Beyond the Last Frontier 1943 Directed by Howard Bretherton Republic B/W

Arabella’s Notes..

This is the 16th of 20 films Robert Mitchum made in 1943 (although it is listed differently in some filmographies) and just one of 8 Westerns that year. The ads bragged shamelessly about the star, Eddie Dew who played the role of John Paul Revere, stalwart Texas Ranger. “A Texas Ranger must shoot like a Tennesseean, ride like a Mexican and fight like the devil!” was to be the banner for a whole series but Dew (and his successor in the sequel) never got out of the stable! A fourth-billed actor by the name of “Bob” Mitchum out-acted them all. As Trigger Dolan, a gang henchman-turned-good guy, he rescued Smiley Burnette and the studio’s bacon. Typical Western fare but Mitchum shines.

Mitchumism...

“I have two acting styles...with and without a horse!”

The Story of G.I. Joe 1945 Directed by William Wellman United Artists B/W

Oscar nomination....

Best Supporting Actor...................................Robert Mitchum
Best Music Score...........................................Louis Applebaum , Ann Ronell
Best Song.......................................................Ann Ronell
Best Screenplay..............................................Leopold Atlas,Guy Endots,Philip Stevenson

Arabella’s Notes...

After 28 films, Bob finally got his big break and an Oscar nomination. During contract negotiations, RKO loaned him out to United Artists for a war movie based on newspaper columnist Ernie Pyle’s reports from the front. William Wellman had asked for Mitchum specifically after seeing the actor in some of his recent Westerns. But Bob had to be convinced. “Everyone’s after that role, Gary Cooper and all the rest, why me?”. There are no reports what Wellman replied but Bob took the role. Wellman later agonized over not using Bob’s actual test instead of reshooting a scene in the film. It was the one where Mitchum as C.O. Walker, is writing letters to the mothers of his men killed in action. Newsweek: Robert Mitchum, hitherto limited chiefly to Westerns,gave a fine performance...”. Daily News’ Kate Cameron lauded Mitchum for playing his role “with an authority that gives the film power and glory..the best performance of the year!” Eighteen months later, Robert Mitchum was drafted!

Mitchumism...

“I don’t even like acting. I just do it for the money.”

The Locket 1946 Directed by John Brahm RKO B/W

Arabella’s Notes.....

I suppose it was apropos that in this 4th of Mitchum’s film noir classics, he did a lot of
night work. Caught between the finishing takes and retakes of two other concurrent films
(Undercurrent and Desire Me at MGM) Bob was working long days and many nights. He
got third billing under established stars Laraine Day and Brian Aherne, as the altruistic but
moody artist who falls under the spell of psycho thief Laraine. He inadvertently becomes
an accessory to one murder and the execution of an innocent man. Aherne plays her
second dupe. The role gained him mixed reviews possibly due to the poor reception given
to the picture itself. But I consider it worth watching just for Mitchum’s portrayal alone.
Also look for Mercedes McCambridge as the ultimate vicious mother!

Mitchumism.....

“I started out to be a sex fiend but I couldn’t pass the physical”.

Crossfire 1947 Directed by Edward Dmytryk RKO B/W

Oscar nominations....
Best Supporting Actor........................................Robert Ryan
Best Supporting Actress.....................................Gloria Grahame
Best Director.......................................................Edward Dmytryk
Best Picture..........................................................Adrian Scott
Best Screenplay....................................................John Paxton

British Academy Awards nomination...................Best Film

Cannes Film Festival Award.................................Best Social Film

Edgar Allan Poe Award.........................................Best Picture

Arabella’s Notes.......

Starring the 3 “Bobs”(Young, Ryan, and Mitchum) and led by the no-vowel director, Ed Dmytryk, this film became the landmark movie about anti-Semitism, releasing ahead of Zanuck’s “Gentleman’s Agreement” by several months. Based on Richard Brooks’ novel “The Brick Foxhole”, the original premise of homosexuality was bypassed in favor of a shocking, savage drama dealing with the murder of a Jewish war veteran. Ryan played the sadistic killer, Young the police captain and Mitchum was (according to critic Otis L. Guernsey) “perfect as a tough-minded, good-hearted sergeant who helps solve the crime.” Look for great performances by Gloria Grahame as Ginny, Paul Kelly as The Man and Sam Levene as the murdered man. Dmytryk confessed he had asked for Mitchum because of his new box office appeal, then said “On the surface, Mitchum is irresponsible and vague - and wacky. Underneath he knows the score as few men in Hollywood do.” The movie itself cost $500,000 and took 22 days to shoot but it earned 5 Oscars.

Mitchumism....

“I am not glamour-conscious. I try to get the scene finished in one take so it’ll be cheap
and quick and I can go home”.

