Screen and Television Stars with Meet Malcolm McDowell 1972 for A Clockwork Orange

Meet Malcolm McDowell

    He is the most talked about young actor of 1972 - the star of the movie which has won the New York Film Critics's Award as the best of the year and which, in spite of its X rating, may just win the Oscar. His portrayal of Alex, the London hood with rape and ultra-violence on his mind, is a chiller. Controversy has raged over the film, but everyone is in agreement about Malcolm. He's a charmer. And also a bit of a mystery. Art house devotees saw him in if...., Figures in A Landscape and Long Ago Tomorrow but he received no billing on the ads for Clockwork and has emerged as somewhat of an enigma. In Clockwork one sees all there is to see of Malcolm physically. There are several totally nude scenes! But if he bares all physically on screen, off screen, he is the most private of people.
    When Malcolm McDowell came to New York last winter to pick up Stanley Kubrick's "Film Critics' Award" for A Clockwork Orange a reporter asked him if it was true that there was a nude photo of him in a British magazine. "Not true, " he said virtuously, "I had me socks on." A bit of humor that, but another indication that Mal has little reluctance to expose his anatomy. Getting him to expose himself, is another matter. He appeared on Midday, The David Frost Show and The Dick Cavett Show, talked about his movie briefly and that was it. Anyone who tuned in to get an idea of what Malcolm McDowell was really like was in for a big disappointment.
    Physically and behavior wise, he was, of course, nothing like the monster Alex he portrayed in Clockwork Orange. In fact when he dropped in to see the movie the audiences who passed him did so without a trace of recognition. He enjoyed getting around both New York and later Los Angeles anonymously. What he didn't enjoy was the plethora of interviews Warner's had set up for him. Every member of the fourth estate wanted to meet him-and to his dismay they all wanted to ask the same questions -about the film-and about his private life. He talked at length about the controversy surrounding the movie and as briefly as possible about himself.
    He was born in Leeds in the North of England 28 years ago and grew up in Liverpool. For a time he worked as a wine steward in his father's hotel, was a coffee salesman and a time-motion study man. A girlfriend of his was secretly studying acting and when she finally admitted this to Mal, he said, "Great, marvelous. I'd like to go to class with you some night." He did and was hooked. "I knew I'd been mucking around for years waiting for this." Private study, repertory work and 18 months carrying a spear for the Royal Shakespeare Company preceded his big break as the young lead of if... "Of course, I've had luck," he told a reporter from the New York Times. "My mother and dad-they're retired now-got a little house outside London and my two sisters, they're proud. My mother likes to show the awards I've won. I'm not going to do the false modesty bit. I'm not really a modest person. I know it sounds presumptuous and conceited but I do consider myself an artist. I know exactly what I will do-direct a film within five years when I've accumulated enough knowledge. I think if you are semi-coherent, semi-intelligent you could not remain an actor unless you're content to let yourself become a monster. That's the only way to survive it." Malcolm has no intention of becoming a monster in any way, though referring to the theme of Clockwork Orange, he insists that "I'd rather a man be a man than a robot, even if he is a monster. If they're allowed to start screwing around with the insides of your head, Christ, where is it to stop. Tampering with a man's brains is worse than murder." Malc, as it's been pointed out, won't even allow anyone to tamper with his private thoughts, that's why he's guarded during interviews saving his personal convictions for his work because, "That's the only time your strengths and weaknesses are shown."
    He claims he has only two real friends in the world-Lindsay Anderson who directed If and a machinery salesman. And then, of course, there's Margot Bennett Dullea, with whom he shares a small flat in Kensington. Malc admits he and Margot have been together for more than two years but refuses to reveal any details about their relationship. It's possible that they may have met through director Stanley Kubrick who got to know Margot when Keir was starring in his 2001. But Malcolm turns a deaf ear to all questions about this. However, Margot, a former actress, stayed on in London after the break-up with Keir, got a publicity job and eventually wound up as Malcolm's best girl. Whether she'll eventually become Mrs. McDowell is still a huge question mark. Right now Malc's future plans are centering around his next picture, O Lucky Man! which is based on an idea of his and which he explains "is about a man's journey through life to success." It will be directed by his pal Lindsay Anderson and whether it's autobiographical remains to be seen. One thing is certain. Malc has achieved his success even though his journey through life is just beginning.