Words Spoken Outside

A few years ago I read a few pages of an autobiography of Laurence Olivier. I’m sorry, but I don’t recall the title of the book.

(Above—Laurence Olivier with Peter Ustinov in Spartacus.)

I remember reading that when filming scenes in Spartacus that required him being outside, Mr. Olivier felt that his words were lost into the air. He felt the impact of his acting was muted off of a sound stage. As I recall from the book, one of Mr. Olivier’s co-stars in Spartacus, Peter Ustinov, felt the same way.

( Here are facts about Laurence Olivier . Here are facts about Peter Ustinov.)

Sometimes I think about this concept of effort dissolving into air. Don’t people often feel this way? We try in life and our time and effort is sometimes just so much smoke.

Being outside does have virtues. A few days ago I had dinner with the wife outside at a restaurant and it restored us to a degree. We’d had an annoying  string of days—just the hassles of day-to-day life—and being outside for a couple of hours on a nice evening brought us a measure of relief from what was bothering us.

Maybe a difference was that the wife and I were not acting.  In any case, it’s good when your words are useful to someone else. It’s good when your words reach the person you are speaking with and are not lost to the wind.

(Below—Laurence Olivier. Not at his best I suppose. Though Spartacus is possibly my favorite movie.)