Web Search powered by YAHOO! SEARCH
share
email
print
font size
options
 
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Karl Malden 1912 -- 2009

I was certain that veteran actor Karl Malden was immortal. I am sad to be wrong. One of the most reliable and versatile of performers -- the bulb-nosed actor persuasively played the idealistic priest in On the Waterfront and the domineering baseball Dad in Fear Strikes Out -- made his movie debut nearly 70 years ago in They Knew What They Wanted.

The Oscar-winning actor (A Streetcar Named Desire) was an axiom of stage (Golden Boy) screen (Baby Doll) and television (Streets of San Francisco). Incredibly, he co-starred with Vivien Leigh and Michael Douglas. 

The Broadway-trained performer of Serbian descent did his most memorable work on stage and screen for Elia Kazan, acting the role of Blanche DuBois' skittish suitor both in the stage and screen versions  Streetcar, holding his own and then some against the macho muscle of Marlon Brando and the petal-like fragility of Vivien Leigh. I never liked him so much as I did as Rosalind Russell's faithful suitor in Gypsy, exuding patience, humor and resourcefulness, likewise as Gen. Omar Bradley in Patton. About few actors can one say he could do anything -- and did.

Your favorite Malden? 

Posted by Carrie Rickey @ 3:46 PM  Permalink | 21 comments
Comments   
Posted 03:54 PM, 07/01/2009
SuMMerD
The Malden in the film version of Streetcar is my favorite. They don't make movies like that anymore, and that has a lot to do with Malden's performance. His interpretation was so nuanced, and you're right about him holding his owna gainst those heavy-hitter costars. The man was a legend.
Posted 03:58 PM, 07/01/2009
KG071
One of my all time favorite movies is Patton, which Mr. Malden is in as General Omar Bradley, the "G.I. General". Another great entertainer gone. RIP.
Posted 04:06 PM, 07/01/2009
imageshaper
Seinfeld
Posted 04:09 PM, 07/01/2009
Report My Abuse
I had thought Karl Malden had died years ago. I never heard anything about him. Well, RIP Karl. You were also one of the Hollywood old timers (even if your nose was jacked-up looking).
Posted 04:11 PM, 07/01/2009
rgoldberg
Mine was Birdman of Alcatraz with Burt Lancaster
Posted 04:15 PM, 07/01/2009
Chamomiles Davis
I just watched Karl Malden playing "Shooter" in "The Cincinnati Kid" on AMC the other night. He was always a great character actor.
Posted 04:25 PM, 07/01/2009
fafafooey
American Express commercials.
Posted 04:26 PM, 07/01/2009
JusWonderin
One of my favorite character actors. Loved him in Patton and who'd thought he could have pulled off the Herb Brooks character in Miracle on Ice. RIP.
Comment removed.
Comment removed.
Posted 04:31 PM, 07/01/2009
bhs1944
How about the "Streets of San Francisco with a young "Michael Douglas."
Posted 04:56 PM, 07/01/2009
mike l
He could play good guys (Omar Bradley in Patton) and baddies (sheriff in "One-Eyed Jacks; killer in "Nevada Smith") with equal genius. And every role in between. They don't make themlike him anymore.
Posted 04:56 PM, 07/01/2009
pic man
Another entertainer struck down in the prime of life. It's sad.
Posted 04:58 PM, 07/01/2009
DonQ
Malden's movies with Brando were duels of method actors. Malden's looks kept him from going the leading man's way, which was a big plus for Hollywood and Broadway. His work as a character actor was superb.
Posted 05:03 PM, 07/01/2009
mike bujak
Patton
21 comments | View All Comments | View All By Latest
About Carrie Rickey

Carrie Rickey has been The Philadelphia Inquirer’s film critic for 21 years. She has reviewed films as diverse as Water and The Waterboy, profiled celebrities from Lillian Gish to Will Smith, and reported on technological breakthroughs from the video revolution to the rise of movies on demand. Her reviews are syndicated nationwide and she is a regular contributor to Entertainment Weekly. Rickey’s essays appear in numerous anthologies, including The Rolling Stone History of Rock & Roll, The American Century, and the Library of America’s American Movie Critics.

ARCHIVES

All blog items posted before May 23, 2008, can be accessed at http://blogs.phillynews.com/inquirer/flickgrrl/.

Advertise Here