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| Alec Guinness as T.E. Lawrence, in Ross's original run. (Source) |
A Tortured Genesis
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| Terence Rattigan (Source) |
Rattigan's interest in Lawrence stemmed from a personal connection: in 1913 his father befriended Sir Ronald Storrs, later Lawrence's chief at the Arab Bureau. Rattigan read The Mint (1955), Lawrence's Royal Air Force memoir, and wondered why such a successful man would become a "gentleman ranker." Like Lean and Robert Bolt, he thought Deraa held the answer: "It was shattering to suspect what was in the back of his tremendous will power," namely repressed homosexuality. Michael Darlow says Rattigan, himself gay, "put more of himself into Ross than he had dared in any previous play."
Thus inspired, Rattigan reworked his script for the stage. Ross debuted at the Royal Haymarket Theater in London in May 1960, with Alec Guinness as Lawrence. It received positive reviews despite Sam Spiegel's efforts to suppress it. The resulting legal controversy, along with complaints by A.W. Lawrence about its portrayal of TEL only fanned public interest. The show went on to a Broadway run the following year with John Mills replacing Guinness.
In 1961 Ross again seemed destined for the screen. Herbert Wilcox, founder of the British National Company, purchased the rights and asked Rattigan to write the screenplay. With Lawrence of Arabia already in production, Sam Spiegel threatened to sue Wilcox; nonetheless, Wilcox announced Ross would proceed starring Laurence Harvey. Various legal battles made it fall through, and Ross joined past Lawrence projects (Alexander Korda's '30s version, a proposed Powell & Pressburger epic) on the cinematic scrapheap. In 1970 Ian McKellen featured in a TV adaptation, a far cry from the proposed epic.
Shaping the Drama
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| Lawrence (John Mills) meeting General Allenby (John Williams). From the 1961 Broadway production |
Rattigan bookends the play with Lawrence hiding in the RAF as "Aircraftman Ross." His insouciance irritates his superiors, who think he's mouthing off when he mentions dining with George Bernard Shaw and Lady Astor. He's nonetheless liked by his peers, whose chumminess allows Lawrence to "remember... what it was to feel like living" (42). Lieutenant Dickinson provides the dramatic catalyst, recognizing "Ross" and threatening to expose him to the newspapers.
Though overstuffed with characters, these scenes codify Ross's drama. Unlike Lean, Rattigan is less interested in Lawrence the myth than Lawrence the man. As we'll see, Ross provides a very definite picture of its protagonist. By showing Lawrence after the war, hiding yet hinting at his identity, awkwardly palling around with fellow rankers, Rattigan quickly establishes Lawrence's personality.
Rattigan provies exposition through a dream sequence. Journalist Franks gives a Lowell Thomas lecture recounting Lawrence's life in heroic fashion. Like the opening of Lean's film, various personages who've known Lawrence (Allenby, Auda abu Tayi, Ronald Storrs, Barrington) give conflicting responses about his importance and truthfulness. Rattigan's scene is more imaginative but serves the same function as Lawrence's funeral: Lawrence the legend, defined by those who knew him. This scene also provides exposition on the Arab Revolt.
Like Lawrence of Arabia, Ross depicts Lawrence's execution of an Arab murderer to avoid a blood feud. Lean and Bolt telescope two characters from Seven Pillars for potent dramatic effect, just before Aqaba. Rattigan more accurately shows the execution earlier and makes it a key character moment. Lawrence's outsider status legitimizes the execution but also serves as his entry into the Arab world. He must prove himself through violence.
Similarly, Lawrence sports Arab robes from his first scene in Arabia. In the film Lawrence only dons his costume after saving Gassim and being accepted as "El Aurens." Here, being an Arab is an integral part of his role. That said, Ronald Storrs disapproves, believing (not incorrectly) that Lawrence is enjoying himself too much. Both play and film feature Lawrence primping in his robes, relishing some "amateur theatricals."
Lawrence's initial meeting with Allenby provides another point of divergence. Lean provides a tense scene where Allenby manipulates Lawrence's vanity and desire for a confidant. In Ross, Allenby is both impressed and befuddled by Lawrence. Their chat is more amiable, even humorous: between strategy the two discuss poetry and gardening. There's no question of Lean's warped paternalism: Allenby and Lawrence here are respectful colleagues. No callow villain this Allenby, either: he's an honorable man who regrets ordering Lawrence back into the field.
