ROD STEIGER, 1925 - 2002
From the docks of New York to the rural back roads of Mississippi to the war torn Russian steppes, Rod Steiger reveled in creating some of the most overpowering and difficult men on the screen. He could be a total scoundrel, embodying Machiavelli's idiom that "it's better to be feared than loved" in the movies. But as an actor he refused to be typecast and his wide range included characters who were secretly tormented (The Pawnbroker, 1965) or loners (Run of the Arrow, 1965) or eccentrics (The Loved One, 1965).
Along with Marlon Brando, Steiger helped bring the 'Method School' from the Group Theater and Actors Studio in New York to the screens of Hollywood. The Method technique, taught by Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg, insisted on complete immersion into the character's psyche and resulted in intense, dramatic performances and performers. Steiger made his first significant screen appearance as Brando's older brother in On the Waterfront (1954). Their climatic scene together in a taxicab is one of the great moments in American cinema.
It was a short leap from playing a crooked lawyer in On the Waterfront to playing the shady boxing promoter in The Harder They Fall (1956). Based on the tragic tale of true-life fighter Primo Carnera, The Harder They Fall details the corruption behind the scenes of professional boxing bouts. Steiger is a fight manager named Nick Benko who enlists newspaperman Eddie Willis (Humphrey Bogart in his final screen appearance) to drum up publicity for a fixed prizefight. While the boxing scenes were often brutally realistic, the most powerful dramatic moments took place between Steiger and Bogart on the sidelines.
As mob boss Al Capone (1959), Steiger got to play another man you loved to hate. He vividly depicted the criminal from his swaggering early days to his pathetic demise from syphilis. In Doctor Zhivago (1965), Steiger was the only American in the international cast, playing the hateful and perverse Komarovsky. During the production of Dr. Zhivago, Steiger often found himself at odds with director David Lean. Schooled in the British tradition, Lean valued the integrity of the script and demanded that actors remain faithful to the script. Steiger, on the other hand, relied on improvisation and spontaneity. When kissing the lovely Lara (played by Julie Christie), Steiger jammed his tongue into Christie's mouth to produce the desired reaction - disgust. It worked! While it might not have been Lean's approach, it brought a grittier edge to the prestige production and made Komarovsky is a detestable but truly memorable figure.
Steiger dared audiences to dislike him. As the smalltown southern Sheriff Gillespie in In The Heat of the Night (1967), Steiger embodied all the prejudices and suspicions of a racist. When a black northern lawyer, played by Sidney Poitier, arrives on the crime scene, Gillespie is forced to recognize his fellow man as an equal despite skin color. Here, Steiger's character started as a bigot and developed into a better man. He finally claimed a Best Actor Academy Award for his performance as Sheriff Gillespie.
Steiger was an actor's actor. A chameleon who didn't think twice about diving into challenging roles that others would shy away from. In the Private Screenings interview he did with host Robert Osborne he admitted that Paul Muni was one of his idols because of his total immersion into his roles. Steiger said, "I believe actors are supposed to create different human beings." And Steiger showed us a rich and diverse cross section of them.
by Jeremy Geltzer & Jeff Stafford
The January Man
Brief Synopsis
The escapades of an unorthodox New York City policeman as he searches for a serial killer.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Pat O'connor
Director
Kevin Kline
Susan Sarandon
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
Harvey Keitel
Danny Aiello
Film Details
Also Known As
Calendrier meurtrier, January Man
MPAA Rating
Genre
Comedy
Crime
Thriller
Release Date
1989
Distribution Company
Lions Gate Releasing; METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER STUDIOS INC. (MGM )/UNITED INTERNATIONAL PICTURES (UIP)
Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada; New York City, New York, USA
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 37m
Synopsis
The escapades of an unorthodox New York City policeman as he searches for a serial killer.
