June 12
Call of the Wild 3D
Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love
June 16
June 19
Dead Snow
Whatever Works
June 24
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
June 26
Cheri
Fireflies in the Garden
July 1
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
July 3
The Girl from Monaco
I Hate Valentine's Day
July 10
July 15
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
July 17
July 24
All Good Things
The Answer Man
In the Loop
July 29
July 31
The Cove
August 7
When in Rome
August 14
A Perfect Getaway
District 9
The Goods: The Don Ready Story
Ponyo
Pool Boys
Spread
The Time Traveler's Wife
August 21
Five Minutes of Heaven
Goose on the Loose!
It Might Get Loud
World's Greatest Dad
August 28
The Boat that Rocked
September 4
Amreeka
Carriers
Citizen Game
Shanghai
September 9
September 11
The Red Canvas
Tyler Perrys: I Can Do It All Myself
September 17
The Burning Plain
September 18
Brand New Day
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Jennifer's Body
Splice
September 25
October 2
A Serious Man
Toy Story/Toy Story 2
Richard Widmark has departed after living a mostly full and rewarding life for 93 years. We should all be so fortunate. I know I'm supposed to say that his performance as Tommy Udo in Kiss of Death ('47) was his most memorable work. But I'll always enjoy three of his performances a bit more -- the Dauphin in Otto Preminger's Saint Joan, the hard-assed Colonel Lawson in Judgment in Nuremberg and his oily operator character in Against All Odds. Plus those run of 20th Century Fox films he made in the early '50s. Widmark was 15 years younger than the calendar year. He didn't break into films until in his early 30s.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on March 26, 2008 at 12:01 PM
comment #1
Reedyb
says ...
Don't forget Night and the City (He's an artist without an art) or Panic in the Streets.
Posted by Reedyb
at March 26, 2008 12:29 PM
comment #2
T. S. Idiot
says ...
An outstanding actor who never appeared in a truly great film, though Night and the City comes close. At his best playing morally compromised characters. My five favorite Widmark movies:
Night and the City
Yellow Sky
Road House
Panic in the Streets
When the Legends Die
Posted by T. S. Idiot
at March 26, 2008 12:33 PM
comment #3
Arizona Joe
says ...
I did not see "Kiss of Death" until about six months ago. It was outstanding, and shocking, wheeling the old lady down the stairs and all that.
Mr. Widmark was his own man, and a thoughtful guy. They don't make them like that anymore.
Posted by Arizona Joe
at March 26, 2008 12:39 PM
comment #4
Pelham123
says ...
I recommend "The Bedford Incident".
Posted by Pelham123
at March 26, 2008 12:50 PM
comment #5
Scott Feinberg
says ...
As I mention in a longer tribute to Widmark (http://andthewinneris.blog.com/2921645/), who I was supposed to interview next month, I believe his finest film may actually have been Samuel Fuller's "Pickup on South Street" (1953), although "Kiss of Death" (1947), "Panic in the Streets" and "Night and the City" (BOTH 1950!) are also some pretty terrific options.
Posted by Scott Feinberg
at March 26, 2008 12:54 PM
comment #6
Scott Feinberg
says ...
As I mention in a longer tribute to Widmark (http://andthewinneris.blog.com/2921645/), who I was supposed to interview next month, I believe his finest film may actually have been Samuel Fuller's "Pickup on South Street" (1953), although "Kiss of Death" (1947), "Panic in the Streets" and "Night and the City" (BOTH 1950!) are also some pretty terrific options.
Posted by Scott Feinberg
at March 26, 2008 12:54 PM
comment #7
GlassFamily
says ...
He is phenomenal in "Night and the City" and don't forget "Pickup on South Street," which is another really great performance.
Posted by GlassFamily
at March 26, 2008 12:56 PM
comment #8
Edward
says ...
An actor I'll never tire of. My condolences to his family.
Posted by Edward
at March 26, 2008 1:48 PM
comment #9
goodvibe61
says ...
I just recently caught a screening of Night and the City up in Seattle at the SIFF Center, during their Noir fest.
It was really great stuff, and Widmark had a tremendous run of superior work in the 50's. He's one of my favorites. He'll be missed.
Posted by goodvibe61
at March 26, 2008 1:58 PM
comment #10
Chicago48
says ...
