Paul Muni - My All-Time Favourite Male Actor
Paul Muni - My All-Time Favourite Male Actor
When there are and have been so many great actors, like Laurence Olivier, Gary Cooper, Humphrey Bogart, Gregory Peck, Sean Connery, Al Pacino, Anthony Hopkins, Robert DiNiro, etc etc......why did I pick Paul Muni? First of all, you already know that I've always liked Classic Films, so I can look back at some who are no longer thought of as great, but have been great. Paul Muni received only one Oscar, but was nominated a number of times. I have always felt when I watched his movies that he wan't just acting, he actually BECAME the characters he was portraying, and that may be because of the great efforts he had put into studying about and looking at the pictures of those characters. His story is better told by others than by me, and here is what Encyclopedia Brittanica has to say about him:
Paul Muni
AMERICAN ACTOR
WRITTEN BY: The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, LAST UPDATED: Sep 18, 2018 See Article History
Paul Muni, original name Meshilem Meier Weisenfreund, (born September 22, 1895, Lemberg, Austria [now Lviv, Ukraine]—died August 25, 1967, Montecito, California, U.S.), American stage, film, and television actor acclaimed for his portrayals of noted historical figures.
Weisenfreund was born to a family of Polish Jewish actors, and he began appearing onstage with his parents while still a young child. After the family’s immigration to the United States, he played in Yiddish stock companies on the East Coast, and in 1918 he joined New York’s Yiddish Art Theatre. As a young actor he mastered the art of makeup—a skill that served him well throughout his film career—and often played characters older than his years. During the 1920s he was a star of the Yiddish stage, and that helped him land his first Broadway role in We Americans (1926–27). Hollywood took notice, and in 1929 he made his film debut in The Valiant. Paul Muni, as he was by then known, received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of a murderer. However, the film was a box-office disappointment, as was Seven Faces (1929), in which he played seven characters. Muni resumed his stage career, and he earned particular praise for his work in Counsellor-at-Law (1931–33).
In 1932 Muni returned to the big screen with a series of notable films. He first appeared in the classic crime drama Scarface, playing a cruel, explosive gangster. He then was cast as an impoverished World War I veteran forced into a life of crime in I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, an exposé that helped end chain gangs in the American South. The film earned Muni his second Oscar nomination. He signed with Warner Brothers, and during the 1930s he became its most-prestigious star. His reputation as a prominent stage actor prevented Hollywood from molding him into a marketable image or into a typical big-screen leading man. It also allowed him the luxury of script approval—a concession granted to very few actors during the days of the studio system. Consequently, Muni’s film roles were diverse and generally superior to most Hollywood fare. He became known for his in-depth portrayals of prominent historical figures as well as for films with important social themes. Whatever the role, Muni did extensive research into the character, studying dialects and reading literary works. He also made an effort to disguise his own well-known features under extensive makeup in order to create a physical representation of the subject.
Paul Muni (centre) in Scarface (1932). Museum of Modern Art, Film Stills Archive
In 1935 Muni starred as a coal miner involved in a union dispute in Black Fury, and for his performance he earned his third Oscar nomination (as a write-in candidate). He then fought with Warner Brothers to make The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936). Despite a shoestring budget, the biopic of the French microbiologist was a major hit, and Muni finally won an Oscar for best actor. After playing a Chinese farmer in the 1937 adaptation of Pearl Buck’s The Good Earth, Muni starred in The Life of Emile Zola (1937). The acclaimed drama about the French novelist received an Oscar for best picture, and Muni earned a nod for best actor. He then was cast as the Mexican national hero Benito Juárez in Juarez (1939). However, the drama, which also starred Bette Davis, did not match the success of Muni’s earlier biopics.
Paul Muni in The Life of Emile Zola (1937). Courtesy of Warner Bros. Inc.
After the lackluster We Are Not Alone (1939), Muni returned to Broadway, starring in Key Largo (1939–40). He subsequently divided his time between stage, screen, and, later, television. He won a Tony Award for the Broadway production of Inherit the Wind (1955–57), in which he portrayed a character modeled on Clarence Darrow. His later notable films include Angel on My Shoulder (1946), a comedy about gangsters, and his final film, The Last Angry Man (1959), for which he received an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of a crusading doctor. Muni also had prominent roles in several TV anthology series, and after a 1962 appearance on the show Saints and Sinners, he retired from acting.
I have only seen two of his movies, but they, along with what I have read about him, were enough to convince me about his talent. The Britannica article refers to some of his better roles, but did not display photos of some of them. He was an expert makeup artist, and brilliant in imitating physical mannerisms, both of which enchanced his portrayals of the original individuals.
This is a photo of him in the movie Juarez:
and another:
Here he is The Last Angry Man:
and another:
And as Pasteur, in the movie The Story of Louis Pasteur:
and another:
Another photo of him as Scarface:
Another of him as Zola:
From I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
And another:
The Good Earth. As I have become familiar with many Chinese mannerisms I can vouch for the fact that he did a pretty good job of acting like a Chinese man, both in mannerisms and personality:
And finally, with Louise Rainer, who got the best actress Oscar for her performance:
Now, who is YOUR favourite actor of all time - tell us about it. If you cannot post a photo, I will do it for you.
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Next I will do an article about my favourite female actress.
I never saw any of Paul Muni's movies.
As for a favorite actor? I'd have to say James Garner. My dad looked a little like him
Nowhere Man is posting all 10 movies I listed in my '10 unusual movies' article. You will get to see the same two movies of his that I have seen - The Life of Emile Zola, and The Good Earth. Here is a photo of James Garner, in a cowboy hat being Maverick, which is how I remember him:
My favorite movie is "Support Your Local Sheriff"
But there were other good movies that he did, also. I really liked him in "The Children's Hour"
Have you seen Murphy's Romance? The chemistry between him and Sally Fields was off the hook.
He has been described as "The Conscience of Hollywood", and I would consider him to be one of 5 of my favourite actors. By the way, I assume you posted a scene from one of his movies, but I'm unable to open it, as YouTube is blocked here. Can you tell me what it is?
Paul Newman. He was both a great actor and a regular guy.
One of his best movies
Nobody's Fool
I knew you would check in with his name - and if I recall you had pointed out that he was among the most charitable of individuals as well. I liked him from the time I watched "The Young Philadelphians" while I was in Law School.
Here John, have a little taste of early Paul Newman:
John Lithgow is without doubt one of the greatest actors of his generation.