This refers only to films I have watched.
Drama - Other
So this is the catch-all for everything else; the ones that can't be easily compartmentalised.
Down to the Sea in Ships (1949) - Widmark's first role as anything other than a complete baddie. I've always found his bad characters much better done and far more interesting than the good ones, who do seem a bit samey, sadly. Not that they're not well done. Here he sets the ground for the kind of character who later appears as Jim Gary (Two Rode Together), Tad Lawson (Judgment at Nuremberg) and Thomas Archer (Cheyenne Autumn); the decent man who follows orders - albeit sometimes reluctantly - and is prepared to break them if he feels it absolutely necessary. There's rather a lot in this film about the old man and his grandson, which I suppose is necessary but once you get past that it's a nice film.
Slattery's Hurricane (1949) - again, debatable as to whether this counts as film noir or not; there's strong arguments for, but I would come down against (I may know little about the subject but that doesn't mean I can't have an opinion). A story told in flashback is classic noir, the weather plays its part, the subject matter of drug running and adultery is suitably dark but still it does not a film noir make. Slattery is a rotten character though, a real rat and there's also something very reminiscent of Casablanca in his first meeting with Aggie (Linda Darnell). She's his old love, now married to his friend, Navy pilot Hobbie. The problem is, Aggie and Slattery don't seem to have got over each other. He nearly breaks up the marriage between Hobbie and Aggie and also sends his girlfriend Dolores on a path of self-destruction through a drug addiction (played down as a mental breakdown though that would be bad enough). Slattery redeems himself though and ends up the hero too - no pessimistic despair here - though apparently the original ending did kill him off. I'm inclined to agree with the critics who say that ending might have been better, but it's lost to history now.
I don't often say this but given that the production code forced the film makers to take out most of the references to the adulterous relationship, the drugs and (apparently - I missed this) the relationship between the two drug-smugglers, this is one film that I'd be happy to see remade.
Oh and really, don't watch this for Widmark's singing. It's terrible.
Panic in the Streets (1950) - this is often referred to as film noir, but I would disagree; just because it has some noir elements and is shot in b/w doesn't make it noir. It doesn't have that overall air of complete pessimism, it doesn't really go into the dark places of the soul (despite the fact that the plot hinges around a murder) and, more to the point, it ends well. This may have been the precursor to later 70s dramas such as the 'Cassandra Crossing' which dwell on the terror of a pathogenic crisis much better, but even so, the urgency of containing this plague outbreak is extremely well done. Two items of trivia to note; this was the debut film for a certain Tommy Rettig, playing Widmark's son - later to star in Lassie and with Widmark again as Billy in The Last Wagon. And at the end, Jack Palance's character (Blackie) knocks Widmark on the head with a gun. Apparently they rehearsed this with a rubber gun (which must have been painful enough) but then Palance, for reasons best known to himself, substituted a real one and knocked Widmark out cold for about 20 minutes. And that's the shot they used in the film.
(Other trivia about Palance; he was a professional boxer before becoming an actor, Panic was his debut film and he also starred with Widmark in Halls of Montezuma. More bizarrely, Jack Palance was involved in one of the best music concept albums made, Roger Waters' The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking. So there you go.)
Red Skies of Montana (1952) - A disappointment; a rather two dimensional film with lots of heroics which somehow leave one cold. The premise is based around firefighters who are dropped out of planes to fight forest fires with little more than axes to clear fire breaks and a water machine if they're lucky. One such mission goes horribly wrong and only Mason (Widmark) survives, loaded with guilt (think Cliffhanger for a modern example). The son of one of the dead accuses Mason of cowardice and worse, but the tension, anger and violence never really erupts and all is resolved in a dramatic finale.
O. Henry's Full House (1952) - Five short films each based on a short story by O. Henry; the film narrated by John Steinbeck. Cop and the Anthem is endearing, The Last Leaf tragic, Gift of the Magi well done - I'd read that one and knew what was coming! - and The Ransom of Red Chief amusing enough for one viewing. Widmark stars in The Clarion Call, reprising his Tommy Udo character, though Johnny Kernon is a lot more manic and dangerous. The film is probably better done than the original story which is barely more than a paragraph, and so needed fleshing out. Good ending.
Don't Bother to Knock (1952) - Well I've posted about this and vented my spleen, so will stick to facts. Jed Towers (Widmark) has been dumped by his girlfriend Lyn (Ann Bancroft in her debut role) and not taking it well. He spots a girl in the room opposite his and invites himself over. Said girl (played by Monroe) is supposed to be babysitting a little girl but isn't mentally stable and things get dangerous. But all ends well, with Lyn taking Jed back after all. Aaaahhh....