Director
Pat O'connor
Director
Cast
Kevin Kline
Susan Sarandon
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
Harvey Keitel
Danny Aiello
Rod Steiger
Alan Rickman
Faye Grant
Tandy Cronyn
Bill Cobbs
Kimberly Glasco
Colin Mochrie
William Christian
Fred Booker
Ann Talman
John Kayton
Richard Johnson
Harmony Cramp
Malachy Mccourt
Greg Walker
Joan Heney
Katherine E Miller
Errol Slue
Renata Scotto
Performer
Rex Harrington
Gerard Parkes
Brian Tarantina
Jack K Tsirakis
Bill Cwikowski
Jane Sanders
Jerry Rector
J B Waters
Elizabeth Karr
Kenneth Welsh
Paul Geier
Lazaro Perez
Jayne Haynes
Warren Davis
Billie Neal
Grant Shaud
James Ryan
Bruce Macvittie
Maida Rogerson
James Mainprize
Carlo Bergonzi
Performer
Crew
Danny Aiello Iii
Stunts
David Allan
Choreographer
E R Ayotte
Costume Designer
Kelly Baker
Assistant
Jeff Balsmeyer
Art Department
Hank Bauer
Carpenter
Alan Bergman
Theme Lyrics
Marilyn Bergman
Theme Lyrics
Renee Bodner
Script Supervisor
Beth Boigon
Location Manager
Shelley Boylen
Production Coordinator
Risa Bramon Garcia
Casting
Gary Brink
Set Decorator
Elizabeth Broden
Assistant
James Douglas Brown
Hair
Bruce Carwardine
Sound Mixer
Devra Cohen
Other
Christopher Cook
Associate Producer
Christopher Cronyn
Unit Production Manager
Stephen Danza
Location Manager
Susanna David
Script Supervisor
Daniel R Davis
Art Director
Michael Dicosimo
Consultant
Graham Docherty
Wardrobe
Jeannine Edmunds
Assistant
James Fanning
Transportation Coordinator
Alison Fisher
Dialogue Editor
Judie Fixler
Casting
George Furniotis
Titles And Opticals
Sue Gandy
Assistant
Glen Gauthier
Boom Operator
Alison Grace
Dialogue Editor
Michael Green
Assistant Camera Operator
Patricia Green
Makeup
Romaine Greene
Hair
Rhonda Gunner
Animator
James Halpenny
Construction
Brian Hamill
Photography
Marvin Hamlisch
Song
Marvin Hamlisch
Music
Paul Harding
Property Master
Don Hewitt
Stunts
Paulin Ho
Accountant
Richard Hollander
Animator
Willie Holst
Scenic Artist
Billy Hopkins
Casting
Kevin Jewison
Assistant Camera Operator
Norman Jewison
Producer
Juanita
Song Performer
Lynda Kemp
Wardrobe Supervisor
Moe Koffman
Music
Lacia Kornylo
Production Associate
Sharon Lackie
Sound Editor
Paul Lane
Stunts
Carol Lavoie
Set Decorator
Donald J. Lee
Assistant Director
Janice Leibowitz
Production Assistant
Steve Lindsey
Song
Steven Lindsey
Song
Lou Lombardo
Editor
Lynn Lombardo
Assistant
Michael Macdonald
Production Manager
Cherie Macneill
Assistant Editor
Andy Malcolm
Foley Artist
Soomi Marano
Production Coordinator
Paul Massey
Sound
Bernadette Mazur
Makeup
Rod Mcbrien
Song
Gloria Mcleod
Assistant Camera Operator
Gregory L Mcmurry
Animator
Brent Meyer
Stunts
Veronica Miller
Accountant
Andy Mulkani
Key Grip
Andy Nelson
Sound
Peter Norman
Camera Operator
Michael O'farrell
Sound Editor
John Oates
On-Set Dresser
Harald Ortenburger
Camera Operator
Michael Pacek
Assistant Editor
Richard Parker
Animal Wrangler
Richard Perry
Song
Suzanne Pillsbury
Assistant Editor
Giacomo Puccini
Music
David Pultz
Color Timer
Ray Quinlan
Lighting Technician
Tammy Quinn
Production Assistant
Tammy Quinn
Other
Tom Quinn
Assistant Director
Richard Reseigne
Construction Coordinator
Valley Via Reseigne
Assistant
Jason Rodney
Location Assistant
Jane Rosenberg
Assistant
Philip Rosenberg
Production Designer
Daniel Rosenblum
Boom Operator
Ann Roth
Costume Designer
Curtis Roush
Music Editor
Jill Greenberg Sands
Casting
Siv Sandstrom
Art Department Coordinator
David Sardi
Assistant Director
Ursula Schrader
Costumes
Takashi Seida
Photography
John Patrick Shanley
Screenplay
Roger Sherman
Assistant
William Sohmer
Other
Neil Spisak
Costume Designer
Eoin Sprott
Other
Wally Stocklin
Property Master
Michael Stockton
On-Set Dresser
Douglas Stone
Assistant
Nick Sweetman
Transportation Coordinator
Ezra Swerdlow
Producer
Todd Thaler
Casting
George Themeils
Auditor
Peter Thillaye
Sound Effects Editor
Neil Trifunovich
Special Effects Coordinator
Joel Tuber
Assistant Director
Katherine Venti
Casting Associate
Richard Ventre
Other
Greg Walker
Stunt Coordinator
Martin Walters
Assistant Director
Bob Ward
Key Grip
John C Wash
Animator
Jonathan M. Watson
Assistant
Johanna Weinstein
Main Title Design
Questar Welsh
Song
Tom Weston
Camera Operator
Don White
Sound
Gord White
Assistant Art Director
Jim Whitson
Other
Susan J. Wright
Costumes
Rick Young
Lighting Technician
Jerzy Zielinski
Dp/Cinematographer
Jerzy Zielinski
Director Of Photography
Ed Zigo
Technical Advisor
