Lee Marvin. You were the real McCoy, no doubt about it. A honest to god tough son of a bitch.
What was it, man, that gave you such a heady edge? The premature white in your hair coupled with that low register growl of yours? Was it the way you smoked a cigarette and squinted your eyes, scowling or smiling or a combo of the two, all at the same time? Maybe it was that macho bravado that never seemed faked, even up on the screen. Maybe it was the way you entered a room and everyone would look at you. It didn't matter if you played a soldier, cowboy, hitman or drunk, you were always spot on. You could be evil as hell like you were when you played Liberty Valance, or tough as nails as you were in The Professionals or the Dirty Dozen..all the same, you were a man who commanded, not demanded, respect, from men and women alike. Even someone as wicked as Liberty Valance had pals, and that says alot.
Somehow I can see you and my old man hanging out in The Valley after a shoot, tilting back tall cold ones in the recesses of cool, shady garage, hood opened up on some old big block Chevy, some tough old Nashville or R&B playing on the radio, talking rough man talk. I can see you being very real, in real life, a man's man, sure, but also the kind of man who would know how to treat his woman well, with kindness and respect. I think of wherever you went you were treated with respect, too. Not because you were tough or mean or ornery in your movie roles, but because you were a man who, when folks looked at him, made people at ease and yet at the same time pop to attention. A strange sort of combination, sure, but you were the man to pull it off.
I just watched three of your films last week. The Emperor of the North by Aldrich was new to me, so was Liberty Valance. I always had a hard time getting into the Dirty Dozen but finally sunk my teeth into it and loved it. Hard core, macho man stuff. But see, I always loved your work because you worked with the best. Ford, Boorman, Siegel, Fuller. Hell in the Pacific with Toshiro Mifune. The Professionals with Burt Lancaster and Woody Strode. Paint Your Wagon with Clint Eastwood. Cat Ballou with Jane Fonda. All grand stuff. Never tire of it, any of it.
Yeah, just wanted to let you know that even though your star is no longer rising, hell, maybe eclipsed by those younger, bolder, more familiar faces splashed up on the screen these day, that I still think the world of you, for you represent a time in the history of cinema when men were men, not cherry faced poster boys pretending to be men. Hell, no posters for you, man. Too fem. Que macho, hombre! Truly, one of a kind!
Action!
Internet Movie Database bio:
Wikipedia bio:
1 comment:
oooooh Thankyou! for writing this piece. You have captured Lee Marvin superbly. He was my first measure of a true man....Lee Marvin singing "I was born under a wandering star" will do it for me every time. Wholeheartedly endorse the pretty poster boy comment too! You got it in one.
tu amiga
Post a Comment