Rattigan's most extreme re-interpretation concerns Deraa. He accurately depicts Lawrence's capture during a reconnaissance. But Ross shows the Turkish Bey recognizing Lawrence and ordering his defilement. He recognizes Lawrence's latent sexuality and determines to break his will. Thus Lawrence's rape is calculated villainy rather than an incidental atrocity. This invention is, to be kind, hard to swallow.
Rattigan's Lawrence
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| Lawrence (John Mills) plots Aqaba's capture with Auda abu Tayi (Paul Sparer). |
Rattigan views Lawrence as worshiping "a false God... the will" (32), pushing himself to great feats through determination. Lawrence achieves great things but doesn't view himself disproportionately. He strenuously argues against being sent back to the Arabs, fearing his unfitness but also disgusted by the Sykes-Picot Treaty (which Lawrence knows from the start). This is far more benign than the movie's megalomaniac who thinks he can work miracles.
Lawrence's puckish sense of humor and insouciance come off strongly. While Lean's Lawrence is an abrasive outsider in Cairo, Rattigan's Lawrence is well-liked by his RAF peers. This humor's present in flashbacks too, as when he bluffs a Turkish officer bribing Auda to turn Lawrence in. Ross shows an extremely likeable Lawrence, for all his faults.
Rattigan treats Lawrence's sexuality delicately. The play hints at homosexuality through his affectionate relationship with his servants Hamed and Rashed (Farraj and Daud surrogates), his love of Arab dress and his asceticism. Nonetheless, it seems latent until Deraa, when Lawrence is made violently aware of repressed feelings. Surely censorship played a role, but I imagine Rattigan's predilections prevented him from flouncy stereotyping.
Like Lean and Bolt, Rattigan shows Lawrence in decline after Deraa but approaches it differently. Rattigan shows Lawrence not "enjoying" the bloodshed unleashed at Tafas or his execution of Hamed, but simply too burned out to care. He's lost "the citadel of his integrity," he's had to execute Hamed and his superiors have betrayed the Arabs. By war's end he's thoroughly beaten, admitting himself "lost to all human feeling" (163) and eager to vanish from public life.
Some difference between Ross and Lawrence of Arabia was probably inevitable. After all, Lean's Lawrence features in a large-than-life epic. He needs to make a mark amidst gorgeous desert scenery, sweeping battle scenes and armies of extras. Hence Robert Bolt's accentuation of Lawrence's ego, sadomasochism and neuroses, his flamboyant posturing amidst tortured introspection. Striding a mere stage, Rattigan's Lawrence is more down-to-earth and approachable, yet no less compelling.
Conclusion
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| Lawrence with servants Rashid (Joseph Della Sorte) and Hamed (Cal Bellini). |
Rattigan nonethless succeeds on several levels. His Lawrence is both psychologically and biographically plausible, lacking Lean and Bolt's sensationalism. He does a better job presenting Lawrence and the Arab Revolt in its historical context. Finally, by focusing on Lawrence's post-war life he adds a fresh dimension to the drama.
Ross has two serious faults. First, its flat supporting cast. Of Lawrence's RAF colleagues only Dickinson stands out, a predictably treacherous villain. Allenby and Auda are well-drawn, but Storrs and Franks are flat and Barrington a boorish martinet. Rashed and Hamed are mostly defined by their own relationship. There's no foil like Ali, Lawrence's Arab double, or Colonel Brighton, who grows to admire Lawrence. Rattigan's Lawrence is a fascinating man surrounded by ciphers. Lean's Lawrence has far more interesting co-stars.
The Deraa scene is even more objectionable. Like Bolt, Rattigan finds it a handy explanation for Lawrence's mental decline. It's bad enough the Bey divines Lawrence's sexuality through an intelligence report. But to knowingly capture Lawrence, "destroy" him and let him go? This is a contrived plot device from a bad comic strip. I didn't buy Bane doing it to Batman in The Dark Knight Rises and it's even less acceptable in an historical drama.
Ross is a good play by a good playwright. While Rattigan hones nearer to the real Lawrence, his drama is more contrived and less powerful than the Lean/Bolt interpretation. In fairness though, Rattigan lacks 70mm photography and a cast of thousands to support his characterization.
Note on Sources
Background info on Ross comes from Kevin Brownlow's David Lean: A Biography (1996) and Piers Paul Read's Alec Guinness: The Authorized Biography (2003). Biographical info on Terence Rattigan comes from Terence Rattigan: The Man and His Work by Michael Darlow & Gillian Hodson (1979). Aside from the two sourced photos, all pictures taken from the Internet Archive upload of Ross linked above.
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