Oh, Jonathan, what a wonderful piece. I am truly moved. I agree with you about the sense of humanity he brought to his parts - on both sides of the "ethical spectrum". It's touching. No matter what, you like him.
And yes - that scene with the lighter thru the sewer grate was so gripping and, ultimately, so confusing. The first time I saw it I remember thinking, straining forward in my chair, "You can get it! You almost have it! Keep trying!" And on the heels of that was my own confusion ... because ... no, I DON'T want him to get it ... it would be BAD if he got it. And so his character implicated me, as well, in his own crime. So many "villains" in movies miss that element ... and makes it easy for the audience to say, "Well, I'm not like THAT person ... I'm safe!" But with Walker, you could not help but identify.
A truly rare quality.
I would love to see the Lincoln Center Film Society do a retrospect of his work - similar to the one they just did with Holden. I think it's about time, too.
Thanks for the beautiful post.
Sheila | | Email | Homepage | 08.03.08 - 3:48 pm | #
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Thanks Sheila. You're recent posts were the main reason he's been on my mind lately and then just a few days ago, going through old film books to scan photos I came across the pic at the top of the post from The Clock. It's from a 1976 book, The MGM Story, and it put it all fresh in my mind again.
Looking at his face for some reason draws a great deal of empathy from me. He seems sad but I may be reading my own feelings about him into it. I just know that his performance as Bruno is a small miracle because I have more sympathy for him than I do for Guy, and Bruno is supposedly the villain of the piece. Thanks for sparking all of this with your original posts.
Jonathan Lapper | | Email | Homepage | 08.03.08 - 4:03 pm | #
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The Clock and Strangers On A Train are wonderful, but my favorite film of his is Since You Went Away-- it's an odd, moving picture whose passion and contradictions about life in wartime still feel relevant. And I love his shyness and awkward sweetness in it.
Brian | | Email | Homepage | 08.03.08 - 4:44 pm | #
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I like it a lot too. I guess it's not his film as much as Claudette Colbert's so I didn't concentrate on it. But it's still quite good.
Jonathan Lapper | | Email | Homepage | 08.03.08 - 5:55 pm | #
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I hadn't noticed that he has giant lobsters on his tie in that first scene in Strangers ... How odd and kind of creepy ... Like his tie is about to come to life or something.
Sheila | | Email | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 8:45 am | #
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I don't remember ever having noticed it myself watching the movie (probably because Walker pulls you in and you focus on his face) but when I looked at the pic I thought, "How odd. He has on a lobster tie." Like there are little things crawling on it.
Jonathan Lapper | | Email | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 10:02 am | #
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Thanks for giving this wonderful actor some praise. Maybe he gets it in intense film circles, but overall he seems to have been forgotten.
The scene in The Clock between he, Judy Garlard, the escalator, and the heel to her shoe warms my heart every time. It's such a romantic film.
Fox | | Email | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 10:50 am | #
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There are so many great scenes in The Clock. I didn't discover it until I saw it on TCM. It seemed a bit silly at first but then Walker and Garland pulled me into and by the end it felt like one of the most refreshing movies I had watched in many a moon.
And that opening scene on the escalator is a great example of how well Walker was able to play innocent and sweet.
Jonathan Lapper | | Email | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 10:54 am | #
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I think I might be in the minority on this, but Robert Walker always kind of gave me the creeps. I was totally freaked out by him in The Clock and in my head kept trying to warn Judy away from him.
He has an Anthony Perkins quality, but I find Perkins much more vulnerable and likeable. To me, Walker seems born to play plucky soldiers - he has that kind of face.
Marilyn Ferdinand | | Email | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 11:44 am | #
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Hold on let me check the above comments... yep, you're in the minority. Oh I'm just giving you hell you "in the minority" iconoclast. Your Gaslight banner suggestion and Bugs Bunny photo link earn you a "Lifetime Minority Opinion" pass here at Cinema Styles.
I can definitely see a resemblence in style between Perkins and Walker and have often heard people describe Perkins as creepy but I think I have much the same reaction to Perkins in Psycho as I do to Walker in Strangers. Norman is such a sad figure, even though there he is killing people, he's not in control of it and he's racked with insecurities. So I think they both had the same qualities that could make you sympathize and perhaps it's those abilities, when playing stalker types that turn on the "creepiness" factor as well. I just don't get it myself from Walker, I feel too sorry for him which sounds really condescending to him but I don't know how else to put it.
