The great Paul Newman passed away on Friday, and as anyone who regularly reads this blog will know, we at Texperts are massive fans of his work. As our our little tribute, we have put together 11 reasons why he was amazing.
There are usually rules. This week the only rule we have is that we are only looking at his contributions to cinema. He was awesome in hundreds of other ways that we can’t really cover in a film blog. We won’t be able to cover his political activism, or the fact that he was number 19 on Richard Nixon’s enemies list. Or the fact that he was a tail gunner during the battle for Okinawa during World War II. Or the fact that he set up Newman’s Own food company, which gave all profit to charity. Or the fact that he was an incredible racing driver, finishing second in the 1979 Le Mans 24 Hour Race and being part of the team which won the Daytona 24 hour in 1995 (aged 70). Or the fact that he was married to the same woman for 50 years. Or the money he gave to set up camps for ill children, aid for Kosovan refugees, scholarship schemes and awards for literature that protects the first amendment. No, we won’t mention these things. We’ll just look at the films, in chronological order.
Somebody Up There Likes Me - 1956 - Robert Wise
The film that started it all for Paul Newman (and Steve McQueen. And Robert Loggia). Newman plays Rocky Graziano, a small time criminal who turned his life around and became a championship boxer. Graziano was originally to have been played by James Dean, but he died before shooting started. Newman’s performance (and indeed, his makeup) was first rate, to the point that the entire film got the seal of approval from the man the film was based on.
Cat On A Hot Tin Roof - 1958 - Richard Brooks
Newman was paired with the biggest star in the world - Elizabeth Taylor - for the film version of Tennessee Williams’ classic tale of family tensions. Williams himself hated the film, as the homoerotic nature of Brick’s (Newman) relationship with his best friend Skipper was deemed too sensitive for the Hollywood Production Code. Indeed, legendary director George Cukor was originally attached to direct the film, but refused because of the selective editing, and Newman only signed on to the film on the condition it was an unaltered version of the play. Regardless of his own objections, Newman’s performance earned him his first Oscar nomination, as Brick Pollitt, the man who is so haunted by his former glories that he cannot live in the now with his wife. How different the film would have been had the producers convinced a certain Colonel Parker, to let Elvis Presley take the part.
The Hustler - 1961 - Robert Rossen
Newman’s first film starring “Fast” Eddie Felson is arguably the finest sports film ever made. The story of what it means to win and lose, and what you learn about yourself in between, may have been repeated a hundred times since, but rarely with as much gravitas as in Rossen’s version. Newman was required to do all but one of the trick shots in the film, and as a result became an exceptional pool player himself.
Hud - 1963 - Martin Ritt
Hud is a very strange film in the Paul Newman oeuvre, in that the main protagonist - Hud Bannon - is both immensely dislikable and yet strangely appealing. Hud takes what he wants, and doesn’t care who gets in his way. Newman intentionally played the part to be as dislikable as possible, yet found to his surprise that Hud was to become a poster boy for “the teenager” of the 1960s.
Cool Hand Luke - 1967 - Stuart Rosenberg
If you haven’t seen it yet… Quite possibly the defining role for (and of) Paul Newman. Playing a kind hearted rebel, who isn’t afraid to challenge authority might not have been too much of a stretch, but who else could have made Luke that likable? Indeed, considering the audience for a film like Cool Hand Luke in 1967, who could have made the film more of a success than the noble rebel himself?
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - 1969 - George Roy Hill
Another defining moment for Newman, and a career high for both George Roy Hill and Robert Redford. Hill’s (almost) musical Western is as much about friendship as it is about gunfighting. What isn’t to like about this film? Great dialogue between the main characters, a fantastic Oscar winning soundtrack by Burt Bacharach, that iconic ending. Most importantly (take note film-makers), it was fun. Newman also managed to achieve the highest accolade possible for his role; praise from the real sister of Butch Cassidy for his portrayal of the gunslinger. Newman also gets man points for being one of few cast members to avoid diarrhoea on the shoot in Mexico- he refused to drink the local water because he was happy with beer and soda.
The Sting - 1973 - George Roy Hill
The second pairing of Newman and George Roy Hill, and one that would give the director a second place in the top ten grossing films of all time. The Sting also paired Newman with Robert Redford again, as the pair played con men with the intention of ripping off gangster, Doyle Lonnegan. Newman played Henry Gondorff, the elder conman, on the run from the FBI. The final twist in the film is one of the greatest ever staged, setting up a Sting, not just on Lonnegan, but on the audience themselves.
The Towering Inferno - 1974 - John Guillermin
If, in 1974, you were willing to pay $14 million to produce a disaster movie, you need to make sure that your money was safe. Recruiting Steve McQueen and Paul Newman was as good a banker as any (the film grossed $114m). The biggest problem the producers faced was trying to appease both stars- who would get top billing? McQueen was notoriosly defensive of his position as The Star of his films (just watch how often he tries to steal scenes from Yul Brynner in The Magnificent Seven), while Newman had just come off the seven time Oscar winner and $140m grossing, The Sting. The solution was that both would receive equal billing, with McQueen in the “top left” of the promotional posters and Newman “above him” to the right. If someone read the billing left to right, McQueen was top, if they read top to bottom it was Newman. Newman plays Doug Roberts, the architect of the eponymous Towering Inferno, with McQueen as firefighter, Michael O’Hallorhan. The film perfectly displayed the differences between the two actors- McQueen was a mans man, who could make any character rugged and worked hard at being cool. Newman was the thinking man’s action hero, who was effortlessly cool on his own.
The Color of Money - 1986 - Martin Scorsese
Newman’s only Oscar win, reprising his 1961 role from The Hustler as Fast Eddie Felson. Although the film isn’t held in the same regard as other Scorsese works (he did this film to fund The Last Temptation of Christ), Newman’s performance is exceptional, especially in his comedic scenes.
The Hudsucker Proxy - 1994 - Joel and Ethan Coen
Newman gives a darkly comic performance in the most underrated of Coen brothers films. The Coen brothers’ films rarely have shades of grey in their antagonists, and this is no exception- Anton Chigurh in No Country For Old Men, Charlie Meadows in Barton Fink, Gaear Grimsrud in Fargo, Sheriff Cooley in Oh Brother, Where Art Thou. Sidney J. Mussberger is (perhaps literally?) Satan in a pinstripe suit, and a director of Hudsucker Industries. Tim Robbins gives a great performance as the wide eyed country boy, but Newman steals the show, and even manages to look cool whilst hanging out of a skyscraper window by his trousers.
Cars - 2006 - John Lasseter
Although Newman officially retired from appearing On Screen some years earlier, he came out of retirement to give Doc Hudson a voice, in Pixar’s Cars. It is quite apt that Newman’s film career ended with him playing a retired racing champ, even if he was only voicing the part. Newman would only be credited with one more role, as narrator to the documentary on Nascar legend Dale Earnhardt, finishing his career doing what he loved.
Any Newman films we have missed? Let us know.
