Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry (1976)

Richard Burton could have made reading the phone book sound interesting, but when you gave him Dylan Thomas or, in this case, Malcolm Lowry to quote it proves exceptional. That's as well, really, because otherwise this is a singularly sad story about the author of ''Under the Volcano''. Born of reasonably wealthy Liverpudlian stock, Lowry wanted for nothing but like so many in that situation - he was bored. At a young age he signed on to work as a cabin boy on a freighter and that's when he started to hone his skills with the bottle. Returning and heading to Cambridge he also had to face his own questions about his sexuality and his own potential, and those questions saw in him a restlessness that forced a move across the Atlantic, to marry, head to Mexico and then finally realise that if he did have a book in him, it wasn't going to write or publish itself. Still dependent on his father for funds until well into middle age, this proceeds to describe just how - even after his lone success, this man couldn't ever find fulfillment nor shake his dependence on the gin. Donald Brittain did all but make the tea on this production but he takes a deftly light touch with his narration leaving the well-researched archive to present us with some poignant and insightful interviews from many who knew him well over the years. If you've never seen Albert Finney in the 1984 film of his acclaimed book, then check it out - it is possibly his best effort on screen and showcases something of the autobiographical nature of a troubled soul who might have been a genius or perhaps just an old soak who got lucky once?