|
|
Post by marianne48 on Aug 22, 2023 21:13:00 GMT
Thelma Ritter, usually relegated to supporting roles, shared the title role in 1951's The Model and the Marriage Broker (no, she wasn't the model). It was great to see her as the star for a change.
What are some other good movies starring actors who were mostly known for character parts?
|
|
|
|
Post by spiderwort on Aug 22, 2023 22:14:03 GMT
What a great topic, marianne! I'm having trouble right now coming up with names and titles, but I'll keep thinking about it. One comes to mind, though I'm not sure what you will think of it, because, as a consequence of his role, he actually became a star, at least for a couple of decades: Ernest Borgnine in Marty. Before that, he was a strong character actor.
But I think you're looking for something a bit different (and your suggestion is perfect), so I will give it some more thought.
|
|
|
|
Post by politicidal1 on Aug 22, 2023 22:36:28 GMT
Charles McGraw in The Narrow Margin (1952).
|
|
|
|
Post by Doghouse6 on Aug 22, 2023 23:06:11 GMT
Frank Morgan shed his usual befuddled, comic persona to headline two off-the-beaten-track entries of the early '40s:
Washington Melodrama - Morgan is a DC lobbyist who suddenly finds himself struggling to avoid implication in a chorus girl's murder.
A Stranger in Town - Lighter in tone than the one above, Morgan is a crafty SCOTUS justice who applies his know-how and savvy to dealing with corruption in the small town in which he's vacationing incognito.
Edward Arnold, always among the most reliable and versatile character players of his time, had opportunities to shine in several lead roles:
Diamond Jim - A suggested-by-fact story of the legendary Diamond Jim Brady.
The Toast of New York - As financier Jim Fisk, Arnold actually relegates Cary Grant to second billing.
Eyes In the Night / The Hidden Eye - This pair stars Arnold as genial, ever-resourceful, blind investigator Duncan "Mac" Maclain.
|
|
|
|
Post by Rufus-T on Aug 22, 2023 23:41:56 GMT
Ernest Borgnine  Mostly a supporting role actor. One starring role and I don't know if he had any other, he won an Oscar playing the lead role in Marty (1955). |
|
|
|
Post by spiderwort on Aug 23, 2023 1:07:35 GMT
Ernest Borgnine Mostly a supporting role actor. One starring role and I don't know if he had any other, he won an Oscar playing the lead role in Marty (1955). He actually had several starring roles into the '70s at least, with films like A SUNDAY IN THE COUNTRY (1974), BUNNY O'HARE (1971), MAN ON A STRING (1960), THE SUMMER OF THE SEVENTEENTH DOLL (1959), THE RABBIT TRACK (1959), and THE CATERED AFFAIR (1956).
And he had 2nd billing starring roles in EMPEROR OF THE NORTH POLE (1973), ICE STATION ZEBRA (1968), THE DIRTY DOZEN (1967), TORPEDO RUN (1958), and THE BADLANDERS (1958). Later, he became more or less a "star character actor." |
|
|
|
Post by politicidal1 on Aug 23, 2023 1:14:45 GMT
Ward Bond in the WW2 movie Hitler - Dead or Alive (1942).
|
|
|
|
Post by amyghost on Aug 23, 2023 2:46:39 GMT
Claude Rains was the premier example of a character actor who was frequently a star in his own right.
|
|
|
|
Post by jeffersoncody on Aug 23, 2023 3:50:36 GMT
HARRY DEAN STANTON in PARIS TEXAS.
|
|
|
|
Post by Teleadm on Aug 23, 2023 5:15:45 GMT
Ethel Barrymore might fit the bill, she was a strong supporting actress in many movies but in Kind Lady 1951 she was on the top of the bill.  |
|
|
|
Post by Teleadm on Aug 23, 2023 5:24:19 GMT
Jerome Cowan, a familiar face in many movies in supporting roles, played the actual leading role in Crime By Night 1944, Jane Wyman was billed first because she was better known, together they solve a crime.  |
|
|
|
Post by Doghouse6 on Aug 23, 2023 11:08:38 GMT
Another one with Edward Arnold came to mind: The War Against Mrs. Hadley In this one, prolific character player Fay Bainter was leading lady to Arnold. |
|
|
|
Post by Doghouse6 on Aug 23, 2023 11:22:36 GMT
Claude Rains was the premier example of a character actor who was frequently a star in his own right. I'd put Edward G. Robinson right alongside him. After more than a decade with no less than top billing, he went into supporting roles with Double Indemnity, thereafter moving pretty freely between those and starring ones. |
|
|
|
Post by Catman on Aug 23, 2023 11:41:48 GMT
Yoshio Tsuchiya made his career as a character actor. While he did appear in many genres, he preferred playing aliens or people possessed by aliens in sci-fi movies. One of his few starring roles was in The Human Vapor where he plays a librarian who was the subject of experiments which gave him the ability to turn into a gaseous form.
From Godzilla Raids Again, where he played a pilot.  |
|
|
|
Post by amyghost on Aug 23, 2023 11:45:59 GMT
HARRY DEAN STANTON in PARIS TEXAS.Brilliant film. I had the complete screenplay, heavily illustrated, a treasure. Sadly, it was 'borrowed' some years back, never returned, and the sucker now sells for huge bucks online, so I've never replaced it. But I've watched the film again and again. Dean Stockwell, another great character performer who crossed the line into stardom a few times himself, is equally as good as Stanton. |
|
