Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall’s directing credits didn’t go past Open Range. Good as that film is, it doesn’t make for a director profile. Add to that a week in which other priorities soaked up this keyboard and necessity leads to Duvall in a different light. Previously we recognized Duvall as a contemporary Western star whose work keeps Western film alive today.
Duvall began his acting career in the late 50’s on stage. Film and television roles followed in the 60’s and beyond. He enjoyed a prolific film career lending his talents as an actor to a wide variety of roles. Colleagues said of his portrayals, Duvall had the ability to thoroughly “inhabit” a character such that he became the character he played. One co-star said she never got to know Robert Duvall, only his character.
Robert Duvall’s contributions to Western film over the course of his career are considerable. He got his start in 1969, playing “Lucky” Ned Pepper to John Wayne’s Rooster Cogburn in True Grit. Who can forget that thrilling “Fill your hands, you . . . “, reins in their teeth, gun down gallop? Lawman (’71) came next, followed by The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid and Joe Kidd (’72).
Lonesome Dove hit our screens in ’89. OK, OK, I know this is a little screen miniseries, but some of those little screens epics are pretty big and was there ever a little screen Western as big as Lonesome Dove? I don’t think so. Duvall won a Golden Globe and a hat crush for his portrayal of retired Texas Ranger Captain Agustus “Gus” McCrae. Paired with Tommy Lee Jones as the dour Woodrow Call, Gus and Call make two of the most compelling pards to ride a Western film trail.
Duvall went back to the big screen in 1993 opposite the incomparable Wes Studi in Geronimo: An American Legend. The films that followed kept Westerns alive and relevant in a new millennium. Duvall played General Robert E. Lee in Gods and Generals (’03), a fitting role for a man whose maternal ancestors include the General himself. Open Range followed later that year as Duvall's only directing credit.
Next Week: A Bit More Scott
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Ride easy,
Paul
Duvall began his acting career in the late 50’s on stage. Film and television roles followed in the 60’s and beyond. He enjoyed a prolific film career lending his talents as an actor to a wide variety of roles. Colleagues said of his portrayals, Duvall had the ability to thoroughly “inhabit” a character such that he became the character he played. One co-star said she never got to know Robert Duvall, only his character.
Robert Duvall’s contributions to Western film over the course of his career are considerable. He got his start in 1969, playing “Lucky” Ned Pepper to John Wayne’s Rooster Cogburn in True Grit. Who can forget that thrilling “Fill your hands, you . . . “, reins in their teeth, gun down gallop? Lawman (’71) came next, followed by The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid and Joe Kidd (’72).
Lonesome Dove hit our screens in ’89. OK, OK, I know this is a little screen miniseries, but some of those little screens epics are pretty big and was there ever a little screen Western as big as Lonesome Dove? I don’t think so. Duvall won a Golden Globe and a hat crush for his portrayal of retired Texas Ranger Captain Agustus “Gus” McCrae. Paired with Tommy Lee Jones as the dour Woodrow Call, Gus and Call make two of the most compelling pards to ride a Western film trail.
Duvall went back to the big screen in 1993 opposite the incomparable Wes Studi in Geronimo: An American Legend. The films that followed kept Westerns alive and relevant in a new millennium. Duvall played General Robert E. Lee in Gods and Generals (’03), a fitting role for a man whose maternal ancestors include the General himself. Open Range followed later that year as Duvall's only directing credit.
Next Week: A Bit More Scott
Return to Facebook to comment
Ride easy,
Paul
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