The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!. Dir. David Zucker. Perf. Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley and O.J. Simpson. 1988. DVD. Paramount, 2000Leslie Nielsen died on November 28, 2010. He's known (in Shakespeare and Film circles) as Commander John J. Adams in the Tempest-related science fiction film Forbidden Planet (for which, q.v.).
He was exceptionally, fantastically, outrageously funny in deadpan roles. He would have been brilliant as Touchstone, Feste, Falstaff, or Lear's Fool. Or Caliban. ["Surely, you don't mean Caliban!" "Yes, I do. And don't call me Shirley."]
There's undoubtedly more Shakespeare than this associated with Leslie Nielson, but the clip below (from The Naked Gun) is at the absolute top of my list.
[Quick Note of Caution: Mild Obscenity Included.]
R.I.P., Leslie Neilson. Neither L.A. nor Altair will be the same without you.
Links: The Film at IMDB.
It's a bit cliché to say so, but Leslie Neilson's expressions are priceless there. He seems to be weighing what the Mayor is saying—as if this is the first time his mistake has been pointed out to him (which it may very well be). And he seems to be on the verge of defending his actions—perhaps positing that the actors weren't really that good, but he's interrupted.Mayor: Oh, Drebin . . . I don't want any more trouble like you had last year on the South Side. Understand? That's my policy.
Drebin: Yes, well, when I see five weirdos dressed in togas stabbing a guy in the middle of a park in full view of a hundred people, I shoot the bastards. That's my policy.
Mayor: That was a Shakespeare-in-the-Park production of Julius Caesar, you moron. You killed five actors. Good ones!
R.I.P., Leslie Neilson. Neither L.A. nor Altair will be the same without you.
Links: The Film at IMDB.
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2 comments:
Yeah, this is my favorite clip, too. I especially like the major's tag on line: "(pause) ... good ones." You get the idea that if they had been bad actors, she might cut him some slack. But I can't help wondering if "in plain view of a hundred people" is a dig at the supposed poor attendance of Shakespeare in the Park productions. The ones I've attended far exceed that.
If it is, it must be specific to LA, rather than to New York, St. Paul, or St. Louis performances. Or it may indication poor math skills on the policeman's part. Or it may reduce the tragic implications--if it were in full view of 1,000 people, would the act of shooting be too outrageous?
kj
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