I did think at one point that Nell would try and frame Jed for having tied up the little girl and get him arrested to save herself, though that would completely have changed the direction of the film. Perhaps with someone else as Nell (and I'm thinking the original bunny-boiler Sharon Stone now) it might have done.
My Pal Gus (1952). Dave Jennings is a mega-wealthy businessman with the son from hell - Gus. Gus throws tantrums, won't do as he's told and causes no end of trouble as well as some seriously expensive damage (such as flooding the entire apartment block). Jennings (Widmark) is at his wits end until his PA finds the 1950's version of Supernanny, teacher Lydia Marble (Joanne Dru). She has a pretty sharp wit herself and isn't afraid to put the rich guy in his place with some excellent put-downs. Nonetheless, he falls for her and despite herself, she falls for him. There's just one fly in the ointment... the ex-wife who discovers that the divorce wasn't done properly ...
The Cobweb (1955) - Interesting. Widmark plays a doctor, the head of a psychiatric facility, a fairly liberal chap who wants the best for his patients, even putting his work with them before spending time with his family - to the fury of his wife. There's a bit of a power struggle going on with the other doctor and his assistant, and love interest provided by Lauren Bacall. Things come to a head over the issue of curtains (drapes as the Americans call them) though the jockeying for position and control makes it clear it's about a lot more than curtains. The worst thing about this film has to be Widmark's hair, dyed a terribly artificial-looking grey.
Run for the Sun (1956) - not particularly rated by Widmark himself, but I like it, more so on the second and third viewings than the first when I described it as 'straight to video' (DVD now, I suppose). Widmark is Mike Latimer, an ex-writer - and you can't say harsher than that. Latimer is washed up and suffering from severe self-pity, drowning his sorrows in a tiny village in the middle of nowhere somewhere in South America. But he's got a fan and she happens to be a journalist. She tracks him down to dig the dirt and get his back story, but once she does, she realises it's an item she can't write and immediately prepares to leave. Latimer offers to fly her out but her magnetic notebook skews the compass, turning the plane way off course. Running out of fuel, they are forced to crash land at a remote house where men with deadly secrets are hiding out. Yes it might be a 'B' movie but it's fun, with a good chase scene, some gripping suspense - and I wonder if Mythbusters has ever tried that trick with hitting a rifle bullet through a door? Would it really work?
St Joan (1957). Well that was interesting. I approached this one with quite some trepidation, having read a lot in advance about how awful it was, though critics some are rating it more highly now with the benefit of hindsight. It certainly didn't go down at all well at the time. I rather liked it and it's best viewed with the attitude of one going to the theatre; it's certainly got that feel about it, despite some excellent scenery ranging from the French countryside to the interior of the French Court. Widmark plays a really rotten character, the cowardly, snivelling bullied little Dauphin of France, put-upon by his powerful courtiers and wife and also indolent and lazy. The entire French Court treats him with contempt. It's brilliantly performed if rather uncomfortable to watch (the Dauphin is pretty loathsome).
It ought to be great, celebrated; it's got Graham Greene (yes the Graham Greene) as one of the writers, for heaven's sake, not to mention the original playwright being George Bernard Shaw. And Otto Preminger directing it. And John Gielgud (!!) as the Earl of Warwick (before he was Sir John Gielgud), excellent as the pragmatic English lord. You have to go a long way down the listings to find the lead character, Jean Seburg playing a dedicated and beautiful Joan. I like how the film deals with the tricky aspect of her 'voices' and the miracles and I do like how the play sets the action in the future, with Joan visiting the French King as a ghost and the other ghosts coming back to share their stories. It would be interesting to see the stage play. Definitely different.
The Tunnel of Love (1958) - Comedy with Doris Day. In fact not a comedy so much as farce and I don't mean that in a bad sense, as a good farce well done is highly entertaining. So it is here. The happy couple, Isolde Poole (Doris Day) and Augie Poole (RW) seem unable to have children, so decide to adopt. But there's a bit of a delay in processing an adoption and what with a roughly nine-month delay coupled with a drunken event on RW's part and culminating in a baby that looks just like his adoptive father - well, here are plenty of elements for misunderstanding, until it's all cleared up and everyone lives happily ever after, as well they should. Doris Day is wonderful of course, and gets to sing, and Widmark is just fantastic. His range of expressions is incredible; just to see a shadow of guilt flicker over his face is like seeing sunlight on water. It's a very underrated film.
