Clint's Last Stand?

Will "Gran Torino" mark the last screen appearance of Clint Eastwood? That's what Eastwood, 78, says. But he also said that about "Million Dollar Baby," where the veteran actor/director made an equally memorable onscreen exit. (In "GT," though, his "Get offa my lawn" may prove to be as memorable a catchphrase as his Dirty Harry's, "Go ahead, make my day" or "Read my lips.")

Eastwood's declaration has Oscarologists speculating whether this year's event may honor two last stands, Eastwood's and Heath Ledger's in "The Dark Knight." Previously Eastwood has won Oscars for his lean direction ("Unforgiven," and "Million Dollar Baby" won director and best picture trophies) but never for his minimalist acting. Ledger was nominated for his superlative performance in "Brokeback Mountain," but lost to Philip Seymour Hoffman's stunning turn in "Capote." While it's hard to see Eastwood beat Sean Penn (who he directed in "Mystic River") as "Milk," or Mickey Rourke as "The Wrestler," the Academy is a famously sentimental group. It awarded Henry Fonda an Oscar for his last stand in "On Golden Pond" (a movie my Mom called "On Maudlin Pond" ) and Spencer Tracy for "Guess Who's Coming for Dinner."

Other notable last stands? Over at the estimable A List of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago, AlexG cited a piece from /film that proposes the 10 Best Final Films in movie history. Apart from Ledger as The Joker in "The Dark Knight," a Molotov cocktail of  dark humor and darker pathology, and James Dean in "Giant," my favorites are Audrey Hepburn as the helpful angel in "Always," Edward G. Robinson as Charlton's Heston's wise friend in "Soylent Green," Adrienne Shelly in "Waitress," Sammy Davis Jr. in "Tap," and John Wayne in "The Shootist," some of which made /film's list.

Have we missed other notable last stands? What do you think of "Gran Torino?"