Today I have the great pleasure of welcoming a very special guest, actor Elliott Street, to CINEMATIC REVELATIONS for an interview. Elliott has acted in various motion pictures over the years such as THE GRISSOM GANG, HONKY, WELCOME HOME SOLDIER BOYS [my review of the film can be found here] THE HARRAD EXPERIMENT, and, most recently, in 2013’s LAST VEGAS, to name a few examples. Elliott will be discussing his role in WELCOME HOME SOLDIER BOYS, acting, and his participation in the Rails to Reels Film Festival. Welcome to CINEMATIC REVELATIONS Elliott!
Athan: When did you first realize
that you wanted to be an actor?
Elliott: When I vomited backstage in
primary school. I was so nervous I barfed into a cup that I found backstage. I
was determined never to do that again.
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Athan: Where did you study acting?
Elliott: I was always involved in theater to a degree, I have a
book for my mom on several shows that she did for the Meridian room theater. My
actual first performance was in reading and writing the school kind of a
primary for the primary school, they thought I was slow. When I was 10 years
old I was Dopey in 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarves'. In the ninth
grade I was cast with my dad in 'Life with Father'. My senior year I did two
players and won an acting award, but when I went to college I decided to be a
real student and try to be scholarly, finally I transferred to the Pasadena
Playhouse and got a bachelor of theater arts and was working on a masters
degree when the school closed for good. I was working at a small
theater arts school when I got my break for acting.
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Athan: I greatly enjoyed your
performance in WELCOME HOME SOLDIER BOYS as Fatback, the most talkative, and
lively, of the quartet of male characters. How did you become involved in this
project?
Elliott: My first professional role
was on room 222, produced by 20th century Fox. I was fortunate that several of
them took a liking to me at Fox and I was cast, at that time I had the best
agent in the business. George Maurice. I sure wish he had lived.
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Athan: Much of WELCOME HOME SOLDIER
BOYS was shot on location, providing the film with many beautiful
cinematographic moments. What was the experience of shooting these scenes in
your opinion?
Elliott: Most of those shots were
second or third camera. Probably the most memorable setting would've been at
the swimming pool not swimming pool I'm sorry the the haunted lake scene. They
shot us with antibiotics after that, we were sick.
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Athan: What did you most enjoy about
the experience of filming WELCOME HOME SOLDIER BOYS?
Elliott: Joe Don. I guess he was the
principal part that I related to not only as a friend but as a comrade in arms
to a degree. We kept in touch for a little while. Showbiz is such an ephemeral
business.
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Athan: Yourself and Joe Don Baker,
Alan Vint, and Paul Koslo were a memorable team in WELCOME HOME SOLDIER BOYS. I
could feel the palpable chemistry between the actors when I was viewing the
film, which is one of my favourites. What was it like being part of this acting
ensemble?
Elliott: My
problem as the character was that I wanted to be accepted as part of the squad.
I was probably the most foolish one in the bunch, I had a girlfriend at home,
probably had a job waiting, but I wanted to be part of the squad, just kind of
want to strike it rich.
*
Athan: After acting in the film, were
your thoughts about the Vietnam War, which was a key element in the movie,
different to what they were before you acted in WELCOME HOME SOLDIER BOYS?
Elliott: I was a blooming flower in the flower children generation. I had done a pilot with Sandy Duncan, and when I saw her again she called me a hippie, I didn't get the part and I originated it. I voted for McGovern, remember him anybody? In fact it probably played a part and some shows that were too pro war, in the story we were doing was about a squad gone berserk, what they did, it was their profession.
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Athan: Have you kept in contact with
any cast members and crew from WELCOME HOME SOLDIER BOYS?
Elliott: Joe Don and I went to the
James Stacey benefit. And I left LA for Atlanta so I would not even have
been in the same state. But I was forced to admit that my eyes have it. I
needed surgery and the experts were in Atlanta. So I moved there but the eye
clinic in Emery was the important factor in my life. I live in Mississippi now
with my son, my friends are all theater folks.
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Athan: Are you still recognized today for your
role in WELCOME HOME SOLDIER BOYS?
Elliott: No. Most recognition comes
from Hawaii Five-0 I did two rolls for them. One was a psychopath and one was
slow witted. Most Americans want to forget about Vietnam. Of course the film
came out in 72, and the peace accord came out that same year, so this movie
was banned by Nixon. Was dated to a degrees.
*
Athan: What for you was the scene(s)
in WELCOME HOME SOLDIER BOYS you are most proud?
Elliott: Dog gone it I don't think it
was in the movie. I think they cut out the part when I was telling the dog “
goodbye,” and I wanted him to take a message to Mary for me, kind of a touching
scene, the only thing only scene in the show that had any kind of empathy for
these guys, only comments I had after the preview was that I was the only
person that they cared for — everybody else’s characters was too antihero.
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Athan: You also coach students in
acting, and on the craft of directing and editing, to name but a few examples.
What are the most personally rewarding aspects of teaching these to students?
Elliott: I came to Mississippi to start the
restoration of an 1890 grand opera house in my hometown. In time I became an instructor of film theater and public speaking. I went on to receive my masters
and I am now retired from the school systems, but I have dabbled in historic
preservation and film festivals.
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Athan: You are involved in the Rails
to Reels Film Festival. How did you become involved in this, and what is the
most satisfying aspect of participating in this film festival?
Elliott: We initiated a few years ago
our flash fest. We hired three directors to direct a 10 minute show. Not for
competition, but for experience and craft. Right now the audience is restricted
because of the pandemic. So we don't know what is happening with the rails to
reel's.
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Thank you so much today for your time
Elliott, and for the insight you have provided into the art of acting, film,
and WELCOME HOME SOLDIER BOYS. It has been fantastic having you on CINEMATIC
REVELATIONS. You are welcome to return whenever you wish.
Elliott Street links
