"The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of" ... Bogart, Shakespeare, The Maltese Falcon, Those Great Movies

Friday, October 29, 2010

Tony Curtis as The Boston Strangler -- His Greatest Performance


I am writing  this short post to announce the showing of what is to me the best dramatic performance of the career of Tony Curtis.  The recent death of Curtis is a loss that affected many classic movie lovers.  He was known for good looks and charm, as a wonderful comedian, and a good dramatic actor.  His best dramatic role, in my opinion, was his portrayal of Albert DiSalvo in the true story of The Boston Strangler.  Henry Fonda also gives a wonderful performance as a detective obsessed with finding the strangler.  The movie was released in 1968, not long after the murders of this vicious killer terrorized the women of Boston.  For reasons unknown to me it is not often shown as part of classic film repertoire.

Fox Movie Channel is showing The Boston Strangler on November 6th at 4:00 p.m. Indianapolis time.   For any fan of Tony Curtis, it is an essential piece of his legacy as an actor.  Watch it, tape it, DVR it, but don't miss it.


6 comments:

  1. Thanks for the recommendation. I've never seen this.

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  2. I agree that this is the best of Tony Curtis' dramatice roles...he received a Golden Globe nomination for it, not sure why no Oscar nod, he was riveting. My other favorites of Tony's roles: Sweet Smell of Success, The Defiant Ones and Spartacus - on the dramatic side. For comedy, nothing can top Some Like it Hot. Thanks for the reminder, Becky...

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  3. daring career move...liked him better in THE GREAT IMPOSTER!!

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  4. Try to catch it Tom.
    Eve, Curtis was a marvel in Sweet Smell of Success - that would be my #2 choice for drama role.
    Doc, I loved The Great Imposter, but don't consider it drama in the same style.
    Thanks all for visiting and commenting!

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  5. Becky, I have not seen the film, The Boston Strangler. I will add it to "my gotta see" list.

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  6. Becky, this was definitely a different role for Tony and he took quite a chance with it. My favorite of his dramatic roles are THE DEFIANT ONES and SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS.

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