I do a terrible Malcolm McDowell impression.

I know that because I’ve spent the last week recounting, to my more patient friends and family, my phone conversation with the legendary McDowell, recipient of this year’s “Mid-Life Achievement Award” at the 14th annual Maine International Film Festival, which starts Friday and runs through July 24 in Waterville.

Slightly gravelly with age at 68, his northern English accent bristling with intelligence, humor and maybe just a hint of the charismatic menace from “A Clockwork Orange,” “If…” and a hundred more films, McDowell’s voice is warm and enthusiastic.

“It’s nice of them to put it that way,” McDowell joked about the “midlife” part of the award he’ll receive at a screening of his 1973 film “O Lucky Man!” at Colby College on Saturday.

“It’s a great honor, and that’s why I wanted to come and say thank you.” McDowell’s been to Maine before — he visited the late Lindsay Anderson, director of “O Lucky Man!” and a longtime friend, when Anderson was shooting the 1987 film, “The Whales of August,” on Cliff Island and in Portland.

“Unfortunately, I can only stay for four days, which is a great shame,” he said. “I’d love to have brought the family. Maine’s such a beautiful place; an incredible coastline, lobsters and seafood.”

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It’s clear he still loves the movies, and loves to talk about them. And while his career runs the gamut from classic “A Clockwork Orange” to notorious “Caligula,” to bad “Firestarter 2: Rekindled,” McDowell has never been left wanting for work in the entertainment industry.

Since his big-screen debut in the 1968 film “If…” he’s done everything from playing leads in feature films to scene-stealing villains on television’s “Heroes,” voice-overs on animated films and TV shows, and even a live-action role in the “Wing Commander” video-game franchise.

His fans can watch him weekly on a new TNT television show, “Franklin and Bash,” at 9 p.m. Wednesdays. He plays Stanton Infeld, patriarch of Infeld Daniels, one of the top law firms in Los Angeles.

But of all his work, McDowell is especially proud that the MIFF is showing “Never Apologize,” the utterly winning, funny and heartwarming film of the one-man show he performed about Anderson.

“Lindsay was an extraordinary talent, and man,” said McDowell warmly. “I had the feeling that people were beginning to forget Lindsay, and I was very dismayed. When you look at his films ‘If….,’ ‘O Lucky Man,’ ‘This Sporting Life’ with (Richard Harris), he’s as important a director as Stanley Kubrick, if not more so.”

“Lindsay was an extraordinary talent, and man,” said McDowell warmly. “I had the feeling that people were beginning to forget Lindsay, and I was very dismayed. When you look at his films ‘If….,’ ‘O Lucky Man,’ ‘This Sporting Life’ with (Richard Harris), he’s as important a director as Stanley Kubrick, if not more so.”

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“Never Apologize” concludes with McDowell re-enacting a deathbed conversation between Anderson and filmmaker and Portland native John Ford, about whom McDowell stressed, “there are many great directors, but very few poets. John Ford was both. So was Lindsay.”

Of course, no celebration of McDowell’s work would be complete without Kubrick’s 1971 film, “A Clockwork Orange,” one which McDowell said “can take care of itself.”

McDowell said that the film remains “a rite of passage for young people. In retrospect, the political element of government being big brother, taking over our lives — young people can totally still get that. But the real poignant bit is the freedom of choice; that’s why it hasn’t dated.”

McDowell is also excited that festival will show another little-known film, 1991’s “Assassin of the Tsar,” which he recommended to the festival directors.

In the Russian-made film, McDowell plays a modern-day mental institution inmate who believes himself to be the man who killed Nicholas II and the royal family in 1918.

“It’s amazing. The history is amazing, too,” he said. “It was made right after the (Berlin) wall came down. The director’s father had access to KGB records, knew the real story. It’s a brilliant film that no one’s seen. You can’t get it, it’s not on DVD. It has fans, but hasn’t been seen, so I thought this would be an opportunity to share it.”

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The last of his films showing at the festival is the 1995 campy sci-fi comedy “Tank Girl,” in which he plays a post-apocalyptic villain versus Lori Petty’s titular punk heroine (and her mutant kangaroo army).

While McDowell seemed surprised at its inclusion, he agreed that screening it at the Skowhegan Drive-In was just right. “It’s meant to be seen at a drive-in. That’s a very good way to put that.”

Not that McDowell is ashamed of the work. Quite the contrary — he considers such roles to be great fun.

“I used to joke I get six scenes to make the whole world hate me. If I had a choice, I would choose the heavy every time — you don’t have to be there until dawn, there are usually some good scenes and a great death.”

Dennis Perkins is a freelance writer who lives in Portland.

MALCOLM MCDOWELL FILMS AT THE MAINE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

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“O LUCKY MAN!” (1973) — Surrealist musical is an anti-capitalist odyssey about a coffee salesman who steps out into the world of business armed only with a smile, an apple, a magic suit and his ambition. Screening accompanied by presentation of the Mid-Life Achievement Award. 6 p.m. Saturday. Given Auditorium, Colby College, Waterville. $12.

“A CLOCKWORK ORANGE” (1971) — McDowell gives an unforgettable performance as Alex, the narrating anti-hero in Stanley Kubrick’s futuristic masterpiece about a young punk reconditioned by the society that created him. 2:45 Saturday; 9:15 p.m. Sunday, both at Given Auditorium. $9.

“ASSASSIN OF THE TSAR” (1991) — McDowell plays a schizophrenic patient in a Russian hospital who is convinced he was the man who executed Nicholas II and the royal family in 1918. 12:15 p.m. Sunday, Railroad Square Cinema, Waterville. $9.

“NEVER APOLOGIZE” (2007) — Celebration of director Lindsay Anderson is a unique hybrid of film, theater and literature that combines McDowell’s reminiscences with his readings of pieces written by and about his friend and mentor. 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Given Auditorium. $9.

“TANK GIRL” (1995) — This is just the kind of movie drive-ins were made for. Set in the year 2033, Lori Petty is Riot Grrrl Rebecca Buck, a gooney, obnoxious, and thoroughly lovable young woman who wants nothing more than to scare up some precious water for her mates in this post-apocalyptic, water-free world. But McDowell as the head of the evil Water & Power consortium, has other plans. 8:30 p.m., Thursday, July 21, Skowhegan Drive-In. $6.

WHAT ELSE: A party for McDowell will be held at 9:30 p.m. Saturday at Apollo’s Bistro, 91 Silver St., Waterville.

INFO: 861-8138; miff.org


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