I think it's quite interesting to know which role actors regard as their personal favourite. In an earlier post, James Stewart talked about his favourite role and why he liked it best (here). This post deals with Robert Mitchum's favourite role.
The role Mitchum has always cited as his favourite and as his best performance is the role of the murderous preacher Harry Powell in Charles Laughton's only directorial effort The Night of the Hunter (1955). In a note to a fan (as seen below) Mitchum said there were more reasons than he could enumerate for liking this job better than others. While I don't know Mitchum's reasons, one of them must have been Charles Laughton. Mitchum was in awe of Laughton and has said on more than one occasion that Laughton was the best director he ever worked with. Laughton, in turn, also admired Mitchum and considered him one of the best actors in the world. The two worked very well together, even though Mitchum's heavy drinking during the last week of shooting led to problems on the set (at times Laughton couldn't get him in front of the camera).
The Night of the Hunter is the only collaboration between Mitchum and Laughton. Disillusioned by the film's commercial and critical failure, Laughton never directed again.
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| Charles Laughton once said about Robert Mitchum in Esquire Magazine: "All this tough talk is a blind, you know. He's a literate, gracious, kind man, with wonderful manners, and he speaks beautifully - when he wants to. He's a tender man and a very great gentleman. You know, he's really terribly shy." |
Transcript:
Danny—
My favorite among the jobs I have had is The Night of the Hunter for more reasons than I can enumerate. What do you think?
Robert Mitchum
Robert Mitchum delivered so many fine performances in the course of his long career...but I can understand why he favored The Night of the Hunter, a beautiful, terrifying film (as was his performance). Like Hitchcock's Vertigo (and so many other great films), it was ahead of or beyond its time. So very sad that the film's lack of acceptance then prevented Charles Laughton from directing again. If only he'd known the one film he directed would someday be considered a masterpiece.
ReplyDeleteI was lucky enough to see The Night of the Hunter on the big screen. It is indeed a very special film beautifully photographed by Stanley Cortez. Sad indeed that Charles Laughton never directed another film after that. Who knows what other gems he would have made? Thanks for visiting!
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