There were comedies like The Tunnel of Love (1958) where he’s oddly matched with the wholesome Doris Day, as well as westerns such as Yellow Sky (1948) and How the West Was Won (1962). Could any other actor besides him pull such a role off? Widmark not only had the acting chops, but he looked like a villain: that menacing stare and cold, heartless expression made him perfect for the part.Īs I began watching more films and gained interest in other actors and actresses, I saw more of Richard Widmark as well. And it was with this film that I started gaining respect for Widmark. The final scene where Widmark and Poitier just stare at each other, with the realization of what is about to happen…it’s chilling. It’s this determination that leads to his downfall, but by the time he realizes it, it’s way too late. The only thing he cares about is attacking the Soviet’s submarines. He’s insane with power, not caring about the health and well-being of his men. His turn as Captain Eric Finlander is amazingly frightening. There are fantastic performances by all the actors involved (Sidney Poitier, James MacArthur and Martin Balsam to name a few), but it’s Widmark that steals the film. It’s an excellent cold war drama, highlighting the paranoia that many Americans felt at the time. I think the first film I saw him in was The Bedford Incident (1965) in which Widmark portrays the ruthless and stubborn captain that eventually leads his crew to their deaths. I wouldn’t call him one of my favorite actors, but I’ve always enjoyed his performances. It took awhile for me to warm up to Richard Widmark, but in time, I did. His characters were too mean, too vicious and I found him cold and unlikable. However, I didn’t particularly enjoy him when I first started getting into the classics. I’ll admit that I haven’t seen as many of Richard Widmark’s movies as the average classic movie fan, and with many of his greatest films available on dvd ( Kiss of Death, No Way Out), I really have no excuse. Ahh, technology, how you manage to depress me. Since then I’ve switched phones, but not numbers, so I continue to get them–and it’s through these text alerts that I found out Richard Widmark had passed away today. Years ago when I first got a cell phone with text capabilties, I signed up for entertainment text alerts from a news company.
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