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Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 10:50 pm

I see actor George Baker has just died aged 80 -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15225021

George played Lt Butler in the 1956 film - Hill in Korea - which brought together Stanley Baker (Cpl Ryker) and in his first film role - Michael Caine (Pte Lockyear).

Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 10:40 pm

As always, Martin, you have come up with another invaluable bit of movie esoterica! And I thought that I was the only one who knew about MC's introduction to acting (albeit "uncredited") in a long forgotten movie called "A Hill in Korea"! Dang, I regret not having bought that "short-dollar" one-sheet in Laconia a couple of years ago...

What was his "name" me between Maurice Mickelwhite and Michael Caine ? And who is/was George Baker? Stanley Baker's brother? I could "google" the answer, but that's no fun.

Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 4:15 pm

And I remember him playing Tiberius next to Brian Blessed's Augustus in that fine mini-series I Claudius. To me he pulled off Tiberius' personlaity as it came out in those "histories". And speaking of Blessed I see he tried but failed to run Cambridge!

Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2011 6:23 pm

In fact, Michael Caine IS credited (as Michael Caine) for his role at the bottom of the cast in "A Hill in Korea". His professional name before this was Michael Scott.

Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2011 10:18 pm

And I stand corrected, Sheldon. Thank you. I knew he was at least two people before he was M.C., but I didn't know what his stage name was before MC. To your knowledge, is it true about "The Caine Mutiny" marquee and if so, for what movie did he change it?

Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2011 12:55 am

"A Hill in Korea" was his first movie, so that was the film for which he changed it, having appeared on TV as Michael Scott before then. I'm sure it's true that he took the name from the title of the film "The Caine Mutiny", though the details of his story (that he was in a phone box in Leicester Square with his agent on the line and picked the name from a theatre marquee on the spur of the moment) seem pretty unlikely to me, not least because the date of his name change (1956) doesn't match the release date of the film (1954). But it makes a good anecdote and he's an actor, so what the hell...