Who are some of your favorites in this category?
Some of mine, and why I love them:
Basil Rathbone - a tremendously versatile actor who could play a multitude of different roles, from Sherlock Holmes to bad-boy pirate Levasseur, each with equal finesse.
Franchot Tone - when the role calls for 'cute', this is the man for the job. He hardly EVER gets the girl. But frankly, most of the time I am mystified as to why!
Eric Blore - my favorite butler! I watched the Lone Wolf films just as much for him as for Warren William. Eric Blore is HILARIOUS!!!!
Walter Brennan - about stole THE WESTERNER right out from under Gary Cooper, and he is in a TON of other Gary Cooper films, always doing an excellent job. And let's not forget about him as Bogie's sidekick in TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT.
Eugene Palette - in MY MAN GODFREY, this guy came perilously close to stealing a few scenes. And given that we are talking about William Powell and Carole Lombard in a comedy, that's a pretty impressive feat!
Van Heflin - was great in THE STRANGE LOVE OF MARTHA IVERS and GRAND CENTRAL MURDER...and was a great nemesis to Errol Flynn in SANTA FE TRAIL. Also was good at getting the crap scared out of him by wack-job Joan Crawford in POSSESSED.
Melvyn Douglas - I absolutely ADORE Melvyn Douglas. And I can't even really figure out why, other than that he seems like such a likable person. I love alot of the romantic and romantic comedy sorts of films he made. But then he comes along late in his career and does a gritty film like HUD. Very versatile!
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