Although all this aside I was quite amused by you writing that you were totally freaked out by him in The Clock. It's funny because if you don't see him in that movie the way I (or Sheila or Fox) do then it's quite a different picture to watch ("Crazy Bastard stalks helpless woman! The feel-good romantic comedy of the year!").
Jonathan Lapper | | Email | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 12:24 pm | #
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I'm a thorough believer in the bum's rush as a warning - if he rushes you, he's a bum. I've had too many creepy experiences like that to enjoy a "romance" that starts that way.
Feel sorry for him? Maybe, but not in a good way--in, as you say, a condescending way. I feel sorry for Norman Bates (a bit) or Mark Lewis (a lot) in Peeping Tom at a deeper level.
And thanks for the minority opinion pass. You may regret that decision....
Marilyn Ferdinand | | Email | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 12:49 pm | #
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And thanks for the minority opinion pass. You may regret that decision....
Oh crap... I take it back. You get a lifetime "Totally Agree with Jonathan on Everything He Says" pass instead.
Whew. That was a close one.
Jonathan Lapper | | Email | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 1:07 pm | #
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Strangers on a Train is my favorite Hitchcock film. By far. Walker's performance is huge reason for this. The homoerotic undertones, the laid back coolness, this guys had it all.
I had no idea what happened to him. Sad. I'm adding The Clock to my queue immediately.
Scott | | Email | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 1:36 pm | #
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Speaking of the vulnerability and weird allure of Anthony Perkins, have you guys seen him in Pretty Poison? I've tried pushing that on a couple of people in the past and they came back to me with thumbs down - and to be sure, it's not a GREAT film, but I think still it's a bizarre treasure - so maybe tread lightly, but I'd be curious to hear your thoughts.
Oh, and Tuesday Weld is smoking hot in it too!!!! (That just signaled Jonathan to run out of the office and head to the video store....)
Scott, I can't remember when it was, but Jonathan had a pretty kick-ass banner of Strangers... up on his blog recently. Maybe he will share it with us again.
Fox | | Email | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 1:44 pm | #
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Scott, I've always loved Strangers on a Train too. I like the idea of Bruno having a crush on Guy which seems to be the case. I've probably seen it ten times and never tire of it.
And nothing to do with Walker but damn I love the carousel ending. The way Hitchcock revelled in taking safe places and turning them into nightmare environments always fascinated me.
Jonathan Lapper | | Email | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 1:45 pm | #
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Fox - I've never seen Pretty Poison but I am intrigued. I'll have to check it out and give you a painfully judgmental review. As for the banner, just click on the button at the top of the sidebar. Every banner I put up goes there and they're in alphabetical order.
- Foxboy
Jonathan Lapper | | Email | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 1:50 pm | #
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And just because....
What was it that Godard said about the only two elements you need to make a film???
Oh yeah, BABY! You can murder me any day... especially on a Tuesday, cuz that would be extra-kinky.
Fox | | Email | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 2:08 pm | #
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And here's one for Marilyn cuz I always feel like we leave her out when we go crazy for the leading ladies.
---->Marilyn's man
Fox | | Email | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 2:13 pm | #
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Thanks Fox, I'm sure Marilyn will truly appreciate that. And I read about Pretty Poison on Sunset Gun and Kim Morgan loves it so you're not alone. It sounds pretty interesting and well worth a look. It's moving on up the queue.
Jonathan Lapper | | Email | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 2:28 pm | #
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I can't hop on the Robert Walker Love Train(TM) because, outside of Strangers on a Train, I'm woefully ignorant of his work (what a sad end he had. I had no idea).
I've also never seen Pretty Poison, but I've been curious about it since reading Kael's very positive review of it several years ago. I don't even like Kael (don't mean to open up that can of worms again, but still...), but I was intrigued.
And speaking of Anthony Perkins: anybody here see his Jekyll & Hyde/Jack the Ripper 1980s horror film Edge of Sanity? Because if not, you really shouldn't.
bill | | Email | 08.04.08 - 3:25 pm | #
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Never saw Edge of Sanity and since you give such a robust anti-recommendation I definitely will not. But Pretty Poison sounds pretty cool from what I read on Kim Morgan's page. And it was made in 1968 so something tells me it will have exactly the feel a movie like that should have, i.e., kind of silly and brightly colored but with dark undertones.
