(In Which I Share Some Trivia Tidbits re: Chicago-Born American Film Actor Robert Ryan, 1909 to 1973...)

The other day I watched a Max Ophuls' film from 1949, Caught. The movie starred Robert Ryan, Barbara Bel Geddes, and James Mason. Now, I was under the impression this was film-noir, or at least some kind of thriller (I will take the blame for not researching any further than what NetFlix told me off to the right in my queue). Technically, it might qualify as film-noir, but it certainly wasn't very thrilling, and there was (at least) one fairly major flaw in the story line that pretty much ruined the movie for me mid-way through. It's just not a strong screenplay any way you look at it. But what kept me watching to the end was the presence of James Mason, one of my favorite actors; also, the movie looks beautiful - the lighting and many, many shots are pretty marvelous (cinematography by Lee Garmes). And then there was Robert Ryan, with his grim, determined, angry face, and I remembered that he'd always been one of my father's favorites, so I thought I'd take a look at his biography over on imdb.com to learn a little something about him, and it is now your Great Fortune that I will share a couple of the details I learned...

First, should you not be familiar with his face, here is a shot of him from Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch (1969)...

A drill sergeant in the Marine Corp, Ryan was also an accomplished boxer, as well as a long time champion of civil rights. He was against McCarthyism (in fact he worked with John Wayne in the early 50s and was appalled by Wayne's support for McCarthy; in truth, anybody against Wayne's politics earns a special place in IBL's heart), against the Hollywood blacklist, was an early founder/champion of the anti-nuclear movement, and close friends with Lee Marvin (earning him another tip of the IBL cap). {But wait - THERE'S MORE!} Jeff Bridges, another IBL favorite, sites Ryan as a major influence; originally, Ryan was to play Commodore Decker on The Doomsday Machine, absolutely my favorite Star Trek episode (William Windom wound up with the part); finally, because why not, Ryan lived in Apartment 72 at the Dakota in New York City until shortly before his death from lung cancer in 1973. He then rented it out to John and Yoko and subsequently his estate sold it to the couple.

Cheers to whomever manages the data over there at imdb.com, and here's hoping they're fairly accurate, too (anybody with knowledge of conflicting information please feel free to let me know)...

IBL:mm