Maximilian Schell as the haunting and terrifying Dr. Hans Reinhardt in "The Black Hole". |
It may have been when Disney went dark. When it went from sunshine and
light, to the blackness of space. It was the dawn of the 1980s. I was 10 years
old and still pretty impressionable, when I saw a movie in the theatre that
really disturbed me. That was the first time that ever happened to me, and I
will never forget.
Maximilian Schell died a few weeks ago, and his picture reminded me of
that time, so long ago, at the College Centre Mall theatre in Lethbridge, or as we called it, the Woolco Mall. He
played the villain in that movie that so bothered me as a 10 year old. That
movie, was “The Black Hole”.
Going to the movies
A movie poster for "The Black Hole", |
Schell plays the leader of the space station who seems very accommodating
and welcoming – at first. Then, various crew members of the Palomino observe
some off things. The station seems to be serviced by robots. One day, one of
the Palomino crew members sees a robot walk with a limp. Ultimately, they
discover Schell took over the station and enslaved the station’s crew as
robots, lobotomising them in the process. It gets more disturbing, suspenseful, and even a bit terrifying from
there.
“The Black Hole” was the only movie in the 80s in which I saw Maximilian Schell, but it left a lasting impression. I can understand why he was such a revered actor, because he scared the crap out of me.
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