henry the VIII and Capt. Bligh entered the zeitgeist in the same way as Brando's "Stella!" Brecht certainly thought he was an artistic genius, and he ought to know; Laughton's Galileo is the only readable translation of any Brecht play that I can read and hear in my head. And have you seen "Night of the Hunter?"
Sorry, what was the name of the third man in the seventh seventh sentence?
More importantly ,what was the name of the fourth man in the fire?
Genius
Alone in his craft
Just some light storytelling..
This passage contains to much repetition, it could so easily be a huge bore; and yet he manages to make the words live, even when we know exactly what is coming, next.
A remarkable example of the importance of delivery.
Bible, ballads, folktales, epics; traditional oral (folk) materials contain lots of repetition, which when read can seem tiresome. We're happy with similar repetitive elements in song; when the great chorus comes around again we don't roll our eyes or drum our fingers impatiently. But we're far enough removed from oral literature that it's a rare performer who knows how to revive such a passage from printed prose back into sound. Laughton absolutely does know how. He relishes the repetition, slows down confidently rather than speeding up nervously, and we enjoy it along with him. This is only one aspect of his storytelling expertise. Notice, for example, the nonchalant way he identifies where all the people in the story are in relation to each other, physically and socially, by where & how he looks and gestures while saying their lines of dialog, notice his minimal but effective mime. No wonder Brecht loved his acting, he never pretends that he's not there telling the story, and as a result the story is almost palpably present. Laughton honed this story by telling it to wounded soldiers during and after WWII in VA hospitals; notice the timely way he looks around furtively and leans forward confidentially when the bad guy says "Jews."
folktaledotnet tl;dr
Unfortunately, it was Daniel 3, of Daniel 4.
Daniel 3
Actually, it is Daniel 4 ... like he said.
Nah, it's the 3rd chapter - check it out dude. Chapter 4 is about Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. But no biggie
Yeuteamo
scripture reading was never so compelling.
There are certain...Jews. Same thing today.
All the Christians who thumbed up this, remember that part.
Your point?
@blaise Marcc This is a recital and your point of reference is a quote within that recital. Even if you was considering scripture literally, you are an absolute moron.
I'm sure that Laughton was drawing attention to the persistence of Jew hatred. (Can't call it anti-Semitism in this context, since the Babylonians were fellow speakers of a Semitic language.)