Editor’s Note: We all have our own votes for who should have won those best actor Oscars over the years at the Academy Awards, with some wins where we said “Excellent!” and others where we groaned. Freeline Media critic Mike Fried feels much the same way, which is why he now offers his thoughts on the best roles by some of our most cherished actors. Read on!
By MIKE FRIED
GREAT ACTORS’ BEST ROLES
There is nothing like a career best performance. There are some actors who have many of them and there are some who don’t have any. But even among the best of the best, there are roles that are so career-defining and special that they merit special attention.
This is one of those articles that I know will spark outrage. “How could he not include this actor or this actress?” and “This picture — and not that picture?”
I get it.
Well, I am not writing a book so there can only be a certain length and what I did was prioritize already written reviews to make the point.
Sure I could have gone longer and done write-ups of Mifune, Hepburn, Davis, Cage, Olivier, Brando and many many more.
But, hey, I don’t like writing as much and I figured I’d quit while I’m ahead.
So here goes.
PACINO: DOG DAY AFTERNOON
5/5
Two bank robbers, Sonny and Sal, attempt to rob a bank in Brooklyn and things go haywire, with the entire robbery becoming a circus surrounded by crowds, the police and the FBI.
There is a scene toward the end of Dog Day Afternoon that, for me, cements this role as being Pacino’s greatest performance which came, unfortunately, during the same year as One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. It looks as though the cops are giving in to Sonny’s demands. There is stretch car waiting to take Sonny and Sal as well as the hostages to JFK for a plane that will take them all to Algeria.
But, see, Sonny isn’t a career criminal. He wants money for his boyfriend “wife” to have a sex change operation. He has been pretty respectful to the hostages but he feels he should dictate his will, which is being transcribed by the head teller. It is a scene of beauty, as Sonny tells his boyfriend that he loves him more than any man has ever loved another man and how he tells his real wife, Angie, how much he loves her and that she is the only woman he has loved. And he tells his son Timmy that he is the man of the house.
It is a beautiful moment. As sweaty and disgusting Sonny is, his outpouring of love for those closest to him is an incisively deep cut, probably the first time all day long that he has full semblance of his faculties.
This is quite simply one of the best motion pictures ever made. It is well written, crisply written, beautifully directed, wonderfully savvy and full of great leading actors and character actors that bring the entire story to life.
Al Pacino is a force of nature as Sonny, the lead bank robber. He’s robbing the bank so he can pay for his lover’s sex change operation. He is a whirlwind. He has no idea how to rob a bank, but he’s makes things up as he goes along. He understands how banks operate, he understands how the cops operate, and he is not taking any bullshit from anybody, especially Detective Sergeant Eugene Moretti. However, he treats his hostages with respect. He is a contradiction in terms. And Sonny becomes a hit with the crowd, which eggs him on and emboldens him. His cries of “Attica, Attica” which set off the crowd were improvised. That’s greatness.
John Cazale is absolutely scary in his role as Sal, Sonny’s partner. He doesn’t have many lines but the expressions on his face are worth many thousands of words. As understanding as Sonny may be, Sal is the complete opposite. Anything can set Sal off and many times you think he’s at the breaking point. Because of this, he was nominated for a Golden Globe but for my money he should’ve been nominated for an Academy award. This is, in my opinion, John Cazale’s greatest role and that includes Fredo Corleone. His discussion with the lead bank teller about smoking a cigarette is one of the best performances he’s ever given. He is sorely missed but how many actors do you know that were in only five pictures and all of them were nominated for Best Picture. Just to think that Cazale improvised “Wyoming” to Pacino’s question about which country he wanted to fly to is amazing.
Charles Durning is equally great as detective Moretti. He is trying to defuse the situation that he knows cannot be defused. He’s trying to use charm with Sonny and he often uses rage, especially to the other cops and especially the crowd. He was nominated for a Golden Globe and he rightly deserved the nomination.
Chris Sarandon is tremendous as Leon, Sonny’s lover, who is also Sonny’s “wife.” He is petrified of Sonny because of his rage and he shows it so beautifully. His scene in the barber shop telling Moretti about his relationship with Sonny earned him a very well-deserved Oscar nomination for best supporting actor. With all due respect to fans of The Princess Bride, this is his very best performance.