The Trap (1959) - One of Widmark's own productions, as it turned out - Heath Productions. Not a well-known film, so I didn't come with any expectations, and was pleasantly surprised. It's good; a basically good story with strong characters and it's gripping stuff. About half-way through you wonder where they can go from here but the suspense piles on and is maintained to the end. Ralph Anderson (Widmark) turns up in a backwater Californian town in the company of some dodgy-looking characters. He meets his estranged brother and father, both local police; deputy and sheriff respectively. His father is not pleased to see him, as eldest son has been AWOL for the past ten years, not a note, not a word. The why behind this is explained gradually. Also in the mix is the younger Anderson's wife - and Ralph's ex - who realises her marriage is over and she still loves the other brother. It turns out Ralph is a mob lawyer though an unwilling one, sent to clear the way for his boss' escape by air. But it all goes wrong and the two brothers, the girl and the mob boss end up on the run in the searing heat of the desert. You can't say enough about the tension throughout this, right up to the end. It's a bit of a 'modern Western'. Earl Holliman who plays the younger brother Tip also played a brother to Widmark in Broken Lance.
It's not a highly-rated film and on one level, you can see why. But if you allow yourself to ease back into the understated nature of 1950s film, you can really feel the tension, so much so that it's not just the four of them that are jumpy in the roadside café... I've seen through very many times now, and can't really say why; though think the first part (particularly Anderson's meeting with his father) is the best of it.
The Secret Ways (1961) - I thought this was drama but thinking about it, I've put it into the noir category. If you can get a more depressing location than a prison camp in 1960's Budapest - or indeed, just 1960's Budapest full stop, with all the sinister paranoia, air of betrayal and general atmosphere of threat - than I'll allow an argument against it.
The Long Ships (1964) - Fantasy drama with RW as a Viking, Rolfe, who has set out to find a legendary and possibly mythical golden bell, three times the height of a man and cast of solid gold. He loses his ship in the search and whilst spinning tales in the market place about it is arrested by the local ruler Aly Mansuh (Poitier) who also wants to find it. Russ Tamblyn is Rolfe's younger brother, Orme. Huge fun, definitely not taken too seriously and well worth viewing. Rolfe as a character is reminiscent of Odysseus - a liar, a trickster, a spinner of tales, a traveller - and the Pillars of Hercules get a mention as well. It's that sort of film.
Madigan (1968) - police drama with Widmark as the eponymous New York detective; hard boiled, tough talking, willing to bend the rules ... see a theme at all? Loved it, was completely engrossed by it, and watched it back to back after 'Gunfighter'. There's a brief shot near the end which might have been a visual joke at Widmark's expense. They're evacuating residents of the hotel where the gunman is holding out. There's an old lady in a wheelchair, and it might be my imagination but I think she gives Madigan/Widmark a bit of a worried look as they wheel her past ...
Director Don Siegel had a hand in Gunfighter as well as doing this and Dirty Harry stuff after, and was said to be one of Widmark's three favourite producers to work with. I wish it was possible to get the (short-lived) TV series of Madigan but that seems to have been consigned to history.
The Moonshine War (1970) - rather dull film all told, which is a shame as I've always liked Alan Alda (who's fine in this). Widmark just seems to take rather a back seat, either from not having much to do, or not being able to exercise his baddie side. Oh well...
When the Legends Die (1972) - Dull, far too long and lots - I mean lots - of rodeo which is fine if you like that kind of thing... Widmark plays Red Dillon, the aged, drunken and corrupt rodeo promoter. Does it well, but it's a limited part and certainly not his greatest role, and Frederic Forrest (Black Bull) is the real lead. See it, tick off the list, put it on the shelf.
Brock's Last Case (1973) - TV movie. Lighthearted take on the Madigan theme. Tough New York cop Brock has had his fill of the bad city and decides to retire to his idyllic orange grove, dreaming of sitting on his porch and eating his own fruit. Unfortunately his agent has wasted or lost all his money and the improvements he expected are not in place. What's more, he can't put his police career behind him as there are murders at hand that need sorting out and the local star-struck coppers expect his help.
Murder on the Orient Express (1974) - Probably one of the first films I ever saw with Widmark in, though it didn't register with me. He's got the smallest part, as the victim, but still gets to be pretty nasty in the couple of scenes he's got. The film is of course packed with famous names, not that that saves it from being a penny-dreadful. It's one you kind of have to see, if only once.
