![]() ![]() |
This article's content is marked as Mature The page contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, strong drug use, extremely traumatic themes, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature pages are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page. |
“ | You didn't hear it, you didn't see it, you won't say nothin' to no one, ever in your life, you never heard it, how absurd it all seems, without any proof. | „ |
~ Frank coercing Tommy into believing him witnessing his father's murder didn't happen. ("1951"\"1921"). |
Frank Hobbs is the main antagonist of the film adaption of The Who's Tommy. He is the "uncle", later stepfather of Tommy Walker and develops a relationship with Tommy's mother Nora. What counts him as a villain is that he kills Tommy's biological father, is a con artist and has little to no care for anyone except himself.
He was portrayed by the late Oliver Reed, who also played Urbain Grandier in The Devils, Philip Lombard in And Then There Were None and Rodolfo Graziani in Lion of the Desert.
Biography[]
After Capt. Walker goes missing and is presumed dead, his wife Nora and son Tommy (who he never got to see before going missing) visit Bernie's Holiday Camp, where Frank works. Nora and Frank fall in love, with Frank being given the title of Tommy's uncle. However, when Frank moves in with Nora and Tommy, Capt. Walker suddenly returns home to surprise his family. Just before a large dispute can occur, Frank murders Capt. Walker with a lamp in front of Tommy. Because Tommy witnessed it, even through a mirror, he convinced the boy he never saw or heard it and would never talk to anyone, and those words came true: Tommy went blind, deaf, and dumb.
When Tommy is now a teenager, Frank tries to solve Tommy's deaf and blindness by hiring the "Acid Queen", a drug dealing prostitute who makes Tommy go unconscious from the LSD she gave him. As Tommy grows, Frank insists on leaving Tommy with his evil relatives, the sadistic Cousin Kevin and perverted Uncle Ernie, to the objections of Nora. Of course, he never is aware of the one thing Nora doesn't like about Kevin, with Kevin getting away with all the abuse he put on Tommy. However, the second time, when he gets back, he hears Uncle Ernie molesting Tommy. Though he doesn't actually see it, as he finds Ernie covering it up by pretending to read a newspaper, he burns the paper. Despite this, he shows no real care for how Tommy was molested.
Frank finally gives up on trying to cure Tommy, after he finds a specialist, who claims that Tommy's problems are not physical but instead psychosomatic. Soon Tommy grows a passion and skill for pinball, which gathers an audience due to him being both amazing at pinball as well as being blind and deaf. However, even after Tommy beats the most skilled pinball player, the "Pinball Wizard", Frank is disinterested in his abilities. After Nora breaks the mirror that Tommy was staring at, he suddenly regains his senses and starts a religion, as well as opening up a religious holiday camp. Frank and Nora become assistants to Tommy while he grows more and more fans. Frank also starts to make Tommy's merchandise cost more and more which starts to anger Tommy's fans. Soon a riot begins when Tommy's fans grow tired of his failed promises. While Tommy is left harmed but still alive after the riot, Frank is stabbed and Nora is hit with a bottle to the head, killing them both.
Trivia[]
- Unlike the rest of the characters in the film, Frank is almost an entirely original character created for the film. In the album, Nora's lover is only mentioned subtly and not described or named. The most differentiating part of Frank, however, is the fact that he murders Capt. Walker, while in the album it is Capt. Walker who murders Nora's lover.