The rest of the cast is equally well-suited to this film. The hostages in the bank are a diverse group exuding both fear and a sense of humor, especially when the Stockholm syndrome takes affect. They add to the humor of the situation. Many of the hostages were actors who previously worked with Pacino and the ease in which they interact is evident.
The script by Frank Pearson, based upon a real incident, rightfully won an Academy award. It is funny and intense. It is quick witted and it is pure New York from the 1970s.Tying it all together is the incredible direction by Sidney Lumet who is really at the top of his game. Filming on location in a vacant storefront disguised as a bank in Brooklyn, the movie has a high level of verisimilitude. The havoc that Lumet creates is absolutely tremendous.
And, as created by Pierson and Lumet, Sonny goes from being a folk hero shouting “Attica Attica Attica” and riling up the crowd to outcast when the very Brooklyn crowd finds out he is gay. You can feel the tide turning. Even as Sonny et.al. are being driven to JFK, local residents ascribe their cars next to the police procession and throw insults.
People like to talk about what their favorite movie is in a particular genre, especially sports fans: what’s the best baseball movie? What’s the best football movie? What’s the best golf movie? What’s the best horror movie?what’s the best comedy and what’s the best drama.
Those questions can be debated from here to eternity.
But without a doubt this is actually the best bank robbery movie ever made
WATCH IT!
Added bonus: in a “blink and you’ll miss him” role is Uncle Junior, Dominic Chianese as Al Pacino’s father — they would appear together four years later in And Justice For All.
CAGNEY: WHITE HEAT
5/5
Cody Jarrett is a psychopathic criminal with a mother complex. After he robs a train in the Sierra Nevadas, he goes on the lam and when he is caught he pleads guilty to a crime committed in Illinois nowhere near the train robbery and is sent to jail with a lesser sentence. He tries to run his gang from jail but his top henchman tries to cause him to have an “accident” but Cody is saved by fellow inmate “Vic Pardo,” really an undercover cop by the name of Hank Fallon. Cody escapes from jail after he learns of Ma’s death and plans on robbing a chemical plant payroll which leads to the explosive finale.
“Cody Jarrett is nuts, just like his old man” says one of his gang. And his mom is no help whatsoever. James Cagney, in his signature performance — even more so than his Oscar winning role of George S. Cohan — proved to a fare thee well that Cagney was still a force of nature. He had a rough time from 1942 to 1949 when he tried his own production company. But Warner Brothers welcomed him back into the fold with this picture directed by his old friend Raoul Walsh.
The movie is his performance — the plot doesn’t matter — and it was much more than that “made it ma” cry at the end of the film. It was his idea to play Jarrett as a psychopath for a very personal reason. His dad was a very abusive alcoholic who used to beat on him, his brother and his mother when he went into an alcoholic rage. He patterned his character in this very manner. In one of the funnier moments of the film (albeit dark for 1949) was Cody shooting someone else while eating a chicken leg. His outburst in the prison mess hall was a surprise to everyone involved and was concocted by Cagney and Walsh and it’s a thoroughly mesmerizing scene.
How this film only secured one Oscar nomination is a mystery. Walsh’s direction was overlooked and Cagney? Well, I’m speechless. Even though Cagney referred to the film as “a cheapjack job” with a script that lacked imagination or originality, Cagney’s performance was voted number 26 on the AFI’s top Heroes and Villains list (obviously the villain) and his closing cry ranking at 18 on the most famous movie quote list from AFI.
So influential was Cagney’s Cody Jarrett that it inspired Jack Nicholson’s performance as The Joker in 1989’s Batman.
And while he loved his mom, Cagney wasn’t as obsessed with his mom as Cody was. This was more of a reference to the sons of famed criminal Ma Barker and specifically her son Arthur. And in Margaret Wycherly, Walsh and Cagney found the perfect actress to aid and abet Jarrett’s insanity.
The film set the stage for 1950s heist films, like The Killing and The Asphalt Jungle and the initial reception was overly positive.
But for Cody Jarrett “he finally got to the top of the world … and it blew right up in his face.”
But Cagney, for one brief shining bit of time, was at the top of his world.
WATCH THIS FILM!
5/5
Fun Fact: the “machine shop” in the penitentiary was actually the Warner Brothers property department’s main assembly room.
McDORMAND & MACY & BUSCEMI: FARGO
5/5
Still the Coen Brothers’ very best film and a model of perfection!
