The Silver Screen Oasis

It is his SUTS day on TCM, here are my top ten favorites in chronological order, what's yours?

1.Crossfire (1947)
A scary, intense performance as the anti Semitic murderer.

2. The Set Up (1949)
He plays a washed up boxer who refuses to take a dive. His kindly wink to James Edwards may be my favorite Ryan moment on film.

3. On Dangerous Ground (1951)
A great performance as a bitter, violent cop who is transformed by the love of a gentle woman.

4.The Naked Spur (1953)
In contrast to the mean, grim villains in other films, this bad guy is actually pretty cheerful about his evilness. He is a sly outlaw brought in by bounty hunter James Stewart. He really seems to enjoy messing with Stewart's head.

5. Bad Day At Black Rock
Another racist bad guy, played with much subtlety but still very dangerous.

6. House Of Bamboo (1955)
He is a syndicate boss being investigated by undercover agent Robert Stack in this great Samuel Fuller film set in Japan.

7. Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)
He is playing another vicious bigot, but does it very well in this tough crime drama.

8. Billy Budd (1962)
He is the sadistic Master at arms who make life miserable for the angelic title character(Terence Stamp)

9. The Wild Bunch(1969)
A great supporting part in this violent western,as a lawman hunting for his outlaw friend.He has one of the best lines in the film "We're after men, and I wish to God I was with some!"

10. The Iceman Cometh (1973)
I just saw this on DVD and it is great version of the Eugene O Neill masterpiece.Ryan is brilliant as Larry,the cynical barfly who is both yearning for and afraid of death.

Here are my favorite 10 films featuring Robert Ryan:

Crossfire
Act of Violence
The Set-Up
Born to be Bad
The Racket
On Dangerous Ground
Bad Day at Black Rock'
House of Bamboo
Odds Against Tomorrow
The Professionals

My favorites, in no particular order:

Odds Against Tomorrow
Beware, My Lovely
Caught
The Set-Up
Act of Violence
On Dangerous Ground
The Secret Fury
The Naked Spur
Crossfire
Born to Be Bad

Bad Day at Black Rock
The Professionals
Crossfire
The Wild Bunch

I've always liked Robert Ryan, but I've seen only a handful of his movies. I watched The Iceman Cometh a couple of months ago; Robert Ryan and Fredric March gave excellent performances.

Robert Ryan is a dangerous dude. I think it was Odds Against Tomorrow (loved Shelley Winters in that one) with that scene in the bar (Ryan has some dry cleaning I think) with that guy from MASH. Ryan can exude pent up violence better than anybody.

Plus, he would Never leave a drink undrunk on the bar.

Playing a vicious mob boss in William Castle's comedy The Busy Body, Ryan breathes fire and chews the scenery to bits. He's hilarious as Sid Caesar's boss, high-strung and enraged 24/7.

Just watched Robert Ryan on Zane Grey, a TV western from the late 50s\early 60s. Ryan was solid as a rancher. His wife was played by Cloris Leachman. There was one minor character actor it took me a while to recognize: Don Castle. Looks like but this stage of his career he was a bit player (not that Castle was ever a major star, but he did get lead billing while at Monogram).

I guess I'm a little out of step, but my favorite Robert Ryan movie is About Mrs. Leslie (1954) with Shirley Booth, in which he played a married but lonely industrialist who befriended in a mostly platonic way a kindred spirit (Booth) and vacationed with her once a year, the only time he felt he could fully relax and be himself. Moral quibbles aside, it's wonderful to see him so smart, gentlemanly and compassionate.

I Love Melvin wrote: ↑Today, 8:36 am I guess I'm a little out of step, but my favorite Robert Ryan movie is About Mrs. Leslie (1954) with Shirley Booth, in which he played a married but lonely industrialist who befriended in a mostly platonic way a kindred spirit (Booth) and vacationed with her once a year, the only time he felt he could fully relax and be himself. Moral quibbles aside, it's wonderful to see him so smart, gentlemanly and compassionate.

I'm also a fan of the film. Shirley Booth and Robert Ryan make a surprisingly appealing couple. Ryan would have been fine in romantic dramas if he had been cast in them.