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Robert Mitchum is a Actor, Director, Scriptwriter, Producer and Sound American born on 6 august 1917 at Bridgeport (USA)

Robert Mitchum

Robert Mitchum
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Birth name Robert Charles Durman Mitchum
Nationality USA
Birth 6 august 1917 at Bridgeport (USA)
Death 1 july 1997 (at 79 years) at Santa Barbara (USA)

Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American film actor, author, composer, and singer. Mitchum rose to prominence for his starring roles in several classic films noir, and is generally considered a forerunner of the anti-heroes prevalent in film during the 1950s and 1960s. His best-known films include The Story of G.I. Joe (1945), Crossfire (1947), Out of the Past (1947), The Night of the Hunter (1955), The Enemy Below (1957), Cape Fear (1962), and El Dorado (1966).

Mitchum is rated #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male stars of Classic American Cinema.

Biography

Enfance, famille et débuts
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum naît à Bridgeport dans le Connecticut. il est le fils de James Thomas Mitchum, ouvrier de chantiers navals et du chemin de fer, et d'Ann Harriet Gunderson, immigrante norvégienne et fille d'un capitaine de marine. Sa sœur, Annette (actrice sous le pseudonyme de Julie Mitchum), naît en 1913.

Son père meurt sur un chantier de chemin de fer à Charleston (Caroline du Sud) en février 1919, alors que Robert n'a pas encore deux ans. Après la mort de son mari, Ann Mitchum reçoit une pension du gouvernement, et se rend compte bientôt qu'elle est enceinte. Elle retourne auprès de sa famille dans le Connecticut et épouse un ancien officier de l'Armée britannique qui l'aide à élever les trois enfants, puisqu'en septembre 1919 naît John. Lorsque ses enfants sont en âge d'aller à l'école, sa mère est embauchée en tant que linotypiste pour le Bridgeport Post. À peine âgé de 11 ans, Robert ne trouve littéralement plus sa place à table en rentrant chez lui, sa mère n'ayant plus les moyens de le nourrir. Après quelque temps dans la ferme de ses grands-parents, il prend clandestinement le train pour le sud.

À 14 ou 16 ans (les versions varient), il est arrêté à Savannah en Géorgie pour vagabondage, et doit travailler pour l'État, enchaîné à d'autres forçats. Il parvient à s'évader et rejoint la maison de ses grands-parents. C'est là qu'il rencontre, en 1933, Dorothy (alors âgée de 14 ans). Ils se marient le 16 mars 1940 dans la cuisine d'un pasteur. Malgré les infidélités notoires de Robert, ils resteront mariés jusqu'à la fin de la vie de l'acteur.

Robert Mitchum commence sa carrière en étant sous contrat avec la RKO.


Son apport au film noir

Robert Mitchum est l'un des acteurs emblématiques du film noir depuis sa première apparition en 1944 dans la série B L'étrange mariage (When Strangers Marry), mettant en scène un serial killer psychotique. Dans Lame de fond (1946), il incarne le frère de Robert Taylor aux côtés de Katharine Hepburn dans ce qui sera la seule incursion dans le genre de Vincente Minnelli.

En 1946, dans Le Médaillon il est l'ex-mari de la femme fatale Laraine Day, alors que l'année suivante dans La Vallée de la peur (entre western et film noir), son personnage se remémore son passé tout en pourchassant ceux qui ont tué sa famille. Pour Feux croisés également sorti en 1947, Mitchum appartient à un groupe de soldats, dont l'un a tué un juif. Cette critique de l'antisémitisme et des méthodes d'entraînement militaire, réalisée par Edward Dmytryk, fut un film marquant de cette année-là et sera sélectionné pour cinq Oscars.

Après Feux croisés, Mitchum joue le premier rôle d'un des meilleurs films de sa carrière, La Griffe du passé (1947) (ressorti plus tard en France sous le titre Pendez-moi haut et court) réalisé par Jacques Tourneur et photographié par Nicolas Musuraca. Il est Jeff Markham, un propriétaire d'une station-service isolée qui se retrouve rattrapé par son passé trouble avec le joueur Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas) et la femme fatale Kathie Moffett (Jane Greer). Même s'il est passé relativement inaperçu au moment de sa sortie, le film a ensuite fait l'objet d'une reconnaissance tardive auprès des cinéastes et des journalistes qui le portèrent aux nues. L'acteur sera à nouveau photographié par Musuraca dans le « western psychologique » de Robert Wise Ciel rouge l'année suivante.