It rolls out as poor shnook Jerry Lundergard meets two men in a bar, asking them to kidnap his wife and he’s gonna split with them the ransom money her father will pay.
And from there things spin out of control.
When the two men kill a state trooper and two passersby within the town limits of Brainerd, the home of Paul Bunyan, low key police chief Marge Gunderson has to investigate. And as low key as she is, she’s more dogged than she looks.
I can’t speak highly enough about this film.
Everything is pitch perfect. The screenplay crackles in low key Minnesota humor with just the right amount of information. Jerry needs money but we don’t know why. And it doesn’t matter. It’s a maguffin that propels the story, which deliciously melds noir and comedy, kindly poking fun at Minnesota manners. I’ve read the script and every pause, every stammer, every hesitation is written into the script.
And the script serves as the basis for some tremendous performances from everyone in the cast, large or small.
Frances McDormand won an Oscar for her role as Marge. She’s perfect in the role and brings to it an absolutely cheeky steeliness. She is pure Brainerd. Polite to a fault she is full of “you betchas” and “oh yeahs” as she goes through her investigation. It says a lot about her performance’s impact when she doesn’t show up until 33 minutes into the film.
I can’t say enough about William H. Macy who delivers a career best performance as Jerry. He’s duplicitous and scheming but he’s out of his element as he tries to keep his creditors at bay and tries to outfox Marge. His speech to his son, who is understandably upset, is one of the best he’s ever given.
Steve Buscemi also gives a career best performance as one of the kidnappers and his weaselly performance is brought out by his partner in crime Peter Stormare. During one of the more pivotal scenes Buscemi’s rage is in full froth as he disputes his partner how the lucre will be split.
In this movie, mood is everything. From the dark nights to the frigid landscape and the affability of the natives, the Coens have directed a miraculous film that should have won best picture.
Fuck the English Patient. Elaine Benes got it right. The accordion king poster says it all.
5/5
PS – Don’t blink or you’ll miss the Bruce Campbell cameo.
FUN FACT: Reilly Diefenbach from GMAC is voiced by the same actor who hounded the protagonist in A Serious Man on behalf of Columbia House record club and who played the funeral director in Lebowski.
BOGART: THE CAINE MUTINY
5/5
It’s World War 2. A newly commissioned ensign, Willie Keith reports for duty aboard the USS Caine, a minesweeper which he believes is being run poorly by Lieutenant Commander DeVries. He befriends Lt. Stephen Maryk, the XO, and Lt. Thomas Keefer, the communications officer. Soon after, DeVries is replaced by Lieutenant Commander Philip Francis Queeg who applies his form of discipline on the crew. Initially, Willie admires it but later changed his mind. As Queeg puts it, “There are four ways of doing things onboard my ship: the right way; the wrong way; the Navy way; and my way.“ When a tow line is crossed during a storm, Maryk relieves Queeg of his command and all hell breaks loose.
Humphrey Bogart’s best performance ever powers this movie. And he is better than Brando in On the Waterfront — there, I said it. The genius in Bogey’s performance is how he plays it. Unlike Cagney in White Heat, Bogey doesn’t go for histrionics. His Queeg is every bit a nutcase as Cody Jarrett but he’s not a psychopath. He’s the height of paranoid with a severe persecution complex. When his orders are followed but not precisely he takes it as a personal affront. His berating of Ensign Keith causes him to lose focus on the bridge of his ship, resulting in the Caine running over a tow line and he blames the helmsman.
What truly defines this movie is “the strawberry investigation,” as silly as it sounds. When a quart of strawberries goes missing, Queeg turns over the entire ship looking for the missing strawberries. But this kind of inane moment aboard a minesweeper might not have had the impact that it did without the Caine Mutiny Court Martial Trial that follows after Maryk relieves Queeg of his command during a typhoon.
An outstanding courtroom scene in and of itself, it is elevated by Bogart’s testimony scene. Aside from Queeg’s outburst and irrational behavior, he comes across — or at least tries to — as a hail fellow well met. He smiles, he speaks in an understated but commanding manner and he just wants some respect. But his testimony during the court martial tells the tale. Under cross examination by Maryk’s defense attorney Barney Greenwald (an absolutely tremendous José Ferrer) his convivial manner collapses. It is an absolutely extraordinary performance. and was so powerful, that it completely captivated the onlooking film technicians and crewmen. After the scene’s completion, the company gave Bogart a round of thunderous applause.
