Judgment at the Pearly Gates

(Kudos to Monty)

 

Or

Schell-om

Maximilian Schell, best remembered for the heavy-handed irony of his abandonment by his young wife on the eve of the apocalypse mirroring his own betrayal of his wife and child years before in Deep Impact, the talkiest disaster movie ever, has died of a sudden illness at the age of 83. Schell also played faux cooker of endangered species Larry London in The Freshman and the mad scientist at the edge of The Black Hole. But the reason he’ll get a prime spot in the Academy of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ necrology is his Oscar for Best Actor for playing a German defense attorney in Judgment at Nuremberg, just his second acting role in a US film. Schell’s ability to speak German earned him roles in a number of other Nazi-themed movies, ironic given that he and his family fled Austria when it was annexed by Germany in 1938. Schell scored two other Oscar nominations for The Man in the Glass Booth and Julia. Schell was also noted as being one of the best Hamlets ever, with his performance being singled out by Mike, Crow and Tom Servo in a 1999 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.