The Sell Out (1976) - Got the Region 2 DVD and the sound quality was so poor I got my money back. That doesn't help with an informed opinion. However the film looked very watchable. Widmark is Sam Lucas, a retired CIA agent now living in Jerusalem and making a living as an antiques dealer. It seems the CIA and the KGB have an agreement to knock off each other's agents on a tit-for-tat basis, and one of them - Gabriel Lee (Oliver Reed) is Lucas' old protege who comes to him for help. It's a good 70's action film and if you don't expect too much from it, you won't be disappointed. If nothing else, it's nice to see shots of Jerusalem as it was, without being carved up by massive security walls. The betrayal and double-crossing is well done. The car chase through the Old Town reminded me of The Italian Job (1969). I now have a Region 1 version and the sound quality is far better, though whoever decided to record a scene in a marble Turkish bathhouse needed their head examined.
Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977) - Not a large role for Widmark; he got 9th billing on this, playing a US military General who takes on Lawrence Dell (Burt Lancaster) a military prison escapee and ex-General who has managed to take control of a bunch of nuclear missiles. The nuclear thing was probably an issue very much of its time (I'm too young to remember!) and the film certainly is, with the action often going on over split screens, not just two, sometimes four at once. It's certainly tense and very watchable. Widmark's character is a tough guy called upon to make the toughest decision ever and the ending is well done.
Rollercoaster (1977) - Typical 1970s disaster movie as a blackmailer threatens to bomb big-name rollercoasters. He does set one off, and the footage of that is pretty horrific. George Segal is the guy who has to sort it out but behind him is Widmark as Agent Hoyt and behind him, giving the orders is one Mr Davenport (Henry Fonda) in what might be called a cameo role. The film badly needed editing and cutting, it's far too long and one is tempted to doze or read a book or do a jigsaw puzzle or something in the middle bit. There's no happy ground. The 1950s films were too short and the 1970s ones too long.
Coma (1978) A corrupt doctor (guess who?) is harvesting organs from coma victims. Classic 1970s medical horror based on the novel by Michael Crichton who also directed and wrote the screenplay.
The Swarm (1978) Again, classic 1970s disaster movie. This time it's killer bees, lots of them. If you're scared of any stinging insect, there are quite a lot of scenes you'll be watching through your fingers. Main billing goes to Michael Caine but there's some other big names in this, including a certain Henry Fonda, way down the list.
Bear Island (1979) Movie based on an Alistair Maclean novel. I suspect the novel was far more complex and a lot better done, but it's not a terrible film. A group of scientists are effectively stranded on remote Norwegian Bear Island whilst investigating global warming (yes, in 1979, global warming was already a thing). But before they even got there one of the resident squints went missing mysteriously and once they land, strange and fatal accidents happen with alarming occurence. Everyone is under suspicion. Widmark, the German leader - was he a Nazi? His staff, also German ... the American scientist who turns out to be German born ... even the women. It could be anyone. Tension is added by not knowing what's going on (we're in the same position as these scientists here) but given the island was used as a U-boat base in WWII there's more than a hint of what might be at stake here. Lots of big names other than Widmark, with Donald Sutherland, Vanessa Redgrave and Christopher Lee among others. Widmark has a German accent which sounds initially dodgy but isn't too bad, and he's also got a beard which really suits him.
A Gathering of Old Men (1987) - TV movie. When a white racist farmer is shot and killed by a black worker in Louisiana, the eponymous old men get their act together. They all meet up, fire their guns (making sure their shells are identical with that which did the killing) and when the sheriff turns up, each of them does the 'I'm Spartacus' thing. The sheriff (RW) knows what they're doing but can't get to the bottom of it, so plays a long waiting game whilst racial tension is brewing up over in the white camp and the family of the murder victim seeking revenge. (I strongly suspect there are a lot of nuances I'm not getting here as I think the whites refer to themselves as Cajun - another separate ethnic group?) The Southern accents are also often hard to make out. It might be worth putting the subtitles on for this one. Holly Hunter is the white plantation owner dedicated to her black workers who stands with them against the sheriff.
True Colors (1991) - Widmark's last film at the age of 77 after a long, great career. This is a smallish part again, playing Senator James Stiles, a powerful and influential politician courted by the ambitious and ruthless Peter Burton (John Cusack). The drama is between Burton and his old friend Tim Gerrity (James Spader). Burton is corrupted by power and Stiles, recognising this, tries at first to rein him in but then is blackmailed into supporting him. He's still got the powerful air of command and resonant voice. I wouldn't have watched this film if it didn't have RW in it and I didn't like it - but maybe you're not meant to.
