Original-Cin Chat: The Partisan's Malcolm McDowell on His Polish Connections
Malcolm McDowell’s filmography stretches back more than a half-century, to films like if...., O Lucky Man! and A Clockwork Orange. A master thespian and a titan of the screen, what he knows about performance could fill textbooks.
Original-Cin had the good fortune to sit and chat with McDowell about his performance as the OSS handler Trenchcoat in the World War II reality-based spy thriller, The Partisan. Directed by James Marquand, The Partisan is the story of Polish spy Krystyna Skarbek (Morgane Polanski), a favourite of Winston Churchill, and supposedly the model for Ian Fleming’s James Bond heroine Vesper Lynd.
“I was really intrigued by this film and who this woman was,” McDowell says. “I’ve never played a spy, as far as I can remember. So, this was very interesting and seemed like fun. You don’t want to make that the only criteria, of course, but I’ve always had a fascination for the part of a man hiding in plain sight.”
The only identifier for McDowell’s character is the mysterious nom de guerre of “Trenchcoat”. Not only does he assign Krystyna her missions, but he also knows what she is capable of and the limits to which he can push her.
“You know he’s thinking that he’s probably sending her to her death.” Malcolm observed. “There’s a lot of subtleties going on with a Spymaster. You feel that he really feels something for this woman. It must have been like that.”
The insight that McDowell brings to this character stems from years of training and experience, but also from his love for the topic.
Trenchcoat’s story seemed incomplete, so we asked Malcolm if there was anything that he would have liked to have seen added to the story.
“I would have liked to have had more scenes with Morgane. But they had to move on with the story – it’s her story, not Trenchcoat’s. It’s necessary to make that clear.”
“I was thinking that when they broke the Enigma Code at Bletchley, that there must have been a similar feeling. Because they had to choose which convoys to save. If they revealed that, then the Germans would have known that they had broken the code. I just watched a documentary on this and it’s a fascinating study.”
Bringing a personal love to a role is definitely inspirational fuel. We asked McDowell how this translated to his performance.
“Well, his intuition tells him something about her. He knows something about her that she didn’t even know about herself.”
Which puts Trenchcoat into the category of a mentor or a teacher. He can see possibilities about Krystyna. We asked Malcolm if he felt like he had those qualities on the set.
“I know that you can inspire young actors, of course. Like I was inspired. We are all inspired by something or someone. The actor that influenced me the most was Jimmy Cagney. He was one of the greatest actors on celluloid. You can watch his performances today and they are still a fresh and as vibrant as they’ve ever been. They’re timeless and they’re great art.”
McDowell reached back to his days on A Clockwork Orange.
“I was also influenced by comedians. Weirdly enough, my performance in A Clockwork Orange was very much influenced by these comedians, Morecambe and Wise.”
Morecambe and Wise were an English comedy team who performed until the 1980’s when their partnership was ended with the tragic sudden death of Eric Morecambe in 1984. They were a much-loved comedy duo on stage and screen.
“They were very popular and there’s a lot of Eric Morecambe in Alex and that would be a shock! But there’s a scene when Patrick McGee says to Alex: ‘More wine? Try the wine!’ I’m doing Eric Morecambe there – a complete influence. He’d be horrified!’
Influences also come out in the relationships that McDowell formed with cast members like Morgane Polanski and the director, James Marquand.
“I really came to love and admire Morgane Polanski. A very brave actress. But of course, they would need a brave actress because the part called for it. I love her work. She’s remarkable and will have a terrific career.
“I was only there for a week, but of course I also got along very well with James Marquand. I knew his father, actually. We worked in another film immediately after!”
Of course, there were memories formed from this time that had their own sense of influence
“There’s a great sense of history in Warsaw (the location for the film). World War II, the Polish Squadron in the Battle of Britain. I’m greatly fascinated by Polish culture.
“But I went to a small film festival while I was there and I learned that in the ‘70s, my films were smuggled into Poland and Czechoslovakia, behind the Iron Curtain, and shown (even though) you were not allowed to see them. If they found out, you were imprisoned. It was a great feeling to learn that my films were inspirational to the people there. It was a great feeling.”
We asked if there were any others that influenced him greatly.
“Yes! This one was particularly special. Here’s the memory. I had done a film in Krakow about 25 – 30 years ago. The costumer on The Partisan was a lovely lady. We talked through an interpreter and she produced an envelope of photographs. “Her father had been the costumer on the Krakow film and had done my costumes then! Imagine, coming back to Poland and working with the daughter of the man who had made my costumes! It was a very moving moment and a very special memory of working on this film.”
Finally, Trenchcoat’s story seemed incomplete. We asked McDowe;; if there was anything that he would have liked to have seen added to the story.
“I would have liked to have had more scenes with Morgane. But they had to move on with the story – it’s her story, not Trenchcoat’s. It’s necessary to make that clear.”
McDowell’s film influence is far from over. Upcoming films like The Last Train to Fortune, Dog and Bull and Summerhouse are proof that this screen legend has more stories to share.
The Partisan is available on VOD now.