At Random

[mrsl]

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I'm taking a big chance here, You're going to hate me forever if you don't already, but when I first looked at the photo, I had no idea who it was. I had to wait for other comments before I figured it out. SORRY!!!!! But unfortunately, I was never a fan. I liked his movies (all except the Sand Pebbles), but except for The Great Escape, I don't think I've ever seen any of his movies a second time. He just didn't do anything for me. Oh, I forgot Love with the Proper Stranger, where I wanted to punch him out for the first half of the movie, and parts of the second half. But I consider that a Natalie Wood film anyway. To me, it's weird that so many of you think he's cool. Well, anyway, I wondered all last evening who he was, while I waited to see responses as to who he is. I will say the photo is cute.
So shoot me now.
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[charliechaplinfan]

Anne, your not alone, I've not seen a lot of Steve McQueen films but what I've seen, he leaves me kind of cold. I'd like to see Love With A Proper Stranger.

I'm not in complete agreement with you, I've always been fond of marblemouths earlier works and looks.

[mrsl]

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HA - HA

That's when I thought Marlon was at his worst, and because of that, I could never understand how he stayed around so long.

Like I said, I'm not knocking McQ at all, I'm just not familiar with him. Kind of like Cooper, I can take him or leave him.
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[charliechaplinfan]

I'm not that fimiliar with Steve McQueen, The Great Escape and The Thomas Crown Affair perhaps aren't enough to judge him on and I don't know much about him as a man but if I'm looking for a blonde from that period, it has to be Paul Newman.

Anne, have you never had the slightest thought that in Marlon's early roles he was just a little hunky

[jdb1]

Anne, I certainly don't hate you! I think part of the problem is the McQueen movies themselves, which for the most part aren't all that great. I love looking at the man, but I don't particularly love most of his movies. The photo has particular resonance for us fans because you almost never see a photo of Steven McQueen looking relaxed, unguarded, and/or smiling. He took his cool image very seriously.

[mrsl]

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Thanks Lynn.

CCFan, Honestly, I don't recall which movie it was, but the very first time I heard him open his mouth and try to speak, I had to say, "What did he say? I didn't understand what he said". It might have been On the Waterfront, or maybe Sayonara, I really can't say. And I never found him attractive.
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[silentscreen]

Anne,

I agree with you 100%. I never found Marlon attractive, and even less so after I read his autobiography. Most of the women in his life ended up hating him and it's not hard to see why.

[charliechaplinfan]

I agree with you there. When I first saw him in A Streetcar Named Desire which was year ago I thought he was one of the handsomemest men I'd ever seen, even if he was playing a lout.

I read his book and a biography of him and my respect for him evaporated. I can take my heros being tarnished but I he makes me mad for wasting his talent on some bad films.

The book I'm reading at the moment about Montgomery Clift has a quote from someone who knew them both. They said that Montgomery Clift was someone who knew quite a lot and pretended he was dumd and Marlon was dumb and cracked on that he knew everything.

Anne, I can see what Robert Mitchum's got

[silentscreen]

Monty had class. Marlon was an arrogant lout in real life in my opinion any way. He was a very bad father too. His eldest son just died a couple of years ago.

[charliechaplinfan]

Do you mean Christian, the one who went to jail? That boy suffered from two bad parents who cared more about scoring points off one antoher than looking after the little boy.

Monty did have class, reading his story has made me watch his films, I'd seen a couple before but watching quite a few has made me realise what a great actor he was in whatever he was in and he took care to pick the roles that would have suited him, the ones that would challenge him as an actor, so far I've not seen a bad one. He cared about his craft, something that I got the impression that Marlon never did.

[mrsl]

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I never was a big fan of Monty's, but I would never turn off a movie he was in, because he was in it, though there are others who I wouldn't waste the electricity on. As for Mitchum, he is my idol with clay feet set in cement. When people call him Hollywood's bad boy, they are not kidding. Although he and Dorothy were married for most of his career, he messed around with other women all the time, she is the one who held it all together. He wasn't much of a father, or husband. My adoration for him is for his acting and his looks. To me he was the sexiest thing going throughout the late 40's, the 50's and the 60's. Through those years he had what they attributed to Ann Sheridan (the Oomph girl), Clara Bow (the It girl), and Marilyn (no nickname just that spark). He had that spark of magnetism as soon as he came on screen. He never tried to act, the words just rolled off his tongue, and he seemed so relaxed in his skin that neither the camera, the director, nor the co-star could unseat him or cause any kind of nerves or stiffness. Also, to me he was darn handsome besides being sexy. Cary and Peck were so pretty, Gable was for fun, Spencer was a monumental actor, and Bogey was everyman. For me however, Mitchum rolled them all together in one. The funny thing is, this is not new for me, I saw him in either Heaven Knows Mr. Allison, or River of No Return, I can't recall which was first but I suspect it was River because that final scene where he pulls Marilyn off the stage and carries her out to the wagon seems burned into my brain, that, to me is still one of the best love scenes I have ever seen. So when I sound all ga-ga about him, I do know what a scoundrel he was, but I guess I'm just drawn to bad boys.
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[charliechaplinfan]

Anne, I rate him quite highly as an actor. He's very natural, I think I came to his best roles first, I've by no means seen a lot of movies with him in. His preacher in The Night of The Hunter is one of the most frightening characters ever seen on screen, another of the most frightening creatures is Max Cody in Cape Fear. Then there is Mr O'Shaunessy is Ryan's Daughter, he's the best thing in that film and it's such a departure from his earlier films. Heaven Knows Mr Allison is pretty good too. I loved his chemistry with Deborah Kerr so much. I'd love to see The Sundowners but it's not been released here.

My auntie keeps a photo of him by her bed to this day.

[MichiganJ]

Okay guys, time to work on that Irish Brogue.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... xiest.html

Best examples in film to study from surely include Tom Cruise in Far and Away. Or maybe Richard Gere in The Jackal. Certainly Orson Welles in The Lady From Shanghai.

Erin go Bragh!

[klondike]

Males only?
Modern or classic?
Native born, or affected?
My first nomination, til I know better, would have to be Una O'Connor from Christmas in Connecticut.

[ChiO]

I wouldn't know a good one from a bad one, but the first that popped into my head was Liam Neeson in MICHAEL COLLINS.

Query: When the poll ranked "American" as #10, what was considered to be an American accent? Harry Reasoner and that seemingly "normal" and non-descript (to my ears) Midwest/Great Plains accent (or, non-accent), or Deep South or Brooklyn or New England?

(sigh) We're No. 10! We're No. 10!