Drama - Other
So this is the catch-all for everything else; the ones that can't be easily compartmentalised.
Down to the Sea in Ships (1949) - Widmark's first role as anything other than a complete baddie. I've always found his bad characters much better done and far more interesting than the good ones, who do seem a bit samey, sadly. Not that they're not well done. Here he sets the ground for the kind of character who later appears as Jim Gary (Two Rode Together), Tad Lawson (Judgment at Nuremberg) and Thomas Archer (Cheyenne Autumn); the decent man who follows orders - albeit sometimes reluctantly - and is prepared to break them if he feels it absolutely necessary. There's rather a lot in this film about the old man and his grandson, which I suppose is necessary but once you get past that it's a nice film.
Slattery's Hurricane (1949) - again, debatable as to whether this counts as film noir or not; there's strong arguments for, but I would come down against (I may know little about the subject but that doesn't mean I can't have an opinion). A story told in flashback is classic noir, the weather plays its part, the subject matter of drug running and adultery is suitably dark but still it does not a film noir make. Slattery is a rotten character though, a real rat and there's also something very reminiscent of Casablanca in his first meeting with Aggie (Linda Darnell). She's his old love, now married to his friend, Navy pilot Hobbie. The problem is, Aggie and Slattery don't seem to have got over each other. He nearly breaks up the marriage between Hobbie and Aggie and also sends his girlfriend Dolores on a path of self-destruction through a drug addiction (played down as a mental breakdown though that would be bad enough). Slattery redeems himself though and ends up the hero too - no pessimistic despair here - though apparently the original ending did kill him off. I'm inclined to agree with the critics who say that ending might have been better, but it's lost to history now.
I don't often say this but given that the production code forced the film makers to take out most of the references to the adulterous relationship, the drugs and (apparently - I missed this) the relationship between the two drug-smugglers, this is one film that I'd be happy to see remade.
Oh and really, don't watch this for Widmark's singing. It's terrible.
Panic in the Streets (1950) - this is often referred to as film noir, but I would disagree; just because it has some noir elements and is shot in b/w doesn't make it noir. It doesn't have that overall air of complete pessimism, it doesn't really go into the dark places of the soul (despite the fact that the plot hinges around a murder) and, more to the point, it ends well. This may have been the precursor to later 70s dramas such as the 'Cassandra Crossing' which dwell on the terror of a pathogenic crisis much better, but even so, the urgency of containing this plague outbreak is extremely well done. Two items of trivia to note; this was the debut film for a certain Tommy Rettig, playing Widmark's son - later to star in Lassie and with Widmark again as Billy in The Last Wagon. And at the end, Jack Palance's character (Blackie) knocks Widmark on the head with a gun. Apparently they rehearsed this with a rubber gun (which must have been painful enough) but then Palance, for reasons best known to himself, substituted a real one and knocked Widmark out cold for about 20 minutes. And that's the shot they used in the film.
(Other trivia about Palance; he was a professional boxer before becoming an actor, Panic was his debut film and he also starred with Widmark in Halls of Montezuma. More bizarrely, Jack Palance was involved in one of the best music concept albums made, Roger Waters' The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking. So there you go.)
Red Skies of Montana (1952) - A disappointment; a rather two dimensional film with lots of heroics which somehow leave one cold. The premise is based around firefighters who are dropped out of planes to fight forest fires with little more than axes to clear fire breaks and a water machine if they're lucky. One such mission goes horribly wrong and only Mason (Widmark) survives, loaded with guilt (think Cliffhanger for a modern example). The son of one of the dead accuses Mason of cowardice and worse, but the tension, anger and violence never really erupts and all is resolved in a dramatic finale.
O. Henry's Full House (1952) - Five short films each based on a short story by O. Henry; the film narrated by John Steinbeck. Cop and the Anthem is endearing, The Last Leaf tragic, Gift of the Magi well done - I'd read that one and knew what was coming! - and The Ransom of Red Chief amusing enough for one viewing. Widmark stars in The Clarion Call, reprising his Tommy Udo character, though Johnny Kernon is a lot more manic and dangerous. The film is probably better done than the original story which is barely more than a paragraph, and so needed fleshing out. Good ending.
Don't Bother to Knock (1952) - Well I've posted about this and vented my spleen, so will stick to facts. Jed Towers (Widmark) has been dumped by his girlfriend Lyn (Ann Bancroft in her debut role) and not taking it well. He spots a girl in the room opposite his and invites himself over. Said girl (played by Monroe) is supposed to be babysitting a little girl but isn't mentally stable and things get dangerous. But all ends well, with Lyn taking Jed back after all. Aaaahhh....
