100 Years of Movie Posters: Robert Mitchum

Wednesday, 24 July 2013

Robert Mitchum

Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Robert Mitchum (1917-1997) was an iconic figure of post-war Hollywood, he embodied the rugged and solitary anti-hero of American film noir in a string of classic dramas and mysteries, including "Out of the Past" (1947), "His Kind of Woman" (1952), and "Angel Face." (1952) However, he proved versatile in almost every genre including westerns and thrillers.

He was well partnered with Jane Russell in a pair of steamy crime dramas, "His Kind of Woman" (1951) and "Macao" (1952), which made much of the stars' considerable sex appeal; and appeared opposite Jean Simmons (in several films, most notably 1952's "Angel Face") and Marilyn Monroe in the western "River of No Return" (1954).

In a career highlight, Mitchum tapped his menacing side for Charles Laughton's frightening thriller "Night of the Hunter" (1955) - a part which was incidentally Mitchum's favorite role - where his murderous con worked a fire-and-brimstone preacher facade while hot on the trail of two children who know the location of hidden loot.

The film kicked off a new chapter in Mitchum's film roles - one that emphasized richer, more nuanced characters for the actor, including "Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison" (1957) with Mitchum in a BAFTA-nominated turn as a WWII Marine shipwrecked with nun Deborah Kerr. He sent chills up the audiences' collective spines as an unrepentant sex criminal who terrorizes lawyer Gregory Peck and his family in "Cape Fear" (1962).

Robert Mitchum is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time. (TCM)