CineTV has challenged the community to write about our favorite film stars. So hard to choose from so many great performers, and, no, I can’t stick to writing about just one actor/actress. Check out the contest at @cinetv/cinetv-contest-17-your-favorite-actor-or-actress
Woody Strode and Kirk Douglas - Spartacus - source
First up – Woody Strode. If you aren’t familiar with him I would suggest starting out with Spartacus (1960) where he played a gladiator, opposite Kirk Douglas. This is one of his most important roles as a supporting actor. But don’t stop there, you can go back further to The Buccaneer (1958) where he had a supporting role as the pirate Toro, working with Yul Brynner and Charlton Heston. Strode was also a member of John Ford’s stock company of players, making four films with Ford, including Sergeant Rutledge, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Strode later went on to perform in guest roles in many television series including Batman and Tarzan in the ‘60s as well as an episode of Buck Rogers where he played a pilot called Big Red. Brilliant actor, and very much underutilized by Hollywood.
Movie Poster - Wrath of Khan - source
Another favorite will probably come as no surprise – Ricardo Montalban, best known for playing Khan in the Star Trek episode “Space Seed”, a role he would later reprise in the second Trek movie The Wrath of Khan (which is still, in my opinion, the best of the many Trek movies), as well as his starring role in Fantasy Island (I admit to having seen a couple of episodes of this show once upon a time). Montalban also had a supporting role in Battleground (1949) with Van Johnson and James Whitmore, playing a member of a platoon from the 101st Airborne Division (Rodrigues, from Los Angeles, and who had never seen snow before) during the Battle of the Bulge. Battleground is distinctive in that it is perhaps the best depiction of this battle produced by the film industry, and well worth seeing.
Movie Poster - The Maltese Falcon - source
Finally, one more favorite to cover and that is Humphrey Bogart, whose gravelly voice made him standout, so much so that when I was watching Casablanca dubbed in Spanish (I lived in Spain for several years), it was quite different as the voice actor had a more typical smooth vocalization. Where to begin with Bogart? Casablanca is a great film, as is The Maltese Falcon, both featuring Peter Lorre and Sidney Greenstreet, with Bogart playing a tough guy in both films, with streetsmarts to burn. Then there is To Have and Have Not, (extremely) loosely based on a Hemingway novel, and costarred Lauren Bacall (one of the most brilliant actresses around) where Bogart plays a fishing pro who gets talked into doing work for Free French supporters at the onset of World War 2. One could go on and on and on with great films and performances form Bogart, including The Big Sleep (again, with Bacall, and a second film with character actor Elijah Cook who was in The Maltese Falcon) and Sahara (Lloyd Bridges in a supporting role), but if you really want to get a glimpse of what made him great, watch The Petrified Forest where Bogart plays a gangster on the run, and does such a good job of it, you would be convinced he was the real thing.
I could go on writing about many other great film stars, way too many to cover in one article, and I am sure that other contributors to CineTV will touch on some of my other favorite stars. Thanks for stopping by.