All Albert Finney ever wanted was to be a great character actor. As one of youngest actors to gain his success through Britain’s “angry young men” movement, his stage and film career quickly helped to define it. He actively rebelled against his boyish good looks; the idea of selling of an image of celebrity to the public, positive or not, made him deeply uncomfortable. To Albert Finney, acting was always “work," and he constantly worked against being typecast. Within the ‘60s alone he landed a variety of roles: a working class hooligan, a period drama ladies’ man, a cold blooded serial killer, an emotionally volatile architect, a jaded writer suffering from a degree of imposter syndrome, and a Picasso-obsessed stalker.

In honor of Albert Finney, who passed away earlier this year, Bart and Jenna take a look at all of the films he starred in during the 1960s. These films established what was to come for the rest of his career and offer some real unsung gems of British cinema.

Not discussed in this episode are The Entertainer (1960) and The Victors (1963), in which Finney only has brief cameos.

The following films are discussed, however:

• Saturday Night, Sunday Morning (1960)
Directed by Karel Reisz
Starring Albert Finney, Shirley Anne Field, Rachel Roberts

• Tom Jones (1963)
Directed by Tony Richardson
Starring Albert Finney, Susannah York, George Devine

• Night Must Fall (1964)
Directed by Karel Reisz
Starring Albert Finney, Susan Hampshire, Mona Washbourne

• Two for the Road (1967)
Directed by Stanley Donen
Starring Audrey Hepburn, Albert Finney

• Charlie Bubbles (1967)
Directed by Albert Finney
Starring Albert Finney, Colin Blakely, Billie Whitelaw, Liza Minelli

• The Picasso Summer (1969)
Directed by Robert Sallin (& Serge Bourguignon, uncredited)
Starring Albert Finney, Yvette Mimieux, Luis Miguel Dominguín