MARLON BRANDO
Marlon Brando. To those of us over fifty, just the sound of the name conjures up image of rebel and artist. In the late 1940's, in New York theatre circles, he was known as the young John Garfield. He went on, in the 1950's to creating his own legend. He became America's best actor, revolutionized film acting. He was chiseled, lean, rebellious, angry, dangerous, and sexy. Montgomery Clift and James Dean seemed like Nellies alongside him.
If one wants a good biography of Brando, Amazon carries,Marlon Brando (Penguin Lives), which is a very in-depth portrait, in the Penguin Lives series. It deals with the actor's psychological profile. What turned him against his art ?NOTE: Of the 42 books written about him, Amazon shows 39 of them are out-of-print, and hard to find.
A good thing for the film collector, is that Amazon carries the "Complete" lexicon of Brando films; all of them. So one can span the complete spectrum from Viva Zapata, to the absurd rip-off of a Coen film, Free Money. He, almost more than any great actor, has appeared in some wonderfully bad films, matching them against his classics; from On the Waterfront to Candy (1968) (Ws).Something happened to him in the 1960's, and he began letting his arrogance and disdain show up in his work. By the 1970's, only in The Godfather DVD Collection (The Godfather/ The Godfather - Part II/ The Godfather - Part III), was there a touch of the old magic. For the last twenty years, he has lived in isolation, mostly on his own island, worked hard at destroying his physical beauty, and cranked out the odd cameo to create a few extra bucks. As eccentric as an Orson Welles, as rotund as a Sidney Greenstreet; seemingly emotionally unstable, bored, enigmatic...and yet. He is still Brando. A real Brando fan just has to weep when one considers the greatness this actor anxiously side-stepped; and the legendary roles he never played. So we treasure his best work, and laugh at the rest; and hope that some project [ perhaps helmed by Coppola ] will actually engage his interest sometime in the future.
When it comes to collecting his films, I always gather them by genre. First up would be his WESTERNS. Leading the list would be,Viva Zapata, playing Emiliano Zapata; smoldering, leaping off the screen; great Alex North score, with Elia Kazan at the top of his game, and the old geniune John Steinbeck screenplay. Next up has to be,One Eyed Jacks, as Rio, a film that just stuns you upon the first viewing. Brando ignites the screen. Karl Malden was excellent as the advesary. Slim Pickens and Ben Johnson shine in support. Following that would be,Appaloosa, playing Matt Fletcher, a little less svelte, but still willing to act; brooding, violent. Film just misses being a classic western; some odd editing. John Saxon good as the advesary. Anjanette Comer a real beauty as love interest. On the tailend, where it belongs, would be, Missouri Breaks, playing the prissy cross-dressing bounty hunter, Robert E. Lee Clayton, giving a bizarre performance; using several odd accents. Jack Nicholson in awe, lost in the haze, as second lead. Randy Quaid, Frederick Forrest, Harry Dean Stanton, and John McLaim good in supporting roles.
He appeared in several war films. In Apocalypse Now, in the most celebrated cameo ever, he was Col. Walter E. Kurtz; the mystical mad warrior. The Young Lions is one of his better known war films, playing Lt. Christian Diestl; but an odd film, two storylines straining to be one movie. Sayonara is another often remembered film, playing Major Lloyd Gruver. This was a fine message picture, that hit hard on bias against the Japanese. Reflections in a Golden Eye was a dark film, playing Major Weldon Penderton; weak, bleak, and homosexual; married to Liz Taylor and hating it. Morituri was an excellent WWII spy-thriller, playing Robert Crain; very effective portrayel. In The Men, playing Ken, intensily, working hard in is first film role.
In historical films, he also excelled. In Julius Caesar (1953), playing Marc Antony, he deliverd an terrific performance; mastering Shakespeare like it was Tennessee Williams. In Mutiny on the Bounty (1962), as Fletcher Christian, he struggled with the director, his weight, and an unwieldy film. In Desiree, as Napoleon Bonaparte, he was overshadowed by the lovely Jean Simmons, and a dumb script. He looked the part, but he never got his teeth into it. In Burn!, As Sir William Walker, he delivered a cerebral contrived performance in the midst of mostly Spanish cast. In Christopher Columbus: Discovery (Spanish), as Tomas de Torque, he only showed up, hit his mark, smirked, and collected his paycheck. In Nightcomers, as Peter Quint, he was sexy, thin, and Irish, single-handledly reshaped this classic "The Innocents".
Of course, it was in DRAMAS, that he stood on top of the heap, where the air was thin; bared his chest, and screamed," Stella !! ". In On the Waterfront, as Terry Malloy, the ex-pug who lets love overide all the greed and dishonor he was immersed in. Oscar winning turn for him. In A Streetcar Named Desire (Original Director's Version), he hammered out the definitive Stanley Kowalski; pure lust and brute and power. Anthony Quinn, Jack Palance, and others competed, but Brando took the honors. In 1954's The Wild One, as biker punk Johnny Strabler, he became the poster bad boy for the '50's. In The Ugly American, he played ambassador Harrison Carter; restrained, intellectual; pencil-thin moustache. And in Last Tango in Paris, as Paul, he was mercurial, seething, horny, and always ready with the butter. In Formula, as Adam Steiffel, he had a dynamic cameo; unveiling his new corpulence. In Chase, as Sheriff Calder, he mingled with a large cast, and stole the movie. In Fugitive Kind, as Val Xavier, he was the tomcat in the snakeskin jacket, the fox in the henhouse. In Night of the Following Day, as Bud, he was blond, thin, and lethal, in a cult noir classic. In The Score, he was Max, delivering a wonderful performance; kind of a Sidney Greenstreet clone.
And the great man could do Comedy and Musicals too, but they were mostly at the bottom of everyone's play list. In The Freshman, as Carmine Sabatini, he spoofed his Godfather image, and seemed to have a lot of fun. In Superman 1, as super dad Jor-El, he delivered an effective cameo for a huge paycheck. In Teahouse of the August Moon, as Sakini, the Korean houseboy, he vamped, and mugged, and had more fun than the script called for. In Don Juan DeMarco, as Dr. Jack Mickler, he delivered a credible performance in a fine comedy. In Bedtime Story, as Freddy Benson, he matched charm with David Niven, and fell a little short. In Countess From Hong Kong, as Ogden, he grimaced through a bad comedy directed by Charlie Chaplin; odd film. In Guys and Dolls, he tried his hand at Sky Masterson, but his non-singing was painful, and he never seemed to loosen up. In Candy (1968) (Ws), as Grindl, he stole the picture as the lusty guru.
In 1996, he appeared in Island of Dr Moreau (1996), as the good Dr., in white face powder, huge in a moo-moo, clutching a midget. He delivered one of the most bizarre performances ever filmed. For lovers of the genre, stick with Burt Lancaster in The Island of Dr. Moreau,. And finally in Free Money, playing the Swede, wearing shoulder pads, and hamming it up like a high school thespian, he hit rock bottom.
Glenn Buttkus 2002
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