Ron, you asked me, "Remember him as Hayley Mill's father (and Maureen O'Hara's ex-husband) in Disney's "Parent Trap"?"
Ohmygoodness, that had to be the very first time I ever saw Brian Keith! I was only eight or nine years old when mom & dad took me to see that one. Not many years later, he was in the TV sitcom "Family Affair". I probably didn't realize the man could really ACT until I saw The Wind And The Lion!
Though I've been a David Warner fan for as long as I can remember, I was blown away by the fact that an actor who's been pidgeonholed into playing men of POWER and STOIC LEADERSHIP and VILLAINY... could express such angst and sadness in what is a totally thankless production for television.
James Stewart - (Possible favourite: IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE).
Though Its A Wonderful Life would probably get my vote for his best acting performance (and it was Stewart's own favorite film), I'd mention his role in The Naked Spur in the same breath. The man played a real sonuvabitch in that film.
Most astute general assessment thar, Le, and it only anchors the specific evidence that, far more than his equally illustrious peers, Mr. Stewart's career is chockful of complex characters
that were truly fascinatingly 'flawed' HUMAN beings rather than being idealistic icons.
Most astute general assessment thar, Le, and it only anchors the specific evidence that, far more than his equally illustrious peers, Mr. Stewart's career is chockful of complex characters
FSM's own Sarge pointed me in the direction of this little Western (Firecreek) last year or the year before. Its a nice little production, if nothing particularly special - but it has a great speech in it by the lead actor.
Christopher: Re: "Ohmygoodness, that had to be the very first time I ever saw Brian Keith! I was only eight or nine years old when mom & dad took me to see that one. Not many years later, he was in the TV sitcom "Family Affair". I probably didn't realize the man could really ACT until I saw The Wind And The Lion!"
Which made his suicide such a shock and disappointment. But I'm glad he's remembered fondly by some of us.
And don't forget to remember Der Great Scot (positively notorious for not suffering nitwits passively, professionally or otherwise) must've really enjoyed working with him because they appeared together again a few years later in the otherwise utterly underwhelming "Meteor" .
Tom Hanks in "Philadelphia" and Anne Bancroft in "The Miracle Worker" both startled me with the transcendence of their performances beyond mere acting. There are a few more that will come to mind as I think about this but these two rise to the top.
Al Pacino in Insomnia (late in the career, I know, but for some reason this character appealed to me most; tremendously natural & believable). I confess the music may have bouyed this to my mind.
Sam Neill in The Hunt For Red October.
Ed Harris in Enemy At The Gates.
Alec Guiness, Star Wars (unf**ked version). Again, utterly natural, and the dialogue was mythologically brilliant, in direct contrast to the actor`s own opinion about it (unless what we got was *after* Mr. Guiness had modified it?...).
Whist we never envisioned anyone ever actually usurping
as our all-tyme highest 007 brilliantly equal adversary,
Senor Bardem managed the impossible by now being tied with his illustrious predecessor easily the cleverest CLASSIEST scene-stealing with substance entry since McQueen forever stole the Magnificent spotlight from
From his terrific theatrical entrance - simply strolling with such arrogantly-assured seeming omnipotence has rarely been so hypnotically-transfixing -
to all the delicious levels of sexual insinuation/unanchored affection/seething subliminal rageoholic revenge ... it should've garnered (not James) a Best Supporting Actor nomination from the meyers (oops, Oscars ) at the very unforgettably bonded most ...!!!
"Meteor" 
Department. 
as our all-tyme highest 007 brilliantly equal adversary,
)