Besides Bogart, magnificent performances are turned in by Jose Ferrer, Van Johnson, EG Marshall and, finally, Fred MacMurray who excelled in playing shitheads until he traded his bad guy persona for Flubber and Three Sons. The dialogue crackles, especially during the climactic court martial scene.
The only defect in this movie is the annoying side story about an ensign’s women problems which don’t add anything to the story. Fortunately, the storyline didn’t detract from the overall film.
If you’ve never seen it, you’re missing out. And if you don’t like that, well then you can’t handle the truth.
5/5
Fun Fact: Michael Caine took his stage name from the film. He was telephoning his agent from a booth in London’s Leicester Square when he was informed that there already was an actor using his proposed acting name, Michael White (his birth name being Maurice Micklewhite), and that he had to come up with a new one. Caine looked up, saw that this film was playing at a cinema in the square and the rest is history.
DEAN & HUDSON: GIANT
5/5
They do everything big in Texas and this movie is no exception. Jordan “Bick” Benedict is a wealthy rancher who owns 1,000,000 acres of land and it’s one of the most successful cattle ranchers in Texas, boasting 50,000 head of cattle. He travels East to purchase a horse and falls in love with the seller’s daughter, Leslie, whom he marries. Bick is so rich that his ranch is 50 miles away from the train stop that bears his name. And in true Texas style the film is populated with characters out of central casting. And yet one character is not, Jett Rink. Jett’s a ranch hand who has a grudge on his shoulder, feeling that he is just a little man who will never get his due.
One of my favorite movies, this picture excels not only because of its beautiful VistaVision cinematography but because of the way it deals with change. It covers three generations of the Benedict family and their friends. But very daring for the 1950s, it was one of the first movies to deal with the issue of systemic racism against Mexican Americans in the Southwest. This part is driven home when Bick and Leslie’s sensitive son, Jordy, wants to become a doctor instead of a rancher. But more sparks fly when Jordy marries a Mexican woman, setting the stage for the film’s finale.
Change is something that many of the characters are resistant to but not Leslie with her Eastern sensibilities. And she is a driver of change. But no one is more a driver of change in this film than Jett Rink. As portrayed by James Dean in his final and greatest film role, Jett is very much a hardworking man and resentful and he plays like a Howard Hughes type, especially after striking oil on a parcel of land that he has been bequeathed. The oil boom transforms the Benedicts as well and they cannot be resistant to change.
I cannot say enough about the acting in this movie. Rock Hudson is stern and upright, a true western Texas cowboy, resistant to change but, well, he’s married. He shows such range in his portrayal, from humor to anger that his Oscar nomination was well deserved. When his son doesn’t want to ride the pony he gets him for his fourth birthday, he acts like a stubborn mule thinking his son ought to ride “because he’s a Benedict” He often gets mad at Leslie but always comes around.
Elizabeth Taylor is radiant as Miss Leslie and she goes from pure femininity to firebrand when she has to. She wasn’t shown any Oscar love for this film but that shouldn’t take away anything from her performance. She is a kind and caring human being and her kindness to all, even Mexicans (this is the early 1920s after all) causes some of the change in this movie. When the baby of a Mexican woman in the village for workers gets sick, Leslie sends the family doctor to look after her. Bick protests that the doctor is “our doctor” but Leslie won’t hear of it. And afterwards even Bick says “good” when he hears the baby is better. She stands up against sexual stereotypes accorded to women. “You men date back 100,000 years…politics, Business what is so masculine about a conversation that a woman can’t enter into it?”
But this movie belongs to James Dean. As Jett Rink he brings his cool toughness to the Texas prairie. He is cool, calm and collected, except around Leslie with whom he has become infatuated. When Bick’s sister dies, she leaves Jett a small piece of land to call his own and when Bick tries to buy it from him, he openly defies him, deciding to keep the land. His oil strike scene is the finest of his short career and one of the most iconic scenes in film history. But no matter how successful Jett Rink becomes, he is stuck in the past pining over Leslie. He is rich and successful but unhappy. What’s more amazing is that Dean was 24 when he clobbered this role.
The look of the film is equally epic. From the photography to the production design the film is sumptuous. The 4K remaster is not as good as I hoped it would be, but it is still a significant improvement — the colors seem a bit faded and the picture is not as sharp as it is on the big screen. However, the daytime and well lit close up scenes really pop in the 4k format.
