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
That Summer of White Roses
Brief Synopsis
During the last summer of World War II, a Yugoslavian lifeguard, who has never managed to rescue anybody, saves the life of the commandant of a German garrison.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Rajko Grlic
Director
Mario Kovac
Geoffrey Whitehead
Danilo Poprzen
John Sharp
Tom Conti
Film Details
Also Known As
Ete des roses blanches, L', L' Ete des roses blanches, Summer of White Roses, The, White Rose, White Roses
MPAA Rating
Genre
Drama
War
Release Date
1989
Location
Yugoslavia
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 43m
Synopsis
During the last summer of World War II, a Yugoslavian lifeguard, who has never managed to rescue anybody, saves the life of the commandant of a German garrison.
Director
Rajko Grlic
Director
Cast
Mario Kovac
Geoffrey Whitehead
Danilo Poprzen
John Sharp
Tom Conti
Stanka Gjuric
Vladimir Rubcic
Miroslav Vukovic
Ivo Gregurevi+
Stanislava Beble
Nitzan Sharron
Toso Jelic
Vanja Drach
Susan George
Marijan Habazin
Mladen Luketic
Hrvoje Kovacic
Sandra Zeljkovic
Rod Steiger
Miljenko Brlecic
Branko Cvejic
Tomislav Srebacic
Alun Armstrong
John Gill
Slobodan Sembera
Vojna Markov
Crew
Pavle Balenovic
Stunts
John Bateman
Adr Editor
Davorka Borojevic
Location Manager
Jed Brendon-tullett
Production Assistant
Miroslav Buhin
Stunts
Darko Bujas
Stunts
J N R Campbell
Music
J N R Campbell
Music Arranger
Mladen Cosic
Stunts
Pavle Despalj
Music Conductor
Brendan Donnison
Casting
Mike Dowson
Sound Mixer
Mike Dyson
Foley Editor
Maria Dziewulska
Makeup
Arnie Fishman
Coproducer
Brian Gascoigne
Other
Susan George
Executive Producer
Damir F German
Editor
Richard Gillinson
Music
Rajko Grlic
Screenplay
Gordana Hovezak
Production Coordinator
Gerry Humphreys
Sound
Zvonimir Ilijic
Assistant Director
Vjera Ivankovic
Costume Designer
Sime Jagarinec
Stunts
Kemal Jahic
Stunts
Dinka Jericevic
Production Designer
Suleiman Kapic
Executive Producer
Vlado Keleuva
Stunts
Chris Kelly
Associate Editor
Chris Kelly
Music Editor
Mladen Koceic
Production Supervisor
Louis Kramer
Sound
Paul Lichtman
Coproducer
Simon Maccorkindale
Producer
Simon Maccorkindale
Screenplay
Zdrauko Mihalic
Producer
Slobodan Milakovic
Stunts
Dragutin Nusshol
Production Manager
Mike O'donnell
Music
Mike O'donnell
Music Arranger
Arsen Anton Ostojic
Assistant Director
Zoran Parat
Assistant Director
Borislav Pekic
Screenplay
Borislav Pekic
Source Material (From Novel)
Melanija Petrovic
Stunts
Slaven Petrovic
Stunts
Drazen Pintaric
Location Manager
Tomislav Pinter
Director Of Photography
Steve Price
Music
Jim Roddan
Sound Editor
Ljudevit Sikic
Assistant Camera Operator
Mladen Skalec
Sound
Zdravko Smojver
Special Effects Supervisor
Anica Svilar
Wardrobe
Aldo Toncic
Stunts
Bill Trent
Post-Production Supervisor
Slobdan Trninic
Assistant Camera Operator
Tom Vukusic
Stunts
Igor Zavrsnik
Pyrotechnics
Brane Zivkovic
Music
Film Details
Also Known As
Ete des roses blanches, L', L' Ete des roses blanches, Summer of White Roses, The, White Rose, White Roses
MPAA Rating
Genre
Drama
War
Release Date
1989
Location
Yugoslavia
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 43m
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 1990
Released in United States July 26, 1990
Released in United States May 14, 1989
Released in United States October 4, 1989
Released in United States on Video November 7, 1990
Released in United States September 1989
Shown at Cannes Film Festival (out of competition) May 14, 1989.
Shown at Goodwill Film Festival, Seattle July 26, 1990.
Shown at San Francisco International Film Festival April 30-May 13, 1990.
Shown at San Sebastian Film Festival September 15-23, 1989.
Shown at Tokyo International Film Festival (in competition) October 4, 1989.
Began shooting July 23, 1988.
Released in United States 1990 (Shown at AFI/Los Angeles International Film Festival (West European Cinema) April 19 - May 3, 1990.)
Released in United States May 14, 1989 (Shown at Cannes Film Festival (out of competition) May 14, 1989.)
Released in United States July 26, 1990 (Shown at Goodwill Film Festival, Seattle July 26, 1990.)
Released in United States September 1989 (Shown at San Sebastian Film Festival September 15-23, 1989.)
Released in United States 1990 (Shown at San Francisco International Film Festival April 30-May 13, 1990.)
Released in United States October 4, 1989 (Shown at Tokyo International Film Festival (in competition) October 4, 1989.)
Released in United States on Video November 7, 1990
