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
Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Sandy Tung
Rachel Winfree
Rod Steiger
Joe Pichler
Shannon Marie Kies
Rick Chadock
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Twelve-year-old Marty Preston adopts Shiloh, a beagle who was mistreated by his previous owner, the drunken Judd Travers. But when Judd is injured after driving while drunk, Marty wants to help him to improve his life. Through a series of events, he discovers just how deep one grown man's hurt can go and how long it takes to cure.
Director
Sandy Tung
Cast
Rachel Winfree
Rod Steiger
Joe Pichler
Shannon Marie Kies
Rick Chadock
Michael Moriarty
Ellen Edson
Rachel David
Colin Macdonald
Dawn Mcmillan
Elizabeth Karr
Eddie Mathers
Ann Dowd
Bonnie Bartlett
John Short
Scott Wilson
Zachary Browne
Nick Schauman
Marissa Leigh
Kathleen Rose
Caitlin Wachs
Mark Vasconcellos
Crew
Preston Adams
Frederique Barrera
Kim Bartlein
Ridge Blackwell
Chris Blackwood
J Adam W Bogle Jr.
Carl Borack
Aubrey Boytos
Katherine Brock
Blake Busby
Joseph Butler
Doug Cameron
Luca A Carena
Alexander Carroll
Amanda Carroll
Michael P Catanzarite
Rick Chadock
Rick Chadock
Dave Channel
Nicole Christopher
Mathew Coleman
Jalena Cotner
R Vern Crofoot
Paul Cuffee
Derrick Cunningham
Jane Dancey
Jason Dauman
Chris Dechert
Christian Degeneffe
Craig Delahousaye
Stehen Delgago
David Depalo
David Dickerson
Donna L Dragich
Ilko J. Drozdoski
Loretta M Elliott
Randy Farrar
Cezanne Farris-gilbert
Richard Favazzo
Paul Feddersen
Joe Fuchs
Michele Gampel
David Edward Garber
Emily Gaydos
Jason Gerber
Jerry Gilbert
Bryan Godwin
Arleen Goldenberg
Joel Goldsmith
Joel Goldsmith
Geoffrey Gormley
Dean Gunderson
Sarah Hale
Kent Hamilton
Tina Han
Lisa Hannan
Ted Hayash
Rex Hill
Lynn Hope
Inger Howard
Diane Hubner
Hiro Kakuhari
Tracy Kelly
Whitney Kroenke
Curt Larson
Michelle Latham
Greg Lauden
Lee Lazarow
Jodi Leininger
Ken Leoganda
Bryan Leslie
Zane Levitt
John W. Jr. Lewis
Scott Leyse
Michael Locke
Richard Locke
Wren Maloney
Cyrus Ives Marshall
Arona Martin
Jackie Martin
Greg Mauer
Jim Mccarthy
Scott Mcgregor
Cole Mckay
Sooner Mckay
Lisa Mcneil
Gary Miller
Benjamin N Minot
Ronald A Modro
Donald D Monohan
Brent Morris
Anthony A Mparmperis
Esther Murphy
Rowena Murphy
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Alex Newman
David Ortiz
Paul N. J. Ottosson
Gary Paul
Andy Potvin
Sue Pusateri
Jennifer Rae Smith
Aurelia M Ranches
Cynthia Ranches
Paul Ratajczak
Paul Ratajczak
Rikke Rosbaeck
Dale Rosenbloom
Dale Rosenbloom
Richard E Rosenthal
Solene Roy
Manuel Ruiz
Leesa-ree Sandoval
Julie Schultz
Tony Schwartz
Tom Seid
Laura Sherman
Laura Shiff
Curtis Smith
Shana Smith
Troy Smith
Andre Soto
Donald F Spinney
Diana Stadlen
Brent Stanton
Rick Sulier
Dionne Thompson-winters
Joseph Tintfass
Reno Tondelli
Steve Tushar
Jan Van Houdt
Lisa Vasconcellos
Marc Verbyos
Nick Vidar
Tom Vozza
Jonathan Wales
Michael Warren
Jennifer Wilkinson
Seth Willenson
Donald D Williams
Patsy Williams
Chuck Winston
James Elya Winters
Lance Wiseman
Nancy Withrow
Jackson Wolfe
Larry Wright
Mark Yellen
Film Details
Technical Specs
Articles
TCM Remembers - Rod Steiger
TCM Remembers - Rod Steiger
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Expanded Release in United States July 2, 1999
Released in United States April 1999
Released in United States Summer June 25, 1999
Shown at Palm Beach International Film Festival April 9-18, 1999.
Shown at WorldFest/Houston Film Festival April 1999.
Released in United States April 1999 (Shown at Palm Beach International Film Festival April 9-18, 1999.)
Released in United States April 1999 (Shown at WorldFest/Houston Film Festival April 1999.)
Released in United States Summer June 25, 1999
Expanded Release in United States July 2, 1999