Download April March’s song “Stay Away from Robert Mitchum”
Well, there’s plenty of tabloid dirt ha-ha. Kidding aside, he’s cool enough to be on a Velvet Underground song. He doesn’t seem to care much but he can play almost anything and anybody. He even recorded an LP, I thought I saw one on Ebay. “Friends of Eddie Coyle” should be out on dvd soon so check it out.
Maurice,
If you interested in Mitchum I strongly recommend reading Lee Server’s excellent biography “Baby I Don’t Care.”
I second Matt’s suggestion-great book.
If you ever get a chnce to see them the off-takes from "The Night of the Hunter’ reveal a lot about Mitchum. He was a very very serious actor — though he liked to pretend it was all just a lark. According to Joseph Losey he write portry, but didn’t want people to know. Losey also credits him with being especially kind to Mia Farrow during the shooting of “Secret Ceremon.” The final divorce papers from Sinatra were delievred to her on the set, and she was quite upset. But Mitchum took her aside for a talk that calmed her. He didn’t have to do that but he did. Losey was quite impressed.
I met him during the filming of Maria’s Lovers, and then became a semi-student of his work.
A fine man, a fascinating actor.
See The Sundowners, Cape Fear, and Farewell, My Lovely if you really want to get a good idea of the quality of his work and the range of his abilities.
he got in a lot of brawls.
I can tell you he didn’t like interviews. He hated Steve McQueen. He was able to take a mediocre role and turn it inside out. (See: Where Danger Lives) He had morals that he wouldn’t cross, which is why he wouldn’t do Dirty Harry or Patton. He was one of the best.
He’s a terrific screen presence and Night of the Hunter is a work of brilliance in large part because of him though Laughton’s direction and Lillian Gish are also phenomenal. It’s on my DVR right now and i can’t wait to re-watch it. “Leaning, Leaning…”
I think Night of the Hunter might be the hidden gem of american cinema. I think it deserves a place among Citizen Kane and the Godfather as one of the country’s best.
Cape Fear
In the Noirs he was always trying to cross the border into Mexico or running from some thugs in Mexico, or meeting a dame in Mexico… Always Mexico.
And he was arrested for smoking Ma-ri-ju-a-na in the late 40s…. Guess he loved those mexican cigarettes.
Maurice: You might enjoy reading NIGHT OF THE HUNTER: A BIOGRAPHY OF FILM by Jeffrey Couchman.
Here is a review:
http://www.bwcitypaper.com/Articles-i-2009-04-16-228443.113121_Love_and_Hate.html
I’ve always thought Mitchum is the best film actor ever.
Night of the Hunter…ah, Mitchum’s best work.
Night of the Hunter was years ahead of its time (Kiss Me Deadly, released the same year, was far ahead of its time, too; something about 1955…).
Mitchum embodies the role of preacher Harry Powell so completely that I forget it’s Robert Mitchum and immerse myself in one of the most mesmerizing and terrifying performances the movies have given us.
If you are able to see this film and think of it from the perspective of a child, who doesn’t understand the wickedness of the world, it becomes all the more frightening.
That heavy influence of German expressionism and the incredible chiaroscuro lighting effects contribute immeasurably to the mood.
Oh, wait. We were talking about Mitchum.
Then I would encourage you to watch Out of the Past and Crossfire; a deuce of terrific noirs.
Cheers,
Steve
CinemaUprising.Blogspot.com
I think I became a fan of the black and white cinema on the day I watched The Night of the Hunter. (Jean Renoir’s The Rules of the Game came later.) I was already a fan of Robert Mitchum much earlier having come across him in films like The Red Pony or The Yakuza which I watched on television without really paying much attention to them except for the fact that I got a good impression of Mitchum as an actor.
“Out of the Past” is a great noir featuring the mellow Mitchum. I have "Macao, “His Kind of Woman,” and “Angel Face” to watch. Any recommendations among those as the first I should see?
Second “Out of the Past”, it’s token noir in every way.
“He hated Steve McQueen.”
That’s interesting. I always find those sort of professional dislikes interesting (or was it only professional?). I like how Bergman didn’t like Antonioni’s movies, if I remember correctly. I like both of ‘em in both cases. McQueen is a badass, and Antonioni is one of my favorite actors, but that doesn’t detract me from liking Bergman and Mitchum too.
—PolarisDiB
One rare, insightful interview he gave was on the Dick Cavett Show, one of the those entire show nighty minute interviews. The full interviews should be on Youtube.
He was a badass his entire life. Got kicked out of grade school for fighting his principal, got kicked out of other schools, crossed the country by hopping trains, was on a chain gang at 14 or so; escaped, kicked ass the rest of his life, etc… He had a nervous breakdown working a factory job which has always amused me since I sort of had a similar issue. I didn’t go blind for a while, though.
Robert Mitchum, FTW!
Maurice Gianesin
I just recently re – saw The Night of the Hunter for the about the twelfth time. I am so impressed with Robert Mitchum’s acting. Yet, I know so precious little about him. Please, no tabloid dirt. Just facts. I think he is a fine actor. I have seen him in many films including “The Noirs” which have made him famous. His quiet, understated ways project volumes about his character.
I remember the scene in The Night of the Hunter when he faces the Spoons in the ice cream shop after he has murdered his wife. He sobs feigned aligator tears as he explains that his wife’s dissapearance is because of the booze. As he lays his head on his shoulders, at the soda bar, Mr. Spoon says, “she’ll be back”. He has his left hand to the camera with “hate” tattooed on it. He stops blubbering for an instant, looks up with the most sober look in his eyes and says, “I don’t think so”. All you can see for that instant are pupils that are completley blackened, empty and evil. And let’s not forget, “chil…..dren, oh chil…..dren I know you’re down there.”