Robert Ryan - troubled figuring him out.

[Lance]

I have seen many movies with Robert Ryan (1909-1973), the American actor of Irish extraction. From as long ago as I can remember, I never liked him. The reasons are invalid. In thinking about Ryan now, it was because of his portrayals that I didn't like him ... he convinced me early on that he was always the bad guy; this must be the way he really is by nature, I thought in those early years and that's why the movie-makers chose him! (What a dumb assumption from a young movie-lover!) But that's the kind of role Ryan generally played, the bad guy. Still, something magnetic about him for me to want to continue to see his films, and enough for me to pick up a copy of the recently republished (from 1990) book: Robert Ryan: A Biography and Critical Filmography by Franklin Jarlett, published by McFarland Classics of North Carolina and London, England. Ryan was not a "cheap" actor who worked for mere "effects," but who took on a role for what it really meant in a more real-life manner than many other great actors. His placement on the billing roster was not of much importance to him. Yet he worked with some of the greatest names in acting, including Humphrey Bogart, James Mason, Claudette Colbert, Joan Fontaine, Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Ida Lupino, Rock Hudson, Anthony Quinn, Shirley Booth, Brian Keith, Barry Sullivan, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Stack, Clark Gable, Virginia Mayo, Myrna Loy, Maureen Stapleton, Shelley Winters, Gloria Grahame, Henry Fonda, Rod Steiger ... the names of collaborating actors is enormous.

In the end, and after watching Ryan "work," I put the man in a class by himself now. The Longest Day was outstanding, but there were other films that showcased Ryan's art impeccably well. They sure don't make them like Mr. Ryan any more!

Are there others here who enjoy Robert Ryan's work? What films would you specifically name?

[Ralph]

Ryan was a fine actor who became, like Richard Widmark, somewhat typecast by the roles he often played - really mean guys.

In 1947's "Crossfire," the brutal complement to the same year's exposure of genteel anti-Semitism in "Gentleman's Agreement," Ryan was a chilling and very believable Jew hater, the kind Americans pretended didn't exist here.

There was real depth to many of Ryan's roles.

[stenka razin]

Robert Ryan was a wonderful 'bad' guy and always was convincing. Here is a tribute from IMDB that should give you more perspective on his life and career.




Chicago born(1909), distinguished 6' 4" US actor and long time civil rights campaigner, Robert Ryan served in the United States Marines as a drill instructor (winning a boxing championship) and went on to become a key figure in post WWII American film noir and western productions.

Ryan grabbed critical attention for his dynamic performance's as an anti-Semitic bully in the superb Crossfire (1947), as an over-the-hill boxer who refuses to take a fall in The Set-Up (1949) and as a hostile & jaded cop in On Dangerous Ground (1952). Ryan's athletic physique, intense gaze and sharply delivered, authoritarian tones made him an ideal actor for the oily world of the film noir genre, and he contributed solid performances to many noir features, usually as a vile villain. Ryan played a worthy opponent for bounty hunter James Stewart in the Anthony Mann directed western The Naked Spur (1953), he locked horns with an intrepid investigator Spencer Tracy in the suspenseful Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) and starred alongside Harry Belafonte in the grimy, gangster flick Odds Against Tomorrow (1959). Plus, the inventive Ryan excelled as the ruthless "John Claggart" in Billy Budd (1962), and two different WWII US generals - firstly in the star filled The Longest Day (1962) and secondly in Battle of the Bulge (1965).

For the next eight years prior to his untimely death in 1973, Ryan landed some tremendous roles in a mixture of productions each aided by his high calibre acting skills leaving strong impressions on movie audiences. He was one of the hard men hired to pursue kidnapped Claudia Cardinale in the hard boiled action of The Professionals (1966), a by-the-book army colonel clashing with highly unorthodox army major Lee Marvin in The Dirty Dozen (1967), and an embittered bounty hunter forced to hunt down old friend William Holden in the violent Sam Peckinpah western classic The Wild Bunch (1969). Ryan's final onscreen performance was in the terrific production of The Iceman Cometh (1973) based on the Eugene O'Neill play and also starring Lee Marvin and Fredric March.

Legend has it that Sam Peckinpah clashed very heatedly with Ryan during the making of The Wild Bunch (1969), however Peckinpah eventually backed down when a crew member reminded Sam of Robert Ryan's proficiency with his fists !

Primarily a man of pacifist beliefs, Ryan often found it a challenge playing sadistic and racist characters that very much were at odds with his own personal ideals. Additionally, Ryan actively campaigned for improved civil rights, restricting the growth of nuclear weapons and he strongly opposed McCarthyism and its abuse of innocent persons. A gifted, intelligent and powerful actor, Robert Ryan passed away on July 11th, 1973 of lung cancer.