As most of you who follow me and Lynndee here know, one of my great loves other than oldie goldie moldie music and books is classic old movies.
I’ve shared much of that with y’all here, such as my take on Burt Lancaster’s stellar performance in From Here to Eternity, or Ernest Borgnine’s portrayal of a bashful bachelor in Marty, quite the opposite of the roles he played in From Here to Eternity or The Wild Bunch.
Though Lancaster and Borgnine are two of my all-time favorite actors, there are others not to be forgotten. For how could I ever forget Humphrey Bogart, Kirk Douglas or Paul Newman?
As for Newman, I’ve never touched upon him before here on the blog, but he’s also been a big part of my movie-viewing life. The first thing I ever remember seeing him in was The Hustler, a movie which peaked my interest in the game of pool, leading me to become a wannabe hustler in my own right later on, getting pretty good, while still remaining a wannabe…(”,) He later reprised his portrayal of “Fast” Eddie Felson in The Color of Money, alongside Tom Cruise.
Some of his more famous roles were in Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, along with Robert Redford, another of my faves, and The Sting, also with Redford.
One of his early movies I remember so well is Exodus, a historical movie based on the great book by Leon Uris about the founding of the state of Israel. Even at that young age, I was already a book lover and history nut, leading me to read Uris’ book and research the history behind the story.
There’s way too many of Newman’s movies I’ve seen to talk about all of them. The Towering Inferno was one of the most exciting ones which included an ensemble cast also featuring Steve McQueen, another of my favorites.
But just last week, I ran across a Newman movie I’d never seen, Harper. Ironically, I’d first seen the sequel to this movie, The Drowning Pool. In both, Newman portrays a private investigator. Though a serious crime drama, Newman also provided many entertaining comic scenes.
Both films were based on books by Ross Macdonald who wrote a series of 18 novels about this fictional PI, though his surname was Archer. It was changed to Harper for the movie due to copyright reasons.
Having discovered the genesis of these movies, I certainly want to check into reading the works which inspired the movies. The PI Lew Archer is almost like Raymond Chandler’s Phillip Marlowe, portrayed by Bogart in The Big Sleep, alongside his real wife Lauren Bacall.
So more book adventures await me, and I can hardly wait!
Paul Newman is one of my favorite actors of all time. I’m only 40, but I know his films well. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is one of my favorites.
I admit, I haven’t’ seen a lot of these. I should. I usually enjoy the classics. I know my dad loves Paul Newman.
I haven’t seen most of these, but I know my husband has. He is a big Paul Newman fan.
I am personally not a huge Paul Newman fan but they sound like I need to check them out.
For some reason, I can’t recall who this person is. The name is familiar but I’m glad that you shared more about Paul Newman and what he is to you in your movie life.
I don’t remember those movies but it sounds really a good one to watch. I am going to check this out, thanks for sharing!
I don’t think I’ve seen any of these, but I will have to check them out. Thanks for all the suggestions!
He’s a great actor. I’ve always loved his movies and they remind me of better times as I used to watch them with my grandfather.
Love Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid! (I also enjoy his salad dressings. 🙂 ) I would love to check out more of his older movies.
Love Paul Newman! I haven’t seen his movie for a while. Thanks for reminding us of him!
It is interesting to look back at old movies and to see which ones stand the test of time and are still interesting and relevant many years later.
Paul Newman is one of my mom’s favorite actors. I think he is extremely talented too.
I need to see some good movies. This has been a sad year for movies.
i hane’t seen many of this movies. i probably should seeing this.
This post made me wanna check Paul Newman’s movies. 🤔