I did think at one point that Nell would try and frame Jed for having tied up the little girl and get him arrested to save herself, though that would completely have changed the direction of the film. Perhaps with someone else as Nell (and I'm thinking the original bunny-boiler Sharon Stone now) it might have done.
My Pal Gus (1952). Dave Jennings is a mega-wealthy businessman with the son from hell - Gus. Gus throws tantrums, won't do as he's told and causes no end of trouble as well as some seriously expensive damage (such as flooding the entire apartment block). Jennings (Widmark) is at his wits end until his PA finds the 1950's version of Supernanny, teacher Lydia Marble (Joanne Dru). She has a pretty sharp wit herself and isn't afraid to put the rich guy in his place with some excellent put-downs. Nonetheless, he falls for her and despite herself, she falls for him. There's just one fly in the ointment... the ex-wife who discovers that the divorce wasn't done properly ...
The Cobweb (1955) - Interesting. Widmark plays a doctor, the head of a psychiatric facility, a fairly liberal chap who wants the best for his patients, even putting his work with them before spending time with his family - to the fury of his wife. There's a bit of a power struggle going on with the other doctor and his assistant, and love interest provided by Lauren Bacall. Things come to a head over the issue of curtains (drapes as the Americans call them) though the jockeying for position and control makes it clear it's about a lot more than curtains. The worst thing about this film has to be Widmark's hair, dyed a terribly artificial-looking grey.
Run for the Sun (1956) - not particularly rated by Widmark himself, but I like it, more so on the second and third viewings than the first when I described it as 'straight to video' (DVD now, I suppose). Widmark is Mike Latimer, an ex-writer - and you can't say harsher than that. Latimer is washed up and suffering from severe self-pity, drowning his sorrows in a tiny village in the middle of nowhere somewhere in South America. But he's got a fan and she happens to be a journalist. She tracks him down to dig the dirt and get his back story, but once she does, she realises it's an item she can't write and immediately prepares to leave. Latimer offers to fly her out but her magnetic notebook skews the compass, turning the plane way off course. Running out of fuel, they are forced to crash land at a remote house where men with deadly secrets are hiding out. Yes it might be a 'B' movie but it's fun, with a good chase scene, some gripping suspense - and I wonder if Mythbusters has ever tried that trick with hitting a rifle bullet through a door? Would it really work?
St Joan (1957). Well that was interesting. I approached this one with quite some trepidation, having read a lot in advance about how awful it was, though critics some are rating it more highly now with the benefit of hindsight. It certainly didn't go down at all well at the time. I rather liked it and it's best viewed with the attitude of one going to the theatre; it's certainly got that feel about it, despite some excellent scenery ranging from the French countryside to the interior of the French Court. Widmark plays a really rotten character, the cowardly, snivelling bullied little Dauphin of France, put-upon by his powerful courtiers and wife and also indolent and lazy. The entire French Court treats him with contempt. It's brilliantly performed if rather uncomfortable to watch (the Dauphin is pretty loathsome).
It ought to be great, celebrated; it's got Graham Greene (yes the Graham Greene) as one of the writers, for heaven's sake, not to mention the original playwright being George Bernard Shaw. And Otto Preminger directing it. And John Gielgud (!!) as the Earl of Warwick (before he was Sir John Gielgud), excellent as the pragmatic English lord. You have to go a long way down the listings to find the lead character, Jean Seburg playing a dedicated and beautiful Joan. I like how the film deals with the tricky aspect of her 'voices' and the miracles and I do like how the play sets the action in the future, with Joan visiting the French King as a ghost and the other ghosts coming back to share their stories. It would be interesting to see the stage play. Definitely different.
The Tunnel of Love (1958) - Comedy with Doris Day. In fact not a comedy so much as farce and I don't mean that in a bad sense, as a good farce well done is highly entertaining. So it is here. The happy couple, Isolde Poole (Doris Day) and Augie Poole (RW) seem unable to have children, so decide to adopt. But there's a bit of a delay in processing an adoption and what with a roughly nine-month delay coupled with a drunken event on RW's part and culminating in a baby that looks just like his adoptive father - well, here are plenty of elements for misunderstanding, until it's all cleared up and everyone lives happily ever after, as well they should. Doris Day is wonderful of course, and gets to sing, and Widmark is just fantastic. His range of expressions is incredible; just to see a shadow of guilt flicker over his face is like seeing sunlight on water. It's a very underrated film.
