Dedications: My four late friends Rory, Stan, Bryan, Jeff - shine on you crazy diamonds, they would have blogged too. Then theres Garry from Brisbane, Franco in Milan, Mike now in S.F. / my '60s-'80s gang: Ned & Joseph in Ireland; in England: Frank, Des, Guy, Clive, Joe & Joe, Ian, Ivan, Nick, David, Les, Stewart, the 3 Michaels / Catriona, Sally, Monica, Jean, Ella, Anne, Candie / and now: Daryl in N.Y., Jerry, John, Colin, Martin and Donal.

Monday 5 June 2017

Lists: 30 great male performances ...

Almost over with the Lists. Here's roughly 30 actors' performances we like a lot (again, not necessarily leading performances, maximum two each, not in any particular order, discussed previously at labels):

  • Dirk Bogarde & James FoxTHE SERVANT (left)
  • James Mason A STAR IS BORN /  LOLITA
  • James Stewart VERTIGO / ANATOMY OF A MURDER
  • Cary Grant BRINGING UP BABY / NOTORIOUS
  • Jack Lemmon & Tony CurtisSOME LIKE IT HOT
  • Robert De NiroTAXI DRIVER / NEW YORK NEW YORK
  • Ralph Fiennes - THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL / A BIGGER SPLASH
  • Gary Cooper & Anthony PerkinsFRIENDLY PERSUASION
  • John Wayne & Jeffrey Hunter - THE SEARCHERS
  • Humphrey Bogart & Claude Rains - CASABLANCA
  • Peter FinchSUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY / THE TRIALS OF OSCAR WILDE
  • David Hemmings BLOW-UP (its a great performance from a child actor barely noticed in bit parts till then)
  • David WarnerMORGAN A SUITABLE CASE FOR TREATMENT
  • Malcolm McDowell A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
  • John Hurt - THE NAKED CIVIL SERVANT / LOVE AND DEATH ON LONG ISLAND
  • Heath LedgerBROKEBACK MOUNTAIN / THE DARK KNIGHT
  • Tom Hanks - PHILADELPHIA 
  • Philip Seymour Hoffman - BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD
  • Alfred Molina & Gary Oldman - PRICK UP YOUR EARS
  • Maurice Ronet LE FEU FOLLET (right)
  • Alain DelonPLEIN SOLEIL
  • Giancarlo Giannini - SEVEN BEAUTIES
  • Bruno GanzKNIFE IN THE HEAD
  • Melvil Poupaud TIME TO LEAVE
  • Richard GereAMERICAN GIGOLO
  • James DeanEAST OF EDEN / GIANT
  • Marlon Brando A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE / ON THE WATERFRONT
  • Montgomery CliftFROM HERE TO ETERNITY / WILD RIVER
  • Rod Steiger - IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT / NO WAY TO TREAT A LADY 
  • Jack Hawkins & Stephen BoydBEN HUR
  • Burt LancasterTHE LEOPARD
  • Gregory PeckTHE BIG COUNTRY
  • Robert Mitchum HEAVEN KNOWS MR ALLISON
  • Robert Redford - THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR (his most charismatic performance?)
  • Claude Rains - NOTORIOUS
  • Liam Neeson & Peter Sarsgaard - KINSEY
  • Joseph Fiennes - SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
  • Tom Courtenay BILLY LIAR / 45 YEARS
  • Alan Bates -  A KIND OF LOVING
  • Albert Finney TOM JONES / UNDER THE VOLCANO
  • Laurence OlivierRICHARD III / SPARTACUS
  • Ralph Richardson LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT
  • Max Von Sydow - THE SEVENTH SEAL / THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR
  • Clifton Webb - LAURA / WOMAN'S WORLD
  • Peter O’Toole & Alec Guinness LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. (Guinness is perfect as Prince Feisal, as he is as Marcus Aurelius in FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE)

3 comments:

  1. Michael! As usual, I love this. I'd just like to add one Cary Grant title: "North by Northwest." He is in every single scene of that movie (with the exception of one brief sequence with Leo G. Carroll and his team) and he's hugely watchable in every inch of that film. Alfred Hitchcock is given the most credit for "North by Northwest," but the film would not exist without the collaboration of Cary Grant. -J

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  2. I agree, but limited myself to two from each. I love NBNW - its still a totally modern film and does not look over 50 years old, and is full of Hitch's sly wit. Its a great mid-century American film full of perfect moments, not least that climax on the Mount Rushmore set, I love Cary here, Jessie as his mother, Eva Marie as Eve Kendall and that great house created for the climax. Cary and Mason - both UK born - are totally iconic here.

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  3. Very interesting list with lots of goodies in there prompting me to do something similiar. But Hunter in THE SEARCHERS, Hawkins in BEN HUR and Peck in anything?? Gedouta here!!!!!

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