And don't worry about the love train. I just enjoy talking about actors here and I've got plenty more to come. However, if I ever write about Don Cornelius I hope you'll jump aboard the Soooooouuuuuuullllllll Train. In fact, I will insist you do.
Jonathan Lapper | | Email | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 3:35 pm | #
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Regarding Edge of Sanity (heretofore EoS), I bought it over the weekend, because this DVD store near me was having a buy-one-get-one-free sale on horror films. I ended up getting ten (see below, for the full list!), most of which I'd never seen, but had an interest in. EoS was the most impulsive purchase of all these impulsive purchases, but I remembered being mildly creeped out by an image of Perkins from the film many years ago.
Anyway, it's terrible. I only made it halfway through -- I'll finish it some day -- because I was called away to deal with more urgent matters (this is actually true, although give the quality of EoS, "more urgent matters" could very easily mean "I decided to make myself some eggs" or "I felt like staring out the window"). But you know how the Jack the Ripper murders occurred in 1888? Well, same here, I guess, but the filmmakers showed virtually no interest in dealing with the kind of period details that might have given their film that extra hint of verisimilitude. A pimp has mousse in his hair, and prostitutes have short, pink, poofy skirts. It's like 1888 by way of 1988. And Anthony Perkins is forced to try an English accent, which I didn't even realize until about twenty minutes in. The whole thing had a low-end Ken Russell vibe, and seeing as I can't abide the high-end version, it was all pretty painful.
What other movies did I purchase, you ask? Why, I'm glad you asked (and bored enough right now to list them)!
X - The Man with X-Ray Eyes
Die, Monster, Die!
The Dunwich Horror
Burnt Offerings
Needful Things
The Abominable Dr. Phibes
Dr. Phibes Rides Again
Theater of Blood
I, Madman
The End
by Bill
bill | | Email | 08.04.08 - 4:00 pm | #
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I love the Phibes movies and Theater of Blood, both of which figure into a wee-little trailer I've made for some upcoming extra special goodness here at CS. Needful Things I thought was pretty bad and Burnt Offerings I haven't seen since I was a kid so I couldn't say one way or another. Same with Die Monster Die but I'm on a current Karloff kick so I'd like to see it again, good or bad.
Jonathan Lapper | | Email | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 4:19 pm | #
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Yeah, I'd seen Needful Things in the theater, but didn't really remember it. I did watch that one. It's kinda fun, I guess, but not as fun as the book. A horror movie featuring Ed Harris, J. T. Walsh and Max von Sydow should be a lot better.
I'm currently reading the book Burnt Offerings, and so far it's pretty solid. I hope for the same from the film.
I've seen the two Phibes films, though it's been a long time. Never saw Theater of Blood, so I'm really looking forward to that one. And even bad Karloff is worth owning.
One movie I didn't buy was The House Where Evil Dwells, featuring Susan George, Edward Albert, and samurai ghosts. Anybody ever see that one? I hope I didn't make the wrong choice.
bill | | Email | 08.04.08 - 4:34 pm | #
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Never seen it but I can give a hearty recommendation to Theater of Blood. I think that one's great.
Jonathan Lapper | | Email | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 4:44 pm | #
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I just got an afterlife text message from Pauline Kael and she told me to post on "Lapper's web board" (her words) that she thinks The Dark Knight sucks.
And dude, I love X - The Man With The X-Ray Eyes! Staying with Corman, have you guys ever seen Gas-s-s? I love it! It's like a raving good time political film before political films started sucking.
Fox | | Email | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 5:19 pm | #
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Since I don't like Kael, her ghost's opinion of The Dark Knight is meaningless to me.
bill | | Email | 08.04.08 - 5:26 pm | #
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Ghosts still have feelings, Bill... I think you've just hurt her feelings.
Fox | | Email | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 5:46 pm | #
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Well, she hurt Orson Welles's feelings. And that I cannot forgive.
bill | | Email | 08.04.08 - 6:14 pm | #
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Well, she hurt Orson Welles's feelings. And that I cannot forgive - Same here. Up yours Pauline.
