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Would Yul Brynner have Made A Good Ernst Stavro Blofeld


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#31 Mr. Blofeld

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Posted 04 October 2010 - 01:37 AM

On the Blofeld's Hair thread, I've asked the question whether the film makers ever considered casting Eric Pohlmann himself as Blofeld. He spoke good English but with a suitably foreign sounding accent, and I don't think it would have taken much to give him the right appearance as the villain. And it would have provided continuity - audiences finally putting a face to the voice.

Perhaps -- if he'd shaved and worn a hairpiece, he'd fit Fleming's description of Blofeld at the time of Thunderball perfectly; however, Werich certainly seemed menacing to me -- he seemed to be giving a damn effective stare in the shots I used, and even if it didn't really come across, Pohlmann's vocals certainly would have sealed the deal, just as they'd made Anthony Dawson's hands stroking a cat come across as the epitome of evil.

Unfortunately, EON did not often give their voice-over artists the chance to make appearances in front of the camera; in only two of the films, On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Diamonds Are Forever, did a V/O actor (in the first, Robert Rietty; in the second, David de Keyser) get a chance for a small role onscreen -- and the former was only because the director, Peter Hunt, was the former editor on the Bond films, and so probably appreciated the work men like Rietty (as well as women like Nikki van der Zyl and Barbara Jefford) did in helping shape the final cut, especially when the order of certain scenes had to be radically reshuffled at the eleventh hour, as in the case of From Russia with Love.

Aside from the men who worked with and truly appreciated the talent of dub artists, the EON producers, sadly, probably didn't give Pohlmann's role in shaping Blofeld a second thought... or even a first. :(

#32 Royal Dalton

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Posted 04 October 2010 - 01:56 AM

Eric Pohlmann was a big cuddly bear of a man. Physically, I don't really think he would have been right for it. Not that Donald Pleasence was, either, of course.

#33 Guy Haines

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Posted 04 October 2010 - 06:21 AM

Eric Pohlmann was a big cuddly bear of a man. Physically, I don't really think he would have been right for it. Not that Donald Pleasence was, either, of course.

Except that the Blofeld of the novel Thunderball was also big, in height and generally. I think Pohlmann might have been closer to the image of Fleming's Blofeld than Donald Pleasance was. Unfortunately, Blofeld was one role the film makers never quite cast right, imo.

#34 Mr. Blofeld

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Posted 05 October 2010 - 01:35 AM

Eric Pohlmann was a big cuddly bear of a man. Physically, I don't really think he would have been right for it. Not that Donald Pleasence was, either, of course.

Except that the Blofeld of the novel Thunderball was also big, in height and generally. I think Pohlmann might have been closer to the image of Fleming's Blofeld than Donald Pleasance was. Unfortunately, Blofeld was one role the film makers never quite cast right, imo.

As I said, EON did not really respect their V/O actors' talent (Nikki van der Zyl being one of them fed up without receiving a credit, after a while); had Peter Hunt been directing, I'm sure he'd have given Pohlmann a shot at the role... but he wasn't, so Werich dubbed by Pohlmann probably was the next-best thing.

#35 Double-Oh Agent

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Posted 07 October 2010 - 08:46 AM

I think Eric Pohlmann would have been a good Ernst Stavro Blofeld. I think his voice would have gone a long way to cover what some might consider his "big cuddly bear" appearance. Working for him is that we've already heard him twice on film which would have aided our preconceptions of him so when we finally did see him, we'd already know what he was capable of and fear him. Call him the proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing.

As for why Pohlmann wasn't cast as Blofeld, it may have been because he was too busy. According to IMDB, he filmed six different roles in both 1966 and 1967.