Paul Newman Is Gone
As someone who grewup in the 50’s and 60’s, and loved movies, Paul Newman has been someone I watched and admired for a long time. The first movie I remember with Paul Newman as a star was ‘The Long Hot Summer’, where he met Joanne Woodward. Although I had seen ‘Silver Chalice’ and ‘Somebody Up there Likes Me’, they didn’t register as “Paul Newman” movies. After Long Hot Summer, for the next 15 years, every third movie seemed to be a Paul Newman movie. From ‘Left Handed Gun’, and ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’, through ‘The Sting’, Newman made a lot of interesting films. Some were better than others, but always dominated by Newman. In 1967, while I was in the service, ‘Cool Hand Luke’ was the favorite movie of every guy I knew. (too bad the iconic “What we have here…” line was uttered by Strother Martin). In 1969, ‘Butch Cassidy’ was the ultimate date movie, and started the genre of “Buddy Flicks”. Three years later ‘The Sting’ may have won the Academy Award, but Butch was the better movie.
After ‘The Sting’, Newman continued to make interesting, memorable films such as ; ‘The Drowning Pool’, ‘Slap Shot’, ‘Fort Apache the Bronx’, and ‘The Verdict’. Finally, in 1987, in a classic case of giving a Best-Actor Oscar for a body of work, Newman won for ‘The Color of Money’. This over-directed Martin Scorsese film wouldn’t make my 10-Best list of Paul Newman films. In 1994, Paul made one of my favorite movies ‘Nobody’s Fool’. This Robert Benton film (based on a Richard Russo novel), also starred Jessica Tandy, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith and a very young Philip Seymour Hoffman. Sully (Newman’s character) is older and has made a lot of mistakes in life. Despite all of his shortcomings, he is still the most likable and admirable character. After watching it, I wanted to be him.
It’s hard to say how Newman would fare today. The world has changed so much, and the gossip media is at a frenzy these days. There is a nasty side to the gossip craze that never existed in the 50’s and 60’s. These current gossip mavens revel in every mis-step a celebrity may make. And there is a desire to see people fail. Could Paul have led the exemplary life he did lead in today’s media spotlight? Hard to say. But, for my generation, there is not a more admirable, loved and genuinely good actor than Paul Newman.
So, here is a clip from `1961’s ‘Hud’. Directed by Martin Ritt, based on a Larry McMurtry novel, the film starred Newman, Melvyn Douglas, Patricia Neal (who won an academy award for her role) and Brandon De Wilde. The film is a morality tale, with Melvyn Douglas as the moral center. But, Hud’s the guy you’re rooting for. Here’s a scene between Paul Newman and Patricia Neal…