Out of the Past 1947 Directed by Jacques Tourneur RKO B/W

Arabella’s Notes....

Another film noir classic and Bob’s first chance to carry a film. He stars with Jane Greer in
what RKO hoped would eventually be another pairing a la Bogie and Bacall. The publicity
department sold the film based entirely on the Mitchum persona. The posters declared “It’s like lightning kissing thunder when Mitchum makes love to a girl with a gun!” with a picture of Bob in somnolent gaze, a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth.They added Kirk Douglas as the heavy. As retired detective Jeff Bailey, Bob is dealt two body blows by Whit Sterling (Douglas) and his on-again, off-again gal pal Kathi (Greer). Finally, realizing his new love, Ann (played very well by Virginia Huston) can never be happy with him until the past is resolved, he leaves to deal with the problem. Since I have no intention of blabbing the ending, you will have to figure out how he did that for yourself. Newsweek puts it this way: “Mitchum is particularly effective as the crptic
casual sleuth who mixes business with pleasure and isn’t afraid to pay for it”. Look for Rhonda Fleming as Meta Carson and Steve Brodie as Fisher.

Mitchumism.....

“The only difference between me and other actors is I’ve spent more time in jail!”

Rachel and the Stranger 1948 Directed by Norman Foster RKO B/W

Writers Guild of America nomination

Best Written American Western.....Waldo Salt

Arabella’s Notes....

Again Robert Mitchum has third billing, but as the movie opens, there he is all alone and singing as he rides along. Somehow you get the feeling this is a very likable kind of guy. Loretta Young plays the Rachel of the title, a bondservant sold for “$18 and $4 owin” to a bereaved farmer (William Holden)who then weds her (for appearances sake) as a mother to his boy. When Mitchum, as old friend Jim Fairways, comes to call suddenly three men, a boy and a beautiful unfulfilled bond servant adds up to domestic turbulence. Add to that a roving mountain lion and an Indian raid and you have a very engaging story. Bob’s fine singing voice was never really utilized in later films so enjoy this one. It is one of my favorites. On the set..Loretta put a curse box nearby to eliminate the cussing that went on. It cost a dime. On one particularly bad day, Mitchum threw a fiver in the box and promptly let out a string of obscenities. He said he felt much better. No one reported on
Loretta’s feelings.

Mitchumism...

“Every two or three years I knock off for a while. That way I am constantly the new girl in
the whorehouse.”

The Big Steal 1949 Directed by Don Siegel RKO B/W

Arabella’s Notes.....

The Big Steal was Bob’s first movie after the Big Bust! The role was originally slated for George Raft but the studio pulled him out for another project and cast Mitchum. Even though Bob was out on bail for the marijuana charge and awaiting a grand jury hearing, he started the movie anyway. But one leading lady after another was suddenly “unavailable”. Jane Greer, his costar from “Out of the Past”, agreed to take the role but that posed another problem. Jane was pregnant, making wardrobe a nightmare and shooting time of the essence. So Bob did some of his scenes and then was off to the County Jail for 60 days. The entire chase scene was shot without him and he was spliced in later. It was the chase scene, not the picture, that got all raves.

Mitchumism...

“There are all kinds of rumors about me. And they are all true, every one of them. You
can make up some if you want.”

His Kind of Woman 1951 Directed by John Farrow RKO B/W

Arabella’s Notes....

If you are searching for a tight, spine-tingling film noir classic, STOP! This isn’t it. But if you want lighter fare with a dash of sex, a dollop of humor and a little murder thrown in for spice, this may be your movie! Bob plays a down-and-out gambler who irons his money when he has it and his shirts when he’s broke. Somewhere out there, a gangster (played by Raynond Burr) wants his face - literally - and has a plastic surgeon in tow to do the deed. A cafe singer who looks a lot like Jane Russell captures his attention right from the start and they seem to be traveling in the same strange circles. Jane is looking for a hammy screen idol who is hunting game while his wife hunts him. Burr is hunting Bob and the chase is on. Vincent Price is priceless as the Shakespearan actor with a penchant for game..anyone’s.

Mitchumism...

“People can’t make up their minds whether I am the greatest actor in the world - or the worst. Matter of fact, neither can I. It has been said I underplay so much I could have stayed home. But I must be good at my job. Or they wouldn’t haul me around the world at these prices!”

Macao 1952 Directed by Josef von Sternberg RKO B/W

Arabella’s Notes...

