The Morte d'Arthur - 1984

JB as a hirsute King Arthur in "The Morte d'Arthur" - 1984

In 1984, Jeremy Brett played one of his most unusual roles: King Arthur.

Now, what's so unusual about King Arthur? Many other actors had previously spoken or sang the role. However, JB portrayed the legendary king without saying a word in The Morte d'Arthur, a BBC2 TV production based on Sir Thomas Malory's 15th-century work of the same title. An actor portraying Malory read the tale over the soundtrack as JB and other performers mimed its events and emotions.

This unique vision of The Morte d'Arthur was the brainchild of director Gillian Lynne (who had also directed and choreographed Cats on the stage). In an article in Radio Times, Ms. Lynne revealed that she chose Jeremy Brett to play the king because "...he had the right kind of nobility in his face for Arthur, and the right kind of gentleness."

But, Jeremy wasn't too sure how he would work without words. Quoted in the same Radio Times article, he confessed:

"I find, as an actor, being without words is almost impossible to bear. I feel deprived. So I learned all the Arthur speeches to give me some meat to feed on...It's been complex, it's been dangerous, you hope that the effect of the flood of emotion you show through the brooding look isn't too grotesque..."

Speaking of "grotesque," JB's Arthur meets a grisly end in The Morte d'Arthur. After spearing his illegitimate son, Mordred, Arthur is in turn mortally wounded when the dying Mordred thrusts the king's spear back into his head.

Incidentally, Mordred was played by Nickolas Grace, who worked with Jeremy again in The Master Blackmailer (as Bertrand, the blackmailer's French henchman). After Jeremy's passing, Grace recalled that during the filming of their final scene in The Morte d'Arthur, JB had asked him to strike his helmet harder, so Arthur's death would look more realistic. Grace complied, but then JB screamed out in pain and claimed that the blow had driven his contact lens into his eye. However, JB said he didn't blame Grace for potentially blinding him, because he had asked Grace to hit him harder! Grace also remembered that Jeremy threw a tantrum on the set when the film wasn't completed on time. JB immediately apologized, though, sweetly explaining that he'd just needed to vent his frustration! (After all, he had all those words pent up inside of him....) ;->

Apparently, The Morte d'Arthur is not available on VHS or DVD, so we can only hope it's waiting in the BBC's vaults for a "once and future" release.
Originally published (as TBE Vol. III #9): November 2, 1997.
Last updated: October 27, 2008.