Alonzo Hawk
Alonzo Hawk is a recurring villain played by Keenan Wynn in three The Walt Disney Company movies: The Absent-Minded Professor (1961), Son of Flubber (1963), and Herbie Rides Again (1974). (In the two Flubber movies, his name is apparently Alonzo P. Hawk, while in the third movie his middle initial has become an A.) Hawk is a greedy, underhanded banker/financier who tries to take advantage of the films' protagonists, usually by financial leverage. Invariably, Hawk gets his comeuppance by the end of the story.[1]
In a 1974 article about Herbie Rides Again in the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, Wynn described his character: "I'm angry throughout the picture. I tried to avoid monotony by running the gamut. I yell. I become stentorian. I growl like a cornered wolf. Then I become so frustrated I can't even talk. It's bravura, but everything I do in that movie is logical to the role." He added, "I am a character actor and always have been. I cannot play a straight role. For a part like Hawk you don't want a comedian, you want an actor who can do comedy."[2]
In another 1974 article in the Bemidji Pioneer, Wynn discussed his approach to the character: "The trick is to get the audience to laugh at him. The guy is in the construction business, he has built his empire, he's a ramrodder. And he is deadly serious about what he is doing, which is trying to wipe out a little old lady and her pet Volkswagen. That's the setup, and woe betide Hawk if they laugh with him."[3]
Keenan Wynn played similar characters in two other Disney films. In Snowball Express (1972) he was shady banker Martin Ridgeway. In The Shaggy D.A. (1976) he was John Slade, who shares many similarities with the first appearance of Hawk in The Absent-Minded Professor.[who?]
In Flubber, a remake of The Absent-Minded Professor, Hawk is replaced by the character of Chester Hoenicker (played by Raymond J. Barry) as the film's main antagonist.
Reception[edit]
In The Disney Films, Leonard Maltin writes of The Absent-Minded Professor, "The scene of Keenan Wynn, as Alonzo Hawk, bouncing on the flubberized shoes is one of the most impressive in the film, because it is shot outdoors."[4]
References[edit]
- ↑ Bill Van Heerden (1998), Film and television in-jokes, p. 60
- ↑ "Natural roles appeal to Wynn". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. June 8, 1974. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
- ↑ ""Herbie Rides Again" and again and again". The Pioneer (Bemidji, Minnesota). Aug 17, 1974. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
- ↑ Maltin, Leonard (1984). Alonzo Hawk. Crown. ISBN 978-0786885275. Retrieved 14 February 2020. Search this book on
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