Russell and Mitchum are back together again! “Mitchum - a man from nowhere..Russell - a woman with nowhere to go...together trying to forget their pasts in exotic, exciting Macao, port of sin and shady dealings!”. The ads never mentioned that Macao was mostly on RKO’s back lot. Also, while von Sternberg was the director of record, he complained that “...half a dozen clowns immersed various parts of their anatomy in it”. It was also von Sternberg’s misfortune to be the butt of practical jokes by Mitchum & Friends who deplored his autocratic methods. Once on location, they waited until he was trying to get into his pajamas and collapsed the tent. This was Mitchum’s last film during his probation. He became a free man and the conviction was expunged from his record. The picture had enough sex and action to make audiences happy so the studio was happy, too. Look for good performances by Gloria Grahame, Thomas Gomez and Bill Bendix.

Mitchumism....

“I do a picture just because I have to get out of the house. When I choose a script, I just look to see if I have to run up any stairs and how many days I get off!”.

Second Chance 1953 Directed by Rudolph Mate RKO Color

Arabella’s Notes...

Howard Hughes wanted this film to register at least 10 on the Richter scale but he only got a small tremor. Even though it had Technicolor, 3-D, and Mitchum, it lacked a blockbuster script. But Hughes did have a thrilling fight-to-the-finish atop a cable car trung between two Andes peaks (in Mexico?). Bob played a fighter who had accidentally killed an opponent. He meets Linda, fleeing a former gangster beau who wants her dead. Jack Palance plays the old boyfriend’s hired gun with malice, not push-ups, on his mind. Since the movie was shot on location, Bob took Dorothy and the kids along with vacation time on the agenda..

Mitchumism...

“I still got the same attitude I had when I started. I haven’t changed anything but my underwear!”

River of No Return 1954 Directed by Otto Preminger 20th Century Fox Color

Arabella’s Notes....

In his first free-lance role, Bob managed to get Marilyn Monroe, Otto Preminger and cinemascope. But all the insurance company got was a big case of nerves! Because of the wide screen closeups, the stars had to do their own stunts risking life and limb on that raft. Mitchum later commented on Marilyn’s courage under fire. Bob played convict-farmer looking for his 10 year old son in a Gold Rush tent city. He finds him in the care of a saloon singer (Marilyn). But a hapless raft trip puts MM and her beau, gambler Rory Calhoun hung up near their farm. Now Bob doesn’t get to sing at all (the theme song is done by Ernie Ford) but he does get to 1) wrestle a mountain lion 2) wrestle with Marilyn 3) fight Harry (who took his gun and horse), a bully with a knife and a whole bunch of Indians. That was all done before the rugged raft ride down the River of No Return!

Mitchumism...

“I always had an intense dislike for anything that detracts from the feminine qualities of a
woman and I look on a girdle as such a device!”

The Night of the Hunter 1955 Directed by Charles Laughton United Artists B/W

Arabella’s notes...

The slide down from a highly successful film (“Not as a Stranger” for Kramer/UA) to a movie directed by a one-time-only director and not readily accepted by the public would have threatened the confidence of any other actor. Not Mitchum! Unfortunately because of this film’s poor showing, Laughton never got the chance to direct again. But today this movie has attained stature as a cinema classic. David Ehrenstein, the Los Angeles Reader critic called it “...one of the more unclassifiable films ever made..” while the New Yorker aptly termed it “..the most frightening movie ever made..!” Based on a novel by Davis Grubb, James Agee wrote the script, Charles Laughton honed and molded it, and then Mitchum took it to the pinnacle of terror. Mitchum with LOVE and HATE tattooed on his fingers...Mitchum traveling the country leaving a trail of dead women( including Shelley Winters)...Mitchum singing a gospel song as he tracked two innocent children through the darkness. But while the critics praised the movie, the audiences stayed away. Look for the great performance by Lillian Gish as the gutsy widow who held off the preacher, rifle in hand.

Mitchumism...

“(Charles Laughton) called me up and said ‘You play a diabolical crud’. ‘Present’, I
replied. Charles said ‘I am a professional non-crud.’ I said, ‘I will take care of that
department’.”

Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison 1957 Directed by John Huston 20th Century Fox Color

Oscar nominations...

Best Actress...............................................Deborah Kerr
Best Screenplay...........................................John Huston, John Lee Mahin

British Academy Award nominations
Best Film Best Foreign Actor..........................Robert Mitchum

New York Film Critics Award

Best Actress.........Deborah Kerr

Writers Guild of America nomination
Best Screenplay

Arabella’s Notes...

Robert Mitchum’s 60th movie had only 2 stars....Bob and Deborah Kerr who became one of his staunchest friends (they would make two more pictures together). The film was shot on the island of Tobago.(Mitchum had to make a U-turn because he had just returned from that location for “Fire Down Below” with Jack Lemmon and Rita Hayworth). It was part of a 3-picture deal with Fox and director John Huston. The story revolved around a Marine and an Irish nun trapped on a small Pacific island (and a big wide screen) in WWII. The picture had to be done without the slightest hint of sex to get past church taboos. Both Mitchum and Kerr gave poignant, perceptive performances. Arthur Knight of the Saturday Review, said “What makes this off-beat romantic drama so appealing and affecting are the performances of the two stars..the revelation is Robert Mitchum”. William Zinsser of the New York Herald Tribune..”What is surprising is that he is so
tender..His character grows in depth”.But director John Huston said what studios had been waiting to hear...”Bob is a wonderful guy..amusing, intellectual...very much in the Bogart mold”.

