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Almost nobody was an acting improvement over the original

posted 6 years ago by Truthful1222 (8)
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Except for the lady playing Angelique here (original Lara Parker really was not a very good actress at all--she admitted it in books). Lysette Anthony could act.
Everyone else--inferior. I like Jean Simmons just swell in "Blue Lagoon" and "Elmer Gantry" but she was just spiffy as Liz (like the way she played a Princess on an ep of TV's Odd Couple) and not much more to match the far more appealing and intense characterization of more respected movie queen Joan Bennett.
Merely adequate Jim Fyfe would never take off as well as Willie Loomis (John Karlen--perhaps a too serious actor in general--was however brilliant as the original freer of Barnabas).
Joanna Going very pretty but only honestly mildly interesting as Vicky. Beauty Alexandra Moltke was way more ultra-memorable as the original Miss Winters.
Lastly (in my comparison) Barnabas. While Ben Cross was indeed very, very good as the vampire central figure he had too much assistance from the director, the expensive production of the series and so on. His Barnabas too much a senseless monster at times reminding me of the creatures in 1981's "The Howling" (starring Dee Wallace). And still he could not 100% exude the terror of Jonathan Frid's excellent, deeply petrifying original in the low-budget original.

[–] [email protected] (5495) 5 years ago

It's been a long time since I saw this remake. I thought most of the actors did a good job.

Lara Parker may not have been a good actress but when I was a child i thought she was gorgeous and captivating (and bewitching, no pun intended) as Angelique. No one could play "crazy evil" like she did. She had the whole "woman scorned" thing down pat.

But I always thought Ms. Parker was Helen Hayes in the acting department compared to the wooden Alexandra Moltke. A beauty yes, but her acting "skills" were comparable to a potted plant.

Ben Cross was more than adequate in the role but he did not capture Jonathan Frid's moody sadness as a very sorry vampire. He portrayed a man (creature?) who still had a thread of humanity and hated what he was driven to do.

John Karlen played Willie as a wide eyed, scared out of his wits character. His acting skills were evident but he chewed the scenery a bit. He really dialed it back when he played Harvey Lacey, the husband of Detective Mary Beth Lacey on Cagney and Lacey. But he'll always be Willie Loomis to me.