Post by london777 on Aug 13, 2021 1:33:21 GMT
I'd say that dash of instability in Douglas always made him more of a candidate to get killed in the end. Audiences wouldn't be as upset by his death as they would at the others'.
I think it is less a question of suitable casting than of the professional vanity of studio stars always wanting to come up smelling of roses. I say "professional vanity" because it would often have been the studio or their agents limiting their choices rather than the star's personal preference.
That answers your other observation that IMDB's list largely excludes old-time studio stars. In those days stars did not die in movies. Rightly or wrongly, they and the studios thought that dying would diminish their star status. Lesser mortals were cast for those roles.
Kirk Douglas was clearly a creditable exception.
I think it is less a question of suitable casting than of the professional vanity of studio stars always wanting to come up smelling of roses. I say "professional vanity" because it would often have been the studio or their agents limiting their choices rather than the star's personal preference.
That answers your other observation that IMDB's list largely excludes old-time studio stars. In those days stars did not die in movies. Rightly or wrongly, they and the studios thought that dying would diminish their star status. Lesser mortals were cast for those roles.
Kirk Douglas was clearly a creditable exception.