The Trap (1959) - One of Widmark's own productions, as it turned out - Heath Productions. Not a well-known film, so I didn't come with any expectations, and was pleasantly surprised. It's good; a basically good story with strong characters and it's gripping stuff. About half-way through you wonder where they can go from here but the suspense piles on and is maintained to the end. Ralph Anderson (Widmark) turns up in a backwater Californian town in the company of some dodgy-looking characters. He meets his estranged brother and father, both local police; deputy and sheriff respectively. His father is not pleased to see him, as eldest son has been AWOL for the past ten years, not a note, not a word. The why behind this is explained gradually. Also in the mix is the younger Anderson's wife - and Ralph's ex - who realises her marriage is over and she still loves the other brother. It turns out Ralph is a mob lawyer though an unwilling one, sent to clear the way for his boss' escape by air. But it all goes wrong and the two brothers, the girl and the mob boss end up on the run in the searing heat of the desert. You can't say enough about the tension throughout this, right up to the end. It's a bit of a 'modern Western'. Earl Holliman who plays the younger brother Tip also played a brother to Widmark in Broken Lance.
It's not a highly-rated film and on one level, you can see why. But if you allow yourself to ease back into the understated nature of 1950s film, you can really feel the tension, so much so that it's not just the four of them that are jumpy in the roadside café... I've seen through very many times now, and can't really say why; though think the first part (particularly Anderson's meeting with his father) is the best of it.
The Secret Ways (1961) - I thought this was drama but thinking about it, I've put it into the noir category. If you can get a more depressing location than a prison camp in 1960's Budapest - or indeed, just 1960's Budapest full stop, with all the sinister paranoia, air of betrayal and general atmosphere of threat - than I'll allow an argument against it.
The Long Ships (1964) - Fantasy drama with RW as a Viking, Rolfe, who has set out to find a legendary and possibly mythical golden bell, three times the height of a man and cast of solid gold. He loses his ship in the search and whilst spinning tales in the market place about it is arrested by the local ruler Aly Mansuh (Poitier) who also wants to find it. Russ Tamblyn is Rolfe's younger brother, Orme. Huge fun, definitely not taken too seriously and well worth viewing. Rolfe as a character is reminiscent of Odysseus - a liar, a trickster, a spinner of tales, a traveller - and the Pillars of Hercules get a mention as well. It's that sort of film.
Madigan (1968) - police drama with Widmark as the eponymous New York detective; hard boiled, tough talking, willing to bend the rules ... see a theme at all? Loved it, was completely engrossed by it, and watched it back to back after 'Gunfighter'. There's a brief shot near the end which might have been a visual joke at Widmark's expense. They're evacuating residents of the hotel where the gunman is holding out. There's an old lady in a wheelchair, and it might be my imagination but I think she gives Madigan/Widmark a bit of a worried look as they wheel her past ...
Director Don Siegel had a hand in Gunfighter as well as doing this and Dirty Harry stuff after, and was said to be one of Widmark's three favourite producers to work with. I wish it was possible to get the (short-lived) TV series of Madigan but that seems to have been consigned to history.
The Moonshine War (1970) - rather dull film all told, which is a shame as I've always liked Alan Alda (who's fine in this). Widmark just seems to take rather a back seat, either from not having much to do, or not being able to exercise his baddie side. Oh well...
When the Legends Die (1972) - Dull, far too long and lots - I mean lots - of rodeo which is fine if you like that kind of thing... Widmark plays Red Dillon, the aged, drunken and corrupt rodeo promoter. Does it well, but it's a limited part and certainly not his greatest role, and Frederic Forrest (Black Bull) is the real lead. See it, tick off the list, put it on the shelf.
Brock's Last Case (1973) - TV movie. Lighthearted take on the Madigan theme. Tough New York cop Brock has had his fill of the bad city and decides to retire to his idyllic orange grove, dreaming of sitting on his porch and eating his own fruit. Unfortunately his agent has wasted or lost all his money and the improvements he expected are not in place. What's more, he can't put his police career behind him as there are murders at hand that need sorting out and the local star-struck coppers expect his help.
Murder on the Orient Express (1974) - Probably one of the first films I ever saw with Widmark in, though it didn't register with me. He's got the smallest part, as the victim, but still gets to be pretty nasty in the couple of scenes he's got. The film is of course packed with famous names, not that that saves it from being a penny-dreadful. It's one you kind of have to see, if only once.