Film Details
Also Known As
Calendrier meurtrier, January Man
MPAA Rating
Genre
Comedy
Crime
Thriller
Release Date
1989
Distribution Company
Lions Gate Releasing; METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER STUDIOS INC. (MGM )/UNITED INTERNATIONAL PICTURES (UIP)
Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada; New York City, New York, USA
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 37m
Articles
TCM Remembers - Rod Steiger
TCM Remembers - Rod Steiger
ROD STEIGER, 1925 - 2002
From the docks of New York to the rural back roads of Mississippi to the war torn Russian steppes, Rod Steiger reveled in creating some of the most overpowering and difficult men on the screen. He could be a total scoundrel, embodying Machiavelli's idiom that "it's better to be feared than loved" in the movies. But as an actor he refused to be typecast and his wide range included characters who were secretly tormented (The Pawnbroker, 1965) or loners (Run of the Arrow, 1965) or eccentrics (The Loved One, 1965).
Along with Marlon Brando, Steiger helped bring the 'Method School' from the Group Theater and Actors Studio in New York to the screens of Hollywood. The Method technique, taught by Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg, insisted on complete immersion into the character's psyche and resulted in intense, dramatic performances and performers. Steiger made his first significant screen appearance as Brando's older brother in On the Waterfront (1954). Their climatic scene together in a taxicab is one of the great moments in American cinema.
It was a short leap from playing a crooked lawyer in On the Waterfront to playing the shady boxing promoter in The Harder They Fall (1956). Based on the tragic tale of true-life fighter Primo Carnera, The Harder They Fall details the corruption behind the scenes of professional boxing bouts. Steiger is a fight manager named Nick Benko who enlists newspaperman Eddie Willis (Humphrey Bogart in his final screen appearance) to drum up publicity for a fixed prizefight. While the boxing scenes were often brutally realistic, the most powerful dramatic moments took place between Steiger and Bogart on the sidelines.
As mob boss Al Capone (1959), Steiger got to play another man you loved to hate. He vividly depicted the criminal from his swaggering early days to his pathetic demise from syphilis. In Doctor Zhivago (1965), Steiger was the only American in the international cast, playing the hateful and perverse Komarovsky. During the production of Dr. Zhivago, Steiger often found himself at odds with director David Lean. Schooled in the British tradition, Lean valued the integrity of the script and demanded that actors remain faithful to the script. Steiger, on the other hand, relied on improvisation and spontaneity. When kissing the lovely Lara (played by Julie Christie), Steiger jammed his tongue into Christie's mouth to produce the desired reaction - disgust. It worked! While it might not have been Lean's approach, it brought a grittier edge to the prestige production and made Komarovsky is a detestable but truly memorable figure.
Steiger dared audiences to dislike him. As the smalltown southern Sheriff Gillespie in In The Heat of the Night (1967), Steiger embodied all the prejudices and suspicions of a racist. When a black northern lawyer, played by Sidney Poitier, arrives on the crime scene, Gillespie is forced to recognize his fellow man as an equal despite skin color. Here, Steiger's character started as a bigot and developed into a better man. He finally claimed a Best Actor Academy Award for his performance as Sheriff Gillespie.
Steiger was an actor's actor. A chameleon who didn't think twice about diving into challenging roles that others would shy away from. In the Private Screenings interview he did with host Robert Osborne he admitted that Paul Muni was one of his idols because of his total immersion into his roles. Steiger said, "I believe actors are supposed to create different human beings." And Steiger showed us a rich and diverse cross section of them.
by Jeremy Geltzer & Jeff Stafford
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Winter January 13, 1989
Released in United States on Video September 7, 1989
Completed shooting May 13, 1988.
Began shooting March 17, 1988.
Released in United States Winter January 13, 1989
Released in United States on Video September 7, 1989