And all of this was helmed beautifully by George Stevens, who won the film’s only Oscar, for Best Director. As a director, Steven’s actually filmed D-Day and the Normandy landings but he always joked with friends “What was harder? World War II or Giant?” I’m going to say it’s a tough call. Stevens went millions of dollars over budget and shot 850,000 feet of film that took him a year to edit, so maybe it was this film.
A final word about the supporting cast. Like I said, many are straight out of central casting led by Chill Wills as Uncle Bawley and Oscar nominated Mercedes McCambridge as Bick’s sister Luz. But a young Dennis Hopper as a grown up Jordy deserves special note. Yes, he’s sensitive but he’s also got the firebrand streak from his mother and is willing to stand up for what he thinks is right. Only his third film role and he delivers such a strong performance.
This is one of the best epics I’ve ever seen.
I watch it once every 18 months or so and love reveling in every scene over and over.
It’s long – nearly three and a half hours – but the time flies by.
If you haven’t seen it you should WATCH IT!
5/5
CONNERY: THE UNTOUCHABLES
5/5
“1930. Prohibition has transformed Chicago into a City at War. Rival gangs compete for control of the city’s billion dollar empire of illegal alcohol, enforcing their will with the hand grenade and Tommy gun. It is the time of the Ganglords. It is the time of Al Capone.”
So begins The Untouchables, one of Brian DePalma’s best movies. Eliot Ness, a self-righteous and forthright agent of the Treasury Department is assigned to Chicago with the sole purpose of bringing down Al Capone, during the times of Prohibition which, he proudly proclaims to the cops assigned to support him, “is the law of the land” as he admonishes them not to drink. In his first attempt to take out a Capone shipment he is foiled due to a tipoff from a crooked cop to Capone (like Midnight Run, the Chicago police department is not viewed well in the movies). A despondent Ness has a chance encounter with a beat cop, Jimmy Malone, whom he recruits to aid him in his quest because Malone is an aging cop who has never surpassed being a beat cop and, therefore, must be honest. Malone helps Ness recruit George Stone (original name Giuseppe Petri) as part of the team and Washington sends an accountant named Oscar Wallace who, rather than wanting to carry a gun, is eager to delve in to Capone’s books to see if an income tax rap can be placed on them. Malone has other ideas. They are beyond corruptible. When an alderman visits Ness and attempts to bribe him, Ness calls his crew back into the office to witness the rebuke of the bribe. The alderman replies “so that’s it- you’re untouchable” and hence the name is borne. As a result, the four find themselves up against the Capone machine and, in particular, Capone’s chief enforcer, Frank Nitti, in their attempts to get Capone’s bookkeeper who can decipher the ledger they have received.
This may not be on AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies list but it’s on mine. Brian DePalma has crafted an exquisitely sumptuous crime film. Chicago of the late 1980s is tremendously transformed into Chicago of the late 1920s and early 1930s. The production design is perfectly done and you feel transformed and the set design is only outdone by a riveting and rousing should-have-won-an Oscar score by Ennio Morricone. Add into the mix the costumes designed by Giorgio Armani, and you have a great looking picture. The film is just an exercise in style.
But the picture is much more than its looks.
DePalma’s direction is masterful and it especially shows in the performances. While I thought Kevin Costner’s Ness was a bit wooden, Costner did get the holier-than-thou part down and his dealings with Frank Nitti enabled him to flex his chops a bit. Robert De Niro, looking like he pulled off another Jake LaMotta (but he did not, opting for padding instead) has some scenes where he gets to chew the scenery so much. His rage at Ness is particularly good but the strongest Capone moment comes when he discusses his love of baseball – one of the more memorable scenes in the film.
But this is a movie that belongs to Connery. Winning a much deserved Academy Award, Connery delivers one of his best performances as a wizened old cop who is trying to make Ness understand what “the Chicago Way” is. When he does, he tells Ness he’s made a blood oath. And he is right. But Connery is also great because he throws off some great one-liners. When Ness and Malone are interviewing young unspoiled candidates for the team, one of the marksmen picked is so inarticulate that he is dismissed and Malone quips “There goes the next chief of police.” It’s a laughable moment and rightly so. Malone is a serious guy but he also has his wiseguy side.
