Ever since I discovered him in 2008, Ryan has been one of my faves. For most of that time, he's been in my top 10, coming in at about 6 or 7. However, the more I have seen of his work, the more impressed I am with him---I sincerely believe Ryan is one of the best actors there has ever been and one of the most underrated actors as well...and I have been saying that for at least the last three years. Going into my Net Flix account and accessing all the reviews I have written there, I discovered reviews to many Ryan films, and each time, even back then in 2008, I was calling him "brilliant" and "under-rated." Having seen many more of his films since then, my regard for his acting abilities has only grown...by leaps and bounds to be sure. I have watched over two dozen of his films in the last couple months, and I find his work so totally fantastic that I have moved him to the very top of my favorite actor list. (Yes, Bill Holden now has to share the #1 guy status.) I am positively crazy about Ryan, and I am making it my goal to see all of his films...even his Westerns...and I'm not really a Western fan.
This fabulous actor often played angry, sadistic, hardened, unlikeable characters, and he did so brilliantly...and totally believably. Really, I can't think of any other actor who oozed cynicism, cruelty, and/or malevolence as fabulously as Ryan did...Bad Day at Black Rock, House of Bamboo, Caught, Odds Against Tomorrow, Crossfire, Billy Budd, Lonelyhearts, and on and on. He was spectacular in every single one of those films...his presence was electrifying and completely commanding. Even though his characters are detested, one cannot help but be mesmerized by Ryan's positively sensational portrayal of them.
And yet, he could also exhibit surprising tenderness, as he did to Ida Lupino's blind character in On Dangerous Ground.
He could pull off softer characters as well...Tender Comrade, Her Twelve Men, The Secret Fury, About Mrs. Leslie. And he was wonderful as an aging boxer in The Set-Up.
And yet, great as Robert Ryan was, he never received the recognition he deserved---in his entire amazing career, he received only one Academy Award nomination...a Best Supporting Actor nod for his role in 1947's Crossfire. Not receiving more nominations...let alone awards...was a definite oversight on the part of the Academy.
Although Ryan portrayed a bigoted character in several of his films, in actuality, he was a staunch civil rights supporter; therefore, the characters he played were light years away from the man he really was, and he did it completely believably...the sign of a great actor. It would be easy to portray a character that is exactly like oneself, but to play a character that is totally counter to everything one believes in definitely requires skill and finesse...something Robert Ryan definitely had.
Ernest Borgnine, who worked with Ryan in three films, narrated this short TCM tribute, which I discovered on You Tube.
So, on this, the 102nd birthday of one of my #1 guys, I wanted to be sure to sing his praises. While Robert Ryan may not be a household name like Humphrey Bogart or Cary Grant, I do believe he ought to have been. He was as capable an actor as any of the more "known" actors. A viewing of any of his films will bear that out.
Happy viewing!!!
