Monday, January 14, 2008

Cinematic Crush: Robert Mitchum

Crush Object: Robert Mitchum, actor.

- Even though the barrel-chested he-man starred in over a hundred movies throughout his 55 year career, he was only nominated for an Oscar once (as Supporting Actor, no less), for The Story of G.I. Joe.

- His two most iconic characters -- Cape Fear's Max Cady and The Night of the Hunter's Harry Powell -- were both named to AFI's 2003 list of the top movie villains of all time.

- His film career (beginning with an uncredited bit part in Hitchcock's Saboteur) spanned many genres, including war films (Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, The Longest Day), film noir (Crossfire, Out of the Past), dramas (Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison; The Sundowners) and many, many westerns. In his later career, he starred in two of the most popular television mini-series of the 1980's, Winds of War and North and South.

- He came naturally to the many tough guy roles he played thanks to his colorful youth, including stints as a boxer and in a prison chain gang; he made headlines in 1948 when he was arrested for possession of marijuana; he was later cleared of all charges when it was revealed to be all a set-up.

- He recorded two albums: Calypso - Is Like So ... and a country album titled That Man, Robert Mitchum, Sings. His brutish desirability was immortalized in the song "Robert Mitchum" in the gay musical review Naked Boys Singing!

2 comments:

movielover said...

Robert Mitchum is one of the coolest guys in Hollywood. He has a cool voice and his screen presence is magnetic.

Anonymous said...

I found a link to this blog by chance on imdb. I have just discovered Robert Mitchum and his films. He is so magnetic and mysterious. I can appreciate guys going for him as much as ladies like me. There's just something about him. A bad boy and yet so comforting. Maybe its the voice!