Few names were as closely associated with a specific gender as Robert Mitchum has been with film noir, having starred in some of the best film noir ever made. From his heyday in the 1940s through his acclaimed career, Mitchum’s intense characterization and ability to portray menacing and morally dubious characters made him the perfect noir actor who could walk the fine line between villain and hero. As one of the few actors who could give Humphrey Bogart a run for his money by playing detective Philip Marlowe, Mitchum’s filmography was filled with noir classics.
Mitchum excelled in black-and-white noir roles and brought a sinister power to psychologically rich, genre-blending noir releases. With a recognizable deep voice, piercing, tired eyes, and an old-fashioned good looks that made him stand out among the biggest action stars of the 1950s, Mitchum’s career was full of undisputed classics and top-notch Hollywood features. With the intense charisma and impressive aura needed to make timeless cinema, Mitchum was among film noir’s greatest stars.
10
The Big Sleep (1978)
Robert Mitchum as Philip Marlowe
Robert Mitchum’s second outing as Raymond Chandler’s Detective Philip Marlowe I didn’t have the same excitement as Goodbye, my beautiful three years earlier. A smaller release than the iconic 1946 version starring Humphrey Bogart, Mitchum’s attempt suffered the difficult fate of being unknown in comparison to perhaps the most defining film noir of all time. However, The big sleep It was notable for being the only time that an actor played Marlowe twice, and this more modern release allowed the book’s themes of homosexuality, pornography and nudity to be explored in a way that was not possible in the 1940s.
This version of The big sleep moved its story from the original setting of 1940s Los Angeles to 1970s London, which helped differentiate it from Bogart’s depiction. However, at age 60 during filming, Mitchum felt too old to play the 33-year-old Marlowe from Chandler’s original book. While there’s plenty to enjoy for film noir lovers, this version of The big sleep was one of Mitchum’s most underwhelming film noirs.
9
Foreign Intrigue (1956)
Robert Mitchum as Dave Bishop
Robert Mitchum’s filmography was full of hidden gems that didn’t linger in the public consciousness like his most famous films. An excellent example of this was Foreign Intriguean exciting spy story that acted as a prototype James Bond as Mitchum played the suave Dave Bishop, a press secretary who finds himself embroiled in a massive conspiracy following the death of his millionaire employer. With great style, Mitchum exuded movie star charisma in this beautifully photographed color noir mystery.
As one of the first films to be adapted from a TV series Foreign Intrigue was based on the European spy series of the same name, which ran for 156 episodes in the early 1950s. Mitchum brought incredible energy to this twist-filled mysterywhich began with a death on the French Riviera. As a slow-building, suspenseful story, this underrated noir deserves more attention from modern viewers.
8
Your Kind of Woman (1951)
Robert Mitchum as Dan Milner
While the production of Your type of woman was a random affair that saw extensive rewrites, recasts, and reshoots after director John Farrow thought he had delivered the finished film (via IndieWire), was still an excellent on-screen pairing between Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell and made for a fantastic comedic film noir. Like the story of a deported gangster’s plan to reenter the U.S., a gambler’s mysterious job for $50,000, and hidden agendas at a luxury Mexican hotel, Your type of woman It was full of twists and turns..
While Your type of woman While it’s still exciting to see all these years later, the behind-the-scenes details were equally as interesting. Although Farrow delivered his last film, RKO studio bosses brought in Howard Hawks to continue work on the film, which increased their costs and led to losses equal to their bloated $850,000 budget. While Your type of woman may not have been a financial success, it was a creative triumph for Mitchum and yet another engaging entry on his film noir resume.
7
Blood on the Moon (1948)
Robert Mitchum as Jim Garry
Blood on the Moon presented a psychologically rich 88-minute adventure. Directed by Robert Wise and starring Robert Mitchum, the story revolved around an unemployed Wild West cowboy named Jim Garry, his crooked friend Tate Riling, and a dispute between ranchers and cattleman John Lufton. Based on the novel The sniper’s chance by Luke Short, Blood on the Moon was a suspense story that managed to blend the disparate genres of film noir and classic western.
As an intriguing mix of genres that combined the best of both styles, Blood on the Moon showed why Mitchum was one of the biggest stars of his time, as he was able to capture the leading man’s energy needed for the role while also embodying the darkness beneath the surface. With sharp black and white camera work, Blood on the Moon perfectly encapsulated the dark tones and engaging use of shadows that made the best film noir work so well.
6
Angel Face (1952)
Robert Mitchum as Frank Jessup
There was a sinister energy in the incredible angel face starring Robert Mitchum. Although Mitchum made an impressive turn as ambulance driver turned chauffeur Frank Jessup, it was Jean Simmons as Diane Tremayne who really stood out as a more conniving and shockingly self-destructive character than your average noir femme fatale. With a story involving a man caught up in the unsavory schemes of a dangerous woman, angel face felt more like a modern thriller of deception within marriage, à la missing girlthan a classic 1950s film noir.
angel face It received mixed reviews upon release and was perhaps a few decades ahead of its time for the way it combined psychological intrigue with the selfish determination of its villainous character. Like an intensely Freudian cinematic work, angel face it often doesn’t get the attention it deserves and was a notable high point in Mitchum’s career. With destructive sexuality behind its murderous narrative, angel face was a masterpiece by director Otto Preminger.
