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Post by mikef6 on Sept 10, 2019 19:03:13 GMT
The article linked to below is an appreciation of Edmond O’Brien occasioned, as the writer mentions, because O’Brien is back on the pop culture radar having been mentioned several times in Tarantino’s new movie and because he appears in Orson Welles’ recently released “The Other Side of the Wind.” What surprised me was the amount of stage work (“legitimate” theater, compared, I guess, to phony movies) he did, especially Shakespeare. I knew that he had played one of the assassins in the 1953 “Julius Caesar” (Marc Antony tells the crowd, “See the rent the envious Casca made”) but he also acted in live theater Prince Hal to Maurice Evans’ Falstaff and Mercutio to Sir Larry’s and Vivian Leigh’s Romeo and Juliet. He is the star of the movie that started me on the path to film noir obsession, “D.O.A.” (1950), which I saw when I was about 5 or 6 years old. The article says that O’Brien only directed one movie, “Man-Trap” (1961) but the database credits him with co-directing (with Howard Koch) “Shield for Murder” (1954), a recommended (by me) film and O’Brien performance. Please take a look at the link and share your thoughts on Edmond O’Brien. The Vanishing of Edmond O'Brien |
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Post by BATouttaheck on Sept 10, 2019 19:08:07 GMT
Non-traditional leading man look and he certainly could "carry" a movie when he was a lead and his "character roles" were top notch !  |
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Post by BATouttaheck on Sept 10, 2019 19:10:40 GMT
Among his best: WHITE HEAT  |
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Post by biker1 on Sept 10, 2019 19:20:30 GMT
Definitely an actor who has grown on me over the years, he never really registered when I initially became a classic watcher. Watched 1984 (1956-uk) recently and it was no where near as bad as I had expected - especially the first half. An unusual film for it's time, even if it does (inevitably?) pale from a book comparison.
favorite O'Brien..
D.O.A (1949)
the bigamist (1953)
the hitch-hiker (1953)
the web (1947)
and a few other classics, besides.
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Post by mattgarth on Sept 10, 2019 19:25:17 GMT
Adding his leading role as the Insurance investigator looking into Burt Lancaster's death in THE KILLERS (he was young, handsome and thin back then).
Hammy but fun as the newspaper editor in LIBERTY VALANCE.
Oscared (playing a guy named 'Oscar') in BAREFOOT CONTESSA.
Nominated a decade later as the alcoholic Senator in SEVEN DAYS IN MAY.
Yep -- favorite role for me was O'Brien as the genial and paunchy accountant turned driven Noir hero/victim in D.O.A.
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Post by BATouttaheck on Sept 10, 2019 19:27:38 GMT
The Insurance investigator looking into Burt Lancaster's death in THE KILLERS  
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Post by BATouttaheck on Sept 10, 2019 19:34:02 GMT
Hammy but fun as the newspaper editor in LIBERTY VALANCE.   
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Post by mikef6 on Sept 10, 2019 19:36:23 GMT
As “envious Casca” in “Julius Caesar” (1953)   As Frank Bigelow in “D.O.A. (1950) – recently changed to 1949 by the database. The scene that burned a permanent impression on a first-grade me.  |
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Post by mattgarth on Sept 10, 2019 19:36:30 GMT
My wingman 'Bat-Man' comes through with the flying visuals once again!  |
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Post by mattgarth on Sept 10, 2019 19:37:15 GMT
The first to stab Caesar -- 'Speak, hands, for me!'
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Post by BATouttaheck on Sept 10, 2019 19:38:29 GMT
Oscared (playing a guy named 'Oscar') in BAREFOOT CONTESSA.  
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Post by mikef6 on Sept 10, 2019 19:38:33 GMT
Another late, hammy role in "The Wild Bunch" (1969)  |
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Post by BATouttaheck on Sept 10, 2019 19:44:53 GMT
Nominated a decade later as the alcoholic Senator in SEVEN DAYS IN MAY.  
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Post by vegalyra on Sept 10, 2019 19:51:06 GMT
Both of these are pretty good. Beautiful Technicolor too!  Silver City (1951)  Denver and Rio Grande (1952) This one is famous for its train collision sequence. No CGI here kids! I can only imagine how much the production team was sweating when they filmed this part of the film. I enjoyed both films, I bought them blind on bluray from Olive films. Lots of fun and O'Brien is a great leading man in both pictures. Lots of great location shooting as well, especially in Denver and Rio Grande. |
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Post by BATouttaheck on Sept 10, 2019 20:11:30 GMT
Lawrence of Arabia O'Brien was originally cast as the photo-journalist Jackson Bentley (based on Lowell Thomas) in Lawrence of Arabia (1962). After O'Brien filmed several scenes, he suffered a heart attack and had to drop out of the picture. He was replaced by Arthur Kennedy. 
someone should start a thread about that ,... oh, wait ! someone did ! |
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Post by Doghouse6 on Sept 10, 2019 20:16:12 GMT
Adding his leading role as the Insurance investigator looking into Burt Lancaster's death in THE KILLERS (he was young, handsome and thin back then). show you "young, handsome and thin:" 
The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (1939) Love all the posts illustrating the many faces of Edmond O'Brien. And there were many.
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Post by mattgarth on Sept 10, 2019 20:19:39 GMT
OK Doghouse, I'll admit it --young-er, handsome-er, thin-er back then.  |
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Post by BATouttaheck on Sept 10, 2019 20:22:32 GMT
SHIELD FOR MURDER With a young blond Carolyn Jones  a young Claude Akins has a role important to the end of the film but I won't show that !  |
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Post by mattgarth on Sept 10, 2019 20:28:26 GMT
And he gets the final lines in THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH as a midway barker:
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That's all, ladies and gentlemen, that's all.
Come again to the greatest show on earth.
Bring the children.
Bring the old folks.
You can shake the sawdust off your feet.
But you can't shake it outta your heart.
Come again, folks.
The Greatest Show on Earth.
Come again.
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Post by mattgarth on Sept 10, 2019 20:33:54 GMT
O'Brien also had one of the leads (he was not the original -- was the second to take on the role) in the radio series in the early 1950s:
YOURS TRULY, JOHNNY DOLLAR -- an Insurance Investigator like in THE KILLERS.
He was described as the guy ... 'with the action-packed expense account.'
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