Jonathan Lapper | | Email | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 6:24 pm | #
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Perkins? Not really my fave rave--just in comparison with Walker. I saw him in an Alan Rudolph film called Remember My Name that is impossible to get your hands on. I met Alan Rudolph at a festival and asked him about it, and he absolutely didn't want to talk about it.
BTW, because of the comments here about C.H.U.D., the hubby went and rented it. You know what? I liked it!
Marilyn Ferdinand | | Email | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 6:24 pm | #
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My favorite part of CHUD is the scene where Kim Greist is in the shower, and the drain sprays blood all over her. Then, the next time you see her, she's wearing a robe and watching TV, as though blood-spraying shower drains were simply one of the every-day problems she had to deal with in her apartment building.
bill | | Email | 08.04.08 - 6:27 pm | #
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I must see C.H.U.D. again soon. I cannot ignore a recommendation from Marilyn. Or hubby.
Jonathan Lapper | | Email | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 6:27 pm | #
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Marilyn, did you listen to the commentary track? It's quite entertaining.
bill | | Email | 08.04.08 - 6:28 pm | #
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No Bill, we didn't. I'd never seen it before, and I don't like to get distracted by someone talking in the ether to me.
And what was that blood thing all about? Psycho meets The Conversation?
Marilyn Ferdinand | | Email | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 6:29 pm | #
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Oh and how about the relatively skinny John Goodman in bit part!
Marilyn Ferdinand | | Email | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 6:30 pm | #
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Yeah, but you can listen to the commentary track after you've watched the movie.
There are a lot of crazy before-they-were-famous cameos in that movie. The other cop with Goodman is Jay Thomas, and a completely unrecognizable Jon Polito pops up as a TV reporter.
My favorite thing about the blood/shower scene was the fact that, apparently, CHUDs had absolutely nothing to do with it.
bill | | Email | 08.04.08 - 6:34 pm | #
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That's CHUDs for you.
Jonathan Lapper | | Email | Homepage | 08.04.08 - 8:25 pm | #
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Thank you for remembering Robert Walker with such an eloquent post (and Sheila O'Malley's previous posts on her site were equally moving). You both put into words so much of what I feel about this actor. It is such a shame that he is so unknown. I believe he never recovered from Jennifer Jones leaving him for the more powerful and influential Selznick. His personal troubles only accentuated his vulnerability, but his talent never wavered. There was a depth to his performances that was not evident among those of other young leading men of the time (or of today, for that matter!). He is one of a very small number of actors who really makes me feel something with every performance, and you describe it perfectly as a human quality. In my opinion no one could match him for sheer sincerity, and I believe that is a very difficult quality to put across on screen. Other favorite performances include him as Brock Brewton in "The Sea of Grass" and as Johannes Brahms in "The Song of Love." What talent and versatility!
Cathy | | 08.05.08 - 4:06 pm | #
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Thanks Cathy. I agree with you completely about sincerity. I think that's what I get from him when I see his performances which is why in many ways a performance like that in Strangers on a Train is confusing to the viewers emotions. He's a killer but he seems like the most vulnerable, sincere and real person on the screen. I think Strangers was finally pushing Walker in more complex directions with character portrayals which makes it doubly sad that he died when he did.
Jonathan Lapper | | Email | Homepage | 08.05.08 - 4:15 pm | #
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Beautiful post about this neglected actor, who did bring a fragile quality to everything he played. Strangers is his best film and The Clock his second-best, no doubt, but I dearly love his performance in Since You Went Away, a boy yearning for his father's approval, terrified of battle but wanting to be brave. His love scenes with Jones are very touching and it's odd to reflect that their marriage was coming unglued at the time.
Like Cathy I also admire him in Sea of Grass (the movie is a snooze but he is not) and Song of Love, where he looks and acts nothing like Johannes Brahms and yet you love him all the same.
Campaspe | | Email | Homepage | 08.07.08 - 11:13 pm | #
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I've never see Sea of Grass but I'd certainly like to. I'll have to see if it's on DVD and if so get it from Netflix.
I do love Since You Went Away more than I should. I resisted it strongly the first time I saw it, wanting to dislike it for it's sentimentality but everyone (except Shirley - god she's awful) won me over by the end and I've never had a bad time watching it.
Jonathan Lapper | | Email | Homepage | 08.07.08 - 11:34 pm | #