He deserved an honorary Oscar. There was a campaign to give him one, but the Academy passed him by.
Is Doris Day next? Just thinking here, that there are so many old-timers that need to be honored before they pass.
Posted by Chicago48
at March 26, 2008 1:58 PM
comment #11
cinefan
says ...
Widmark was also memorable as the villain in Murder on the Orient Express. He was only in the film for a brief amount of time but he has a great scene at the beginning of the film with Albert Finney and I like the strong sense of arrogance and entitlement that the character has in abundance as played by Widmark.
Posted by cinefan
at March 26, 2008 1:59 PM
comment #12
lazarus
says ...
"Are you wavin' the flag at me?"
A ballsy line from a ballsy performance in a ballsy film. I don't know if Pickup From South Street was his best work, but it's what I thought of first.
And it's a a shame that he never received an honorary Oscar, lord knows the Academy has had many opportunities. Considering how few people are left from that era, they would have acknowledged him.
Posted by lazarus
at March 26, 2008 2:18 PM
comment #13
Gaydos
says ...
What does Widmark's passing signal? The absence of John Ford, Andre de Toth, Don Siegel, Delmer Daves, Sam Fuller, et al. Pardon me if I'm nostalgic for an American cinema that is long gone. Praise God for DVD, HD and otherwise!
Posted by Gaydos
at March 26, 2008 2:19 PM
comment #14
Rich S.
says ...
He was another of those tough guys with a toughness that didn't depend on his performance, makeup etc. It was simply there. He was even great in The Alamo, where he spent the whole movie on a cot.
Posted by Rich S.
at March 26, 2008 2:23 PM
comment #15
Terry McCarty
says ...
I'd add MADIGAN and DEATH OF A GUNFIGHTER to the list of films mentioned.
Posted by Terry McCarty
at March 26, 2008 2:33 PM
comment #16
JohnCope
says ...
Don't Bother to Knock (which was also one of Marilyn's most underrated pictures) and, yes, definitely Against All Odds (strangely I just heard the Phil Collins' title track while I was in the grocery store today and couldn't help but wonder if this was playing due to his passing).
His final perf in True Colors was also memorable.
Posted by JohnCope
at March 26, 2008 2:36 PM
comment #17
BurmaShave
says ...
PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET is a personal favorite. A true original.
Posted by BurmaShave
at March 26, 2008 3:55 PM
comment #18
CinemaPhreek
says ...
PICK-UP ON SOUTH STREET might be Widmark's best role - I'm still going through much of his other work, but it is arguably Sam Fuller's best work. And let's not forget Thelma Ritter's turn, which was Academy nominated (her 4th on the way to 6th)
Posted by CinemaPhreek
at March 26, 2008 3:58 PM
comment #19
Intense Guy II
says ...
South Street!
http://www.intenseguys.com/intense_guys/2008/02/richard-widmark.html
Posted by Intense Guy II
at March 26, 2008 4:18 PM
comment #20
lipranzer
says ...
I also like his work in PANIC IN THE STREETS and NO WAY OUT. Widmark may have been known for playing tough guys and bad guys (and in the latter, his character was especially vile), but he was also one of those actors who could play a decent man without making him boring, and he did so in the former.
Posted by lipranzer
at March 26, 2008 4:41 PM
comment #21
JB Moore
says ...
I'll fish a couple of beers out of the river and pour one out for him. One of the greatest ever. RIP, sir.
Posted by JB Moore
at March 26, 2008 5:34 PM
comment #22
drillo cocco
says ...
What a wonderful actor -- the sense of danger, the sheer charisma. One of the giants
RIP
Posted by drillo cocco
at March 26, 2008 6:15 PM
comment #23
moviemaniac2002
says ...
I especially love what I conider the
unofficial "Widmark Vs.Poitier" trilogy..in which
Widmark and Sidney Poitier faced off portraying
the widest variety of adversaries two actors
have ever played...
Starting with "No Way Out" with Widmark's
psychotic, racist street thug tomrmenting
Poitier's saintly young intern....Then, years
later..on to the gloriously loopy-doopy "Long
Ships" with Widmark as a a wily conniving
Viking (!) crossing wits and swords with
a ruthless Moorish Prince (Poitier, trying to maintain his "Othello"-like dignity amid a cast
of roaring Hambones including Russ Tamblyn
and Oscar Homolka.
