This was a black comedy. I was pissed the audiences didn’t get the humor.” — Malcolm McDowell (EPA)
It’s one of the most electrifying — and notorious — moments on film. A young hoodlum who has forced his way into a home with three accomplices suddenly breaks into a spirited, high-kicking rendition of “Singin’ in the Rain” while beating and raping his victims.
This shocking touch comes neither from Anthony Burgess’ futuristic novel “A Clockwork Orange” nor the twisted mind of director Stanley Kubrick. It was the brainstorm of Malcolm McDowell, the iconic actor who plays the brainy and charming thug Alex DeLarge in the classic film, out for the first time on Blu-ray Tuesday for its 40th anniversary.
“As written, the gang gets in the house, kicks the old man down the stairs and throws bottles of booze out the window,” McDowell recalls. “So lame. We tried to figure out that scene for four days. Every day, a truck would pull up from Harrod’s with new furniture for the set, as if that would inspire us. On the fifth day, I was getting bored. Stanley said, ‘Can you dance?’
“I improvised ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ because it was the only song I sort of knew half the lyrics to — and because it’s the most euphoric song in film history. Stanley said ‘Great.’ We got in his car and bought the rights to use the song for $10,000. It took things into a surreal place.”
The genius of that scene is that even with stylized violence, “it implicates the audience because on some level they’re experiencing the joy Alex derives from these despicable acts,” McDowell says. “As far as we were concerned, this was a black comedy. When it came out, I was pissed the audiences didn’t get the humor.
“A few years later, on my first trip to Hollywood, I was introduced to Gene Kelly — who is actually heard singing his original version of ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ over the closing credits. He turned his back to me. I don’t think he was pleased about this movie at all.”
The then-novel mash-up of “ultraviolence,” humor and music brought an X rating in the US and accusations in the British press that “A Clockwork Orange” inspired copycat crimes. After death threats against Kubrick and his family, the director requested the film be withdrawn from circulation in the UK, where it wasn’t seen again for 25 years.
“If you see it now, the audiences are in on every singe laugh,” McDowell says. “No movie looked like this before. Now it’s copied by everyone from David Bowie to Madonna. And the violence is relatively tame by today’s standards. There are worse stories about gangs every day.”
Another famous scene in “A Clockwork
Orange” may be even tougher to watch. McDowell risked his sight for the shocking sequence where Alex — his eyes held open by surgical clamps — is forced to watch filmed scenes of violence in a bizarre form of aversion therapy used to curb his anti-social behavior.
“No actor’s going to do that,” McDowell remembers telling Kubrick. “The doctor comes in and says, ‘You’ll be given an anesthetic. We do delicate eye operations every day and we always use lid locks.’ What I didn’t realize is that the patients are lying flat on an operating table and I’m sitting up looking at a video while wearing a straightjacket.
“The doctor is in the scene to insert eye drops every 15 seconds so my corneas don’t dry out and I go blind. Stanley promises to film the whole thing in 10 minutes. Stanley Kubrick does in a scene in 10 minutes? Yeah, right!
“He asks the doctor to say, ‘How are you doing, Little Alex?’ and the guy is having trouble remembering his line, which ends up getting cut from the film anyway. And I’m like, ‘Get the drops in already.’ Afterwards, I was driving home and the anesthetic suddenly wore off. I’ve never experienced such excruciating pain. I had to call my doctor, who came over and gave me a shot of morphine. I don’t think any other actor has done that for a movie since!”
While Kubrick had a reputation for being a control freak, McDowell says this was never the case when working with actors. “He was meticulous in many ways, but he wasn’t good at explaining what he wanted. He knew what he didn’t want, and he encouraged everyone to contribute ideas.”
One of McDowell’s more inspired notions was to bring a touch of gentility to the costume worn in most of the film by the Beethoven-loving Alex and his fellow droogs.
“I told Stanley I had my cricket gear in my car. He loved the crisp white uniform, and suggested that I wear the groin protector on the outside, like a giant codpiece. We had a box with a lot of hats, including ridiculous ones with feathers. I chose a bowler, because it symbolized respectability, and this was a real f – – k you to the establishment.”
Alex’s trademark eyelash came from a gag gift McDowell got, which Kubrick dubbed “Yard of Eyelash.” The director suggested he cut off a hunk and wear it over a single eye. “It’s really sinister because there’s something wrong with your face,” Kubrick told him, “but you can’t really tell what it is.”
“Ultimately, ‘A Clockwork Orange’ is about freedom of choice,” says McDowell, whose acclaimed performance (he was cast by Kubrick after seeing him in “If. . .”) launched him on a long and prolific career that lately has included a recurring role on “Entourage.”
“When I was making the film, I knew it was good but I didn’t know how good. I certainly didn’t realize it was going to become iconic in status. I hope I’m around for the 50th anniversary. It’s become bigger than any of us.”
“A Clockwork Orange” is out Tuesday on Blu-ray, including a new documentary on McDowell, “O Lucky Malcolm.” Both titles are also included in “Stanley Kubrick: Limited Edition Collection” along with eight films, among them the Blu-ray debuts of “Lolita” and “Barry Lyndon.”
lou.lumenick@nypost.com