Claire Bloom is in her mid to late 70s now and she's still fanciable even now. She could pass for under 60, she's incredible, at least when i saw her last as Martin Clunes' mother in the popular UK series Doc Martin
Anthony Hopkin's once said that he decided to become an actor after seeing Limelight so he could meet Claire after falling in love with her screen image
Limelight is a great film, however, Claire though brilliant, possibly over acted a bit, perhaps because of her stage background. i've often said that all of Chaplin's other leading ladies have died, many of them a lifetime ago with the exception of Claire, who is beautiful and appears ageless
i noticed watching A Spy Who Came Out From The Cold that while she was about 32 at the time she could have passed for her early 20s
it was the same in the 80s. she played Anthony Andrews mother in Brideshead revisted. now if anything he looks older than her. she also made the daring Intimate Contact, a mini series where she plays the wife of unfaithful aids sufferer Daniel Massey. there she falls in love with 30 something man, who has a son with the illness. the fact Claire was about 55 was even noticable. she didn't look a day over 35.
Claire, Blooming marvelous
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charliechaplinfan
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- Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am
I think I've only seen Claire Bloom in Limelight. This was one of her first roles. I thought she'd been cast because of her resemblance to Chaplin's wife Oona. It is a great film and so multi layered. She gives a good performance, sometimes overplaying a little.
She plays a ballerina who is rescued from suicide by Calvero an aging, alcoholic music hall performer played by Chaplin. She believes she cannot walk let alone dance. Calvero restores her to health and confidence. He shows her much kindness and genersity and she believes herself in love with him and asks him to marry her. Calvero doesn't believe she does love him but he evidently loves her. Enter on to the scene Neville, a man she was keen on before she met Calvero. Neville is played by Chaplin's son Sydney. This sends Claire's character Terry into turmoil determined to be with Calvero but finding it difficult to hide her feelings for Neville. The film plays out to the end with a benefit for Calvero arranged by his friends. I don't want to reveal the end and spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it.
It's a complex story and multilayered. The role of Terry is a demanding one, I can only imagine what she had to say about working with Chaplin but it didn't damage her career.
She plays a ballerina who is rescued from suicide by Calvero an aging, alcoholic music hall performer played by Chaplin. She believes she cannot walk let alone dance. Calvero restores her to health and confidence. He shows her much kindness and genersity and she believes herself in love with him and asks him to marry her. Calvero doesn't believe she does love him but he evidently loves her. Enter on to the scene Neville, a man she was keen on before she met Calvero. Neville is played by Chaplin's son Sydney. This sends Claire's character Terry into turmoil determined to be with Calvero but finding it difficult to hide her feelings for Neville. The film plays out to the end with a benefit for Calvero arranged by his friends. I don't want to reveal the end and spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it.
It's a complex story and multilayered. The role of Terry is a demanding one, I can only imagine what she had to say about working with Chaplin but it didn't damage her career.