Today I’m starting a series about my favorite actors and their most important work in a particular decade, completely from my limited perspective. What a better actor for me to start with than Charles Bronson, my all time favorite. I hope to share some historical context as well as some tidbits about his film and TV appearances at the time. I know I’ll miss some good stuff, and I welcome your comments on that. We’ll see how this goes!
Charles Bronson entered the world of acting using the name Charles Buchinsky. His very first role is in the film YOU’RE IN THE NAVY NOW (1951) with Gary Cooper! This also happens to be the film debuts of actors Lee Marvin and Jack Warden! Bronson himself has said that he got the role because he could “belch on cue!”
Bronson worked with the best actors on earth from the very beginning of his career. Still billed as Buchinsky, Bronson would share the screen with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn in 1952’s PAT AND MIKE!
I was lucky enough to catch HOUSE OF WAX (1953) on the big screen last summer. Bronson, still billed as Buchinsky at the time, co-starred as Igor in the 3-D, Vincent Price box office smash. He had some amazingly creepy scenes in the film!
For the first time in his career, he would be credited as Charles Bronson in the Alan Ladd western DRUM BEAT (1954). He changed his name during the McCarthy era to avoid the negative scrutiny and suspicion that a Slavic surname might bring, fearing it could damage his budding acting career during the strong anti-Communist sentiment in America. Under his new name, Bronson steals the film right out from under Ladd in the role of the rebellious Indian leader Captain Jack! This film should have catapulted Bronson into leading roles, but Hollywood didn’t really know what to do with him at this point.
A couple of years later, Bronson would appear in a supporting role in the Glenn Ford western, JUBAL (1956). Also co-starring Ernest Borgnine and Rod Steiger, Bronson’s part is small but pivotal. I love the film and its Grand Tetons setting.
1958 would be a year where Charles Bronson would get his first leading film roles, as well as his own TV series. First up was the B-western SHOWDOWN AT BOOT HILL (1958), directed by Gene Fowler, Jr. I’m a big fan of this short, simple oater. I think Bronson gives an excellent performance as the gunslinger with a chip on his shoulder, who really just wants a girl he can settle down with and a place he can call home. I recommend it to any person who likes 1950’s westerns and Bronson.
Next, the legendary Roger Corman would direct Bronson in the biopic MACHINE GUN KELLY (1958). This is an important film in Bronson’s career. French star Alain Delon would request Bronson as his co-star in the 1968 film FAREWELL, FRIEND based on his performance in MACHINE GUN KELLY, and that film would help turn Bronson into one of the biggest male movie stars in the world. It’s another good film that draws another strong performance from Bronson as the infamous gangster who was tough as long as he had his machine gun. Quentin Tarantino is a big fan of the movie calling it the “best film Corman ever directed.” A poster for MACHINE GUN KELLY can be seen at Jack Rabbit Slims in Tarantino’s sensational PULP FICTION (1994).
After appearing on countless TV shows during the 50’s, Bronson got his own beginning in 1958. The show, MAN WITH A CAMERA, would run for two seasons and produce a total of 29 episodes, with such excellent guest stars as Tom Laughlin, Angie Dickinson and Lawrence Tierney. A young Bronson is very good in the series, easily handling the action and the dialogue. He’s so good in fact, that it really is hard to believe that mainstream stardom would continue to elude him for another decade. In his characteristically sarcastic way, Bronson would joke that he played second fiddle to a light bulb, or something along those lines, but it’s a series I definitely recommend.
I hope you’ve enjoyed a trip through the 50’s with the legendary Charles Bronson. There is so much more I could have covered, but I chose the appearances that have affected my life the most! The 1960’s would prove to be a successful, frustrating and ultimately rewarding decade for Charles Bronson. We’ll get to that next time on “Famous Actors Throughout the Decades: Charles Bronson!”
Through the Shattered Lens 