Mitchumism...

“Years ago, I saved up a million dollars from acting..a lot of money, then...and I spent it
all on a horse farm in Tucson. Now when I go down there, I look at the place and
realize...my whole acting career adds up to a million dollars worth of horseshit”.

Thunder Road 1958 Directed by Arthur Ripley United Artists B/W

Arabella’s Notes....

This film marked a series of firsts for Bob...the first movie under the banner of his own DRM Productions ...his original story. ..he wrote the theme song (but didn’t get to sing it)...and he acted with his son, James who played his younger brother. The movie became the blueprint for moonshiner-revenooer movies that followed but was never the success expected of a Mitchum film.Bob played a Korean War vet who returned home to run his family’s home-made hootch business. He was also trying to keep his younger brother on the straight and narrow. There’s auto chases, auto crashes, confrontations with gangsters and Feds. Keely Smith is the love interest, Gene Barry is the revenooer and Jacques Aubuchon is the syndicate gangster.

Mitchumism...

“I never take any notice of reviews - unless a critic has though up some new way of
describing me. That old one about my lizard eyes and anteater nose and the way I sleep
my way through pictures is so hackneyed now.”

The Sundowners 1960 Directed by Fred Zinneman Warners Color

Oscar nominations...
Best Actress................................................Deborah Kerr
Best Supporting Actress..............................Glynis Johns
Best Director...............................................Fred Zinneman
Best Picture.................................................Fred Zinneman
Best Screenplay............................................Isobel Lennart

British Academy Award nomination

Best British Film
Best Film

Golden Globes Special Merit Award
New York Film Critics Circle Award.................Best Actress Deborah Kerr

Arabella’s Notes....

A second movie with Deborah Kerr and possibly one of Mitchum’s best films, it also became recognized as one of the finest of the family classics. Bob is Paddy Carmody, a lovable, happy-go-lucky “sundowner”( an Australian roving sheep drover). Deb plays his patient, forgiving wife Ida who with son Sean (Michael Anderson, Jr.) longs for a permanent home. Off they go with a flock of 1200 sheep and Peter Ustinov, sea captain-turned-drover as the hired help. After a forest fire threatens to do them all in, Ida convinces Paddy to take a job at the sheep station when the sheep are safely delivered. But Paddy gets restless and joined by a racehorse he won gambling, they are off again with a few sidetrips along the way.

Mitchumisms...

About Kerr...”All I did was feed her some lines. She did all the rest. She’s really the one
who can act.

When told Kerr wanted top billing...”By all means. And you can design a 24 foot sign of
me bowing to her if you like!”.

Ryan’s Daughter 1970 Directed by David Lean MGM Color

Oscar Awards...
Best Supporting Actor...................................John Mills

Oscar Award nomination...
Best Actress....................................................Sarah Miles
Best Sound......................................................John Bramall
Gordon K. McCallum

British Academy Awards nominations...
Best Actress......................................................Sarah Miles
Best Cinematography.......................................Freddie Young
Best Art Direction............................................Stephen B. Grimes
Best Film
Best Director ....................................................David Lean
Best Supporting Actress.....................................Evin Crowley
Best Supporting Actor.......................................John Mills

Golden Globes Award..Best Supporting Actor....John Mills
Golden Globes nomination..Best Actress.............Sarah Miles
Best Supporting Actor.............Trevor Howard

Arabella’s Notes....

Robert Mitchum as the gentle, widowed schoolteacher in 1915 Ireland who weds a girl 15 years his junior and therafter becomes the butt of the village scandal, was the most image-shattering role of his career. In a story written to showcase Sarah Miles, Bob gave his character of Charles Shaughnessy enough warmth, simplicity and strength to outclass every one else in the film and he should have gotten an award for it. It also meant that Mitchum’s exceptional talent and versatility would never again be questioned. Sarah Miles is excellent as the young wife who cuckolds her husband with a British soldier and John Mills(grotesquely made up as the village idiot) deserved his award. However, in my opinion, Robert Mitchum was the most outstanding of all. Derek Malcolm wrote for The Guardian “had it not been for the presence - and the word is absolutely apposite -of Robert Mitchum , I do not believe there would have been a film at all!”

Mitchumism...

“I think when producers have a part that’s hard to cast, they say “send for Mitchum...he’ll
do anything” I’ll play Polish gays, women, midgets, anything.”