Finally, the best of them, the doomsday nukes
at sea thriller "The Bedord Incident" an odd
"Fail-Safe/Strangelove" hybrid with Widmark as
a nuclear-armed Ahab relentlessly searching
for his personal Moby - a russian sub. Poitier's
along for the ride as a journalist who, like everybody else in the cast, learns too late that
Widnark's single-minded quest has also infected
his crew.
Another Icon gone, also ignored by the
so-called "Motion Picture Academy". What a
shame , what a travesty. RIP, Mr. W.
Posted by moviemaniac2002
at March 26, 2008 6:33 PM
comment #24
atticusrex
says ...
Widmark was very cool. Great voice and unusual style.
Pick-Up on South Street is my personal fave of his and I do love the underrated Roadhouse and that great song Ida Lupino sings.
His first film is also a standout and while yes he was nervy and crazy it also featured the best acting of Mr. Victor Mature's career.
Posted by atticusrex
at March 26, 2008 7:08 PM
comment #25
renorambler
says ...
I just watched Pickup on South Street with a friend over Oscar weekend. I was struck by how much fun he seemed to be having with that part. He'll be missed.
Posted by renorambler
at March 26, 2008 7:29 PM
comment #26
K. Bowen
says ...
PIckup on SOuth Street. Great stuff. Rest in Peace.
Posted by K. Bowen
at March 26, 2008 8:42 PM
comment #27
nemo
says ...
Road House has always been a personal favorite of mine, in part because it always seemed as if no one else had ever heard of it (obviously not true in this company).
The oblivious way Widmark acts as if he owns Ida Lupino, but also thinks he's charming the pants off her and everyone else he meets -- well, you hate him, but also pity the poor fool for not seeing what's coming.
And I can't believe Lupino's singing! Her range is not wide, but neither was Billie Holiday's. The expressive but depressive way Lupino delivers those songs fits her character's sense of entrapment and doom perfectly.
I'm glad to see Road House is out on DVD. I have an old VHS copy I sometimes pull out to amaze my friends. "You won't believe the picture you're about to see."
Bogart In a Lonely Place. How freaking bent Widmark could be in a lot of 40s film noir. The whole pre-Code era of the early 30s. Modern audience don't know what they're missing, how challenging the old movies could be.
Posted by nemo
at March 26, 2008 9:40 PM
comment #28
nemo
says ...
Oh yeah, The Bedford Incident! I'd love to see Widmark in that again.
WIdmark is a perfect stand-in for Bush and Cheney rampaging into Iraq. His stupid escalation of that incident!
The look on Poitier's face -- like the look on the American public's face in the last couple of years! -- when he finally realizes that Widmark has no backup plan, hasn't really thought ahead, is coasting on macho bluster, doesn't know what the hell he''s doing.
When Poitier finally realizes they're dead in the water, and Widmark has put them there.
Posted by nemo
at March 26, 2008 9:49 PM
comment #29
Terry McCarty
says ...
Speaking of JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG, here's a link to an article on the passing of Abby Mann:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117982942.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&n...
Posted by Terry McCarty
at March 27, 2008 1:50 AM
comment #30
T. S. Idiot
says ...
Nemo: Where do you see that Road House is on DVD? I can't find it. Amazon says it's unavailable. A minor but very engaging noir, it and The Mask of Dimitrious, also not on DVD, are my favorites by the underrated Jean Negulesco.
Posted by T. S. Idiot
at March 27, 2008 5:48 AM
comment #31
lionsfan
says ...
Even in an otherwise innocuous-seeming westerrn like "Warlock" (which, however, has a much larger gay subtext than almost any other western save perhaps the hamhanded"Doc"), Widmark conveyed moral earnestness and commitment. Whether one agreed with his character's actions or not in most of his films, you sensed his belief in himself, and his core humanity.
And he had charm to spare. Enough to slide by as a scheming Viking in "The Long Ships" and as 'pal' one should never even think of breaking out of prison in "The Law and Jake Wade." Catlike physical grace, too.
Posted by lionsfan
at March 27, 2008 9:19 AM
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