7 Comments
Feb 9Edited

The most extreme example I've ever seen is David Wayne as the child-murdering (and probably worse) sicko in Joseph Losey's remake of "M." I COULD NOT BELIEVE he took the role. And even more, I COULD NOT BELIEVE his career survived it. In the repressed early 50s, yet!

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Great point; I can't remember if the Losey M was on the longlist or not. There was something off-putting about David Wayne to me, so it wasn't an outrageous stretch in my eyes, but it certainly had nothing in common with anything he'd been doing. He's good, and what's more it's his own performance. Didn't seem overwhelmed by the shadow of Lorre. Have you seen El Vampiro Negro this month?

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I will!

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I had already planned on watching some of these (ones I've not seen) but this helps convince me....

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Ah, so my evil plan is working.

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I heard that Steve McQueen didn’t want to take the lead role in Bullitt because the character was a cop and most of McQueen’s fans at the time were hippies. I also heard McQueen turned down the lead role in Dirty Harry along with many other actors.

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Thanks, Siren! I was ready for Gregory Peck’s villainy with all those li’l Hitler brats…far more efficient to save Hitler’s brain!…because I’d seen his Ahab. I know Ahab is an antagonist not a villain. I’ll definitely see that Kay Francis film.

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