5
Firestorm (1947)
Robert Mitchum as Sergeant. Peter Keeley
Appropriately for a film made in the years following World War II, Cross-fire tackled the prescient theme of anti-Semitism and starred three actors with the same name, Robert Young, Robert Mitchum and Robert Ryan. Like a film noir drama about a murdered man and the soldiers trying to determine the motive, Cross-fire explores the complex motives, underlying prejudices, and lingering trauma of veterans after war. With Mitchum as a soldier suffering from PTSD, Cross-fire was a layered film that had much more to say than its simple crime premise initially suggests.
Being a film with a clear agenda to spread its anti-discrimination message, Cross-fire it did this by utilizing classic noir tropes and an immersive style complete with low-key lighting and shadowy characters. Based on the 1945 novel by Richard Brooks The brick trenchthe main theme Cross-fire was the way ignorance can fuel intolerance, and while its execution may seem heavy-handed considering the historical context, it was a timely and important statement to make.
4
Goodbye, my beauty (1975)
Robert Mitchum as Philip Marlowe
After the success of Chinatown in 1974, it seemed that the film noir genre had something of a renaissance during the 1970s, as shown by Robert Mitchum’s excellent portrayal of detective Philip Marlowe in Goodbye, my beautiful. Although it would always be difficult to differentiate the character from Humphrey Bogart’s iconic portraitMitchum’s status as a true legend of the genre meant he was the perfect choice to play an older, grizzled version of Marlowe.
Goodbye, my beautiful was an over-the-top homage to an older version of cinema, as it echoed the appeal of noir’s classic days within the Hollywood studio system while also updating it for modern times. Leaning heavily on the hard-edged style of Raymond Chandler’s original novel, Mitchum proved that there was still room for Marlowe in the New Hollywood film era. A great performance was made even better by Mitchum acting alongside Charlotte Rampling’s exceptional work as the seductive femme fatale Helen Grayle.
3
Cape Fear (1962)
Robert Mitchum as Max Cady
Robert Mitchum conjured his sinister side as the violent psychopath and ex-con named Max Cady in the noir classic Cape Fear. As a psychological thriller filled with noir elements, this story of a killer seeking revenge was a truly dark tale, with implications of a possible sexual assault against a child. Although reception upon release was cautiously positive, the film undeniably succeeded as a tension-filled affair, and Mitchum gave one of his most impressively menacing performances.
With a suspenseful script that builds toward its thrilling conclusion, Cape Fear has gained a significant place in pop culture and was even parodied in an episode of The Simpsons titled “Cape Feare”, as Sideshow Bob embodied Cady’s nature while trying to murder Bart. Cape Fear it was also remade by Martin Scorsese with Robert De Niro playing Mitchum. Although the remake was a gripping retelling, Mitchum’s performance still stood as the definitive version of this story.
2
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Robert Mitchum as Preacher Harry Powell
While The Night of the Hunter was retroactively considered a film noir classic, things weren’t so simple when it was released in 1955. This tense story of a misogynistic serial killer posing as a preacher during the Great Depression was much darker than the common thriller of this era. , and Robert Mitchum’s impeccable performance was so intense that it took several decades for the true power of this film to gain its belated appreciation. With an expressionist style influenced by silent cinema The Night of the Hunter it became a cult classic and a defining role in Mitchum’s career.
However, the damage was already done and director Charles Laughton never directed another film due to The Night of the Hunter failure with critics and at the box office. This film tragedy was made all the more painful because Laughton never saw the retroactive appreciation of his film and its status today as an undisputed classic. Mitchum brought such a menacing air to his characterization of Powell that he remains one of the greatest villains of all time, nearly seven decades after his release.
1
Out of the Past (1947)
Robert Mitchum as Jeff Bailey
Out of the past was one of the greatest film noirs of all time and was Robert Mitchum’s crowning achievement in the genre. With a complex and fatalistic plot, dark cinematography and a classic femme fatale, Out of the past checked all the boxes when it came to noir tropes and clichés and he did it with so much style and substance that the film never feels formulaic. With incredible supporting performances from Jane Greer and Kirk Douglas, Out of the past has earned its place as an essential RKO film of the 1940s.
As the story of a man trying to start over in a new town with a new job and a new girl, Mitchum’s characterization of Jeff Bailey suggests the jaded nature of a man who just wants to leave his past behind. As the tension mounts and his old life comes back to haunt him, Out of the past explores the impossible challenge of getting away from it all. As an actor who has always excelled in film noir, Robert Mitchum exposed everything Out of the past.
Source: IndieWire