But Malone wouldn’t have been half as good without the hugely literate script by David Mamet – it’s not that it is just a great script (it is!) but it is clear that Mamet did his research into 1920s Chicago lingo (OK, pal, why the mahaska? Why are you carrying the gun?) and it makes the film that much more genuine. This movie has the best tough guy dialogue in it than any other movie in the last 35 years. And it’s all due to Mamet.
I don’t want to gloss over the performances by Charles Martin Smith and a very young Andy Garcia, in his first major role. Smith’s Oscar Wallace is a numbers guy – he absolutely gets gleeful when he discovers a trail of numbers that don’t make sense. He is the same geek that he played in American Graffiti, only older. But he is good with a shotgun as well. And Garcia, in his career making role, is excellent as the guy who will not back down, not from Malone and not from Ness. He has a steely determination in his eyes which is no better shown than in the shootout at the train station. And I would be faulted if I did not mention Billy Drago who plays Frank Nitti with undeniable menace. Bot his squint and his voice proclaim trouble and he is downright scary
And this brings us back to DePalma, who owns this movie.
The shootout at the train station, which DePalma rips off the famous Odessa Steps sequence from Battleship Potemkin is nevertheless a sight to behold. Tense, filmed in slow motion with Morricone’s score overwhelming one’s senses, it is a much watched scene. Capone’s baseball speech is filmed with close-ups, long shots and a crucial overhead shot – it is staged impeccably. And Malone’s pivotal scene in a railroad apartment is filmed with dizzying camera work. DePalma is at the top of his game.
Here endeth the Lesson.
WATCH IT!
5/5
MONROE: SOME LIKE IT HOT
5/5
So, dere’s dese two mugs and dey is musicians and dey witness da St. Valentine’s Day Massacree and dey have to go into hiding, see, so they dress up like women and get a gig working in an all women’s band heading to an engagement in Florida. Things get complicated when dey befriend Sugar Kane, da band’s singer and ukulele player who one pursues and one of them gets chased by an aging much divorced millionaire.
This is definitely one of the ten best comedies ever made and the one that can be considered to be absolutely perfect. A throwback to 1930s and 1940s screwball comedies It’s one of the first — if not the first — gender bending and gay-friendly movies to come out of Hollywood and thank goodness for that.
Billy Wilder and his partner I.A.L. Diamond struck gold with the wittiest screenplay that they created and it’s executed with such wondrous glee by Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe. Monroe, for her part, and despite all of her insecurities and flubs on set, gives her best screen performance. She is the real star of the film. But Lemmon earned a well-deserved Oscar nomination for Best Actor and there’s a reason why. Unlike Curtis who played the role of Josephine as a woman, Lemmon played Daphne as a man playing a woman. They both had lessons how to walk in heels but Lemmon said “no” because he wanted to walk like a man in heels, not like a woman. Tony Curtis was no slouch either. Curtis does a very funny Cary Grant voice which prompted Grant to say “I don’t talk like that” (He does! And Grant loved the impersonation!)
Wilder has so many wonderful visual touches. When the band shows up at the hotel in Florida (actually the Hotel Del Coronado in California) all the old geezers are sitting in their rocking chairs, reading the Wall Street Journal, wearing boaters and rocking in unison.
There’s a terrific sight gag with Edward G. Robinson’s son playing a young hood who is flipping a coin à la George Raft in Scarface when the big hoodlum, Spats Colombo, walks by and calls it a “cheap trick.” Spats is, of course, played by George Raft. When one of the gangsters is being frisked before the big gangster meeting, a gun is discovered in the leg of his pants. The gangster says “It’s not loaded” at which point his other leg is frisked and a bunch of bullets fall out. And Wilder even throws in a nod to the grapefruit scene from “The Public Enemy.”
Michael Fried has no formal training in movies, except having watched over 26,000+ movies — if not more — in his 60-plus years on this planet, starting with Goldfinger as his first cinema experience. He knows what he likes and he knows what he doesn’t like, and it’s quite often different from the conventional wisdom. He knows that the best franchise is Godzilla and he loves action movies and comedies. He has not been nominated for any awards except some boring insurance awards which has no applicability to movies (with the possible exceptions of Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity and John Cassavettes’ Big Trouble). He is part of a team that won the 1980 SUNY Albany Trivia content by correctly guessing the question, “Who played the president of Klopstockia in Million Dollar Legs?” So he has that going for him, which is nice.
Contact Mike at moviemike3@gmail.com