The Sell Out (1976) - Got the Region 2 DVD and the sound quality was so poor I got my money back. That doesn't help with an informed opinion. However the film looked very watchable. Widmark is Sam Lucas, a retired CIA agent now living in Jerusalem and making a living as an antiques dealer. It seems the CIA and the KGB have an agreement to knock off each other's agents on a tit-for-tat basis, and one of them - Gabriel Lee (Oliver Reed) is Lucas' old protege who comes to him for help. It's a good 70's action film and if you don't expect too much from it, you won't be disappointed. If nothing else, it's nice to see shots of Jerusalem as it was, without being carved up by massive security walls. The betrayal and double-crossing is well done. The car chase through the Old Town reminded me of The Italian Job (1969). I now have a Region 1 version and the sound quality is far better, though whoever decided to record a scene in a marble Turkish bathhouse needed their head examined.
Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977) - Not a large role for Widmark; he got 9th billing on this, playing a US military General who takes on Lawrence Dell (Burt Lancaster) a military prison escapee and ex-General who has managed to take control of a bunch of nuclear missiles. The nuclear thing was probably an issue very much of its time (I'm too young to remember!) and the film certainly is, with the action often going on over split screens, not just two, sometimes four at once. It's certainly tense and very watchable. Widmark's character is a tough guy called upon to make the toughest decision ever and the ending is well done.
Rollercoaster (1977) - Typical 1970s disaster movie as a blackmailer threatens to bomb big-name rollercoasters. He does set one off, and the footage of that is pretty horrific. George Segal is the guy who has to sort it out but behind him is Widmark as Agent Hoyt and behind him, giving the orders is one Mr Davenport (Henry Fonda) in what might be called a cameo role. The film badly needed editing and cutting, it's far too long and one is tempted to doze or read a book or do a jigsaw puzzle or something in the middle bit. There's no happy ground. The 1950s films were too short and the 1970s ones too long.
Coma (1978) A corrupt doctor (guess who?) is harvesting organs from coma victims. Classic 1970s medical horror based on the novel by Michael Crichton who also directed and wrote the screenplay.
The Swarm (1978) Again, classic 1970s disaster movie. This time it's killer bees, lots of them. If you're scared of any stinging insect, there are quite a lot of scenes you'll be watching through your fingers. Main billing goes to Michael Caine but there's some other big names in this, including a certain Henry Fonda, way down the list.
Bear Island (1979) Movie based on an Alistair Maclean novel. I suspect the novel was far more complex and a lot better done, but it's not a terrible film. A group of scientists are effectively stranded on remote Norwegian Bear Island whilst investigating global warming (yes, in 1979, global warming was already a thing). But before they even got there one of the resident squints went missing mysteriously and once they land, strange and fatal accidents happen with alarming occurence. Everyone is under suspicion. Widmark, the German leader - was he a Nazi? His staff, also German ... the American scientist who turns out to be German born ... even the women. It could be anyone. Tension is added by not knowing what's going on (we're in the same position as these scientists here) but given the island was used as a U-boat base in WWII there's more than a hint of what might be at stake here. Lots of big names other than Widmark, with Donald Sutherland, Vanessa Redgrave and Christopher Lee among others. Widmark has a German accent which sounds initially dodgy but isn't too bad, and he's also got a beard which really suits him.
A Gathering of Old Men (1987) - TV movie. When a white racist farmer is shot and killed by a black worker in Louisiana, the eponymous old men get their act together. They all meet up, fire their guns (making sure their shells are identical with that which did the killing) and when the sheriff turns up, each of them does the 'I'm Spartacus' thing. The sheriff (RW) knows what they're doing but can't get to the bottom of it, so plays a long waiting game whilst racial tension is brewing up over in the white camp and the family of the murder victim seeking revenge. (I strongly suspect there are a lot of nuances I'm not getting here as I think the whites refer to themselves as Cajun - another separate ethnic group?) The Southern accents are also often hard to make out. It might be worth putting the subtitles on for this one. Holly Hunter is the white plantation owner dedicated to her black workers who stands with them against the sheriff.
True Colors (1991) - Widmark's last film at the age of 77 after a long, great career. This is a smallish part again, playing Senator James Stiles, a powerful and influential politician courted by the ambitious and ruthless Peter Burton (John Cusack). The drama is between Burton and his old friend Tim Gerrity (James Spader). Burton is corrupted by power and Stiles, recognising this, tries at first to rein him in but then is blackmailed into supporting him. He's still got the powerful air of command and resonant voice. I wouldn't have watched this film if it didn't have RW in it and I didn't like it - but maybe you're not meant to.
No comments:
Post a Comment