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
Lightmaker
Brief Synopsis
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A modern fantasy fairy-tale that begins in Duke Osso's underground empire. The Duke's realm is doomed to extinction because the enormous crystal that provides the underground kingdom with light and life is about to burn out. And so the Duke sends his jester Balthasar out into the world to find a 'li
Cast & Crew
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Dieter Meier
Director
Zbigniew Zamachowski
Rumo Ranieri
Rod Steiger
Duke Osso
Cornelia Grolimund
Mira
Dieter Meier
Balthasar
Malgorzata Potocka
Hera
Film Details
Genre
Fantasy
Release Date
2001
Production Company
Frenetic Films
Location
Poland
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 27m
Synopsis
A modern fantasy fairy-tale that begins in Duke Osso's underground empire. The Duke's realm is doomed to extinction because the enormous crystal that provides the underground kingdom with light and life is about to burn out. And so the Duke sends his jester Balthasar out into the world to find a 'lightmaker' that will revive the crystal and save the endangered prince and all his subjects from impending death. Balthasar seeks out a virtuoso violinist named Rumo and, by showing him a portrait of Mira, the Duke's exquisitely beautiful daughter, tempts him to accompany him to the underground palace, which now looks no better than a rotten cellar, to play his violin and revive the dying crystal. But Rumo soon discovers that there is more to this story than meets the eye...
Director
Dieter Meier
Director
Cast
Zbigniew Zamachowski
Rumo Ranieri
Rod Steiger
Duke Osso
Cornelia Grolimund
Mira
Dieter Meier
Balthasar
Malgorzata Potocka
Hera
Johnny Melville
Basta Bastiani
Ferdinand Pregartner
Max
Jerzy Zelnik
Gustav
Marzena Krol
Astrologer
Monika Bolibrzuch
Danuta Balicka
Elisabeth
Igor Kujawski
Henry
Wojciech Ziemianski
Andrzej Mrozek
Tadeusz Szymkow
Chryzanta Dziemianowicz
Bruno O'ya
Andrzej Kowalik
Zdzislaw Kuzniar
Crew
Larry Arrick
Screenwriter
Christophe Beck
Music
Adam Bernardi
Editor
Boris Blank
Original Songs
Ines Boesch
Production Designer
Rozanne Charbonneau
Screenwriter
Jolanta Grzenda
Costume Designer
Andrzej Gutowski
Executive Producer
Martin Kloiber
Sound
Martin Kloiber
Co-Producer
Dieter Meier
Producer
Dieter Meier
From Story
Edward Oleschak
Producer
Malgorzata Potocka
Executive Producer
Przemyslaw Skwirczynski
Director Of Photography
Peter Vitzthum
Executive Producer
Peter Vitzthum
Co-Producer
Film Details
Genre
Fantasy
Release Date
2001
Production Company
Frenetic Films
Location
Poland
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 27m
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 2001
Released in United States February 2001
Shown at Berlin International Film Festival (Panorama) February 7-18, 2001.
Feature directorial debut for Dieter Meier, singer/songwriter for the band Yello.
aspect ratio 1:1.85
Released in United States 2001
Released in United States February 2001 (Shown at Berlin International Film Festival (Panorama) February 7-18, 2001.)
