Richard Widmark passes

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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.

comment #1

Reedyb says ...

Don't forget Night and the City (He's an artist without an art) or Panic in the Streets.

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

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.

comment #4

Pelham123 says ...

I recommend "The Bedford Incident".

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.

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.

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.

comment #8

Edward says ...

An actor I'll never tire of. My condolences to his family.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

comment #15

Terry McCarty says ...

I'd add MADIGAN and DEATH OF A GUNFIGHTER to the list of films mentioned.

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.

comment #17

BurmaShave says ...

PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET is a personal favorite. A true original.

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)

comment #19

racsluos says ...

South Street!

http://www.intenseguys.com/intense_guys/2008/02/richard-widmark.html

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.

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.

comment #22

drillo cocco says ...

What a wonderful actor -- the sense of danger, the sheer charisma. One of the giants
RIP

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.

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.

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.

comment #26

K. Bowen says ...

PIckup on SOuth Street. Great stuff. Rest in Peace.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

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