Producteur... et chanteur
En 1958, Robert Mitchum s'engage personnellement dans le film Thunder Road, un projet qui lui tenait à cœur, et qu'il finança en partie de ses deniers. Le film dépeint la vie dangereuse d'un contrebandier d'alcool distillé illégalement à la ferme, transportant sa marchandise (surnommée « Moonshine ») la nuit en prenant tous les risques à bord d'une voiture gonflée sur les routes de l'Amérique profonde (une pratique qui fut incidemment à l'origine des courses de stock-car). Il y joue le rôle de Lucas Doolin, le contrebandier pris en tenaille entre les douaniers fédéraux (Revenuers) et un redoutable gangster (Jacques Aubuchon) qui veut monopoliser le trafic de Moonshine. Son fils, James Mitchum, joue également dans le film, où il incarne le jeune frère et mécanicien de Mitchum.

La chanson du film, devenu culte dans les États du Sud des États-Unis, La ballade de Thunder road, fut également un succès discographique, interprétée par Mitchum en personne (alors que dans le film elle est chantée d'une façon plus suave par le chanteur de country Randy Sparks ).

Best films

Cape Fear (1991)
(Actor)
Scrooged (1988)
(Actor)
The Longest Day (1962)
(Actor)
Ryan's Daughter (1970)
(Actor)
El Dorado (1966)
(Actor)
River of No Return (1954)
(Actor)

Usually with

Darrell Silvera
Darrell Silvera
(19 films)
Clem Portman
Clem Portman
(13 films)
Roy Webb
Roy Webb
(11 films)
Ralph Berger
Ralph Berger
(10 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Robert Mitchum (121 films)

Display filmography as list

Actor

Dead Man
Dead Man (1995)
, 2h1
Directed by Jim Jarmusch
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Fantasy, Action, Western
Themes Transport films, Road movies
Actors Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, Lance Henriksen, Crispin Glover, Iggy Pop, Michael Wincott
Roles John Dickinson
Rating74% 3.7485153.7485153.7485153.7485153.748515
William Blake, an accountant from Cleveland, Ohio, rides by train to the frontier company town of Machine to assume a promised job as an accountant in the town's metal works. During the trip, a Fireman warns Blake against the enterprise while passengers shoot buffalo from the train windows. Arriving in town, Blake discovers that his position has already been filled, and he is driven from the workplace at gunpoint by John Dickinson, the ferocious owner of the company. Jobless and without money or prospects, Blake meets Thel Russell, a former prostitute who sells paper flowers. He lets her take him home. Thel's ex-boyfriend Charlie surprises them in bed and shoots at Blake, accidentally killing Thel when she tries to shield Blake with her body. A wounded Blake shoots and kills Charlie with Thel's gun before climbing dazedly out the window and fleeing Machine on a stolen horse. Company-owner Dickinson just happens to be Charlie's father, and he hires three legendary frontier killers, Cole Wilson, Conway Twill, and Johnny "The Kid" Pickett to bring Blake back 'dead or alive'.
The Sunset Boys
Genres Drama, Comedy, Crime
Actors Erland Josephson, Cliff Robertson, Hanna Schygulla, Espen Skjønberg, Robert Mitchum, Nadja Tiller
Roles Ernest Bogan
Rating60% 3.049073.049073.049073.049073.04907
Ernest, Ted et August réalisent le dernier souhait de leur ami Carl et l'emmènent à Heidelberg, où ils se sont tous rencontrés pour la première fois il y a 45 ans, pour voir une dernière fois son ancienne petite amie. Cependant, les habitants ne parleront pas d'elle, en raison d'un secret de la Seconde Guerre mondiale.
Woman of Desire, 1h36
Directed by Robert Ginty
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Crime, Erotic thriller
Themes Films about sexuality, Erotic films, Erotic thriller films
Actors Bo Derek, Robert Mitchum, Jeff Fahey, Steven Bauer, Peter Holden, John Carson
Roles Walter J. Hill
Rating40% 2.0286752.0286752.0286752.0286752.028675
Two men – Jack Lynch (Jeff Fahey) and Jonathan Ashby (Steven Bauer) – are confronted by a beautiful woman, Christina Ford (Bo Derek).
La Classe américaine, 1h10
Directed by Michel Hazanavicius, Dominique Mézerette
Origin France
Genres Comedy, Crime
Actors John Wayne, Christine Delaroche, Dustin Hoffman, Burt Lancaster, Robert Redford, Marc Cassot
Roles Yves (archive footage)
Rating78% 3.936623.936623.936623.936623.93662
The film begins with the following lines appearing on screen, complete with deliberate spelling mistakes: "Attention! Ce flim n'est pas un flim sur le cyclimse. Merci de votre compréhension." ("Attention! This flim is not a flim about cyclign. Thank you for your understanding.")
Tombstone
Tombstone (1993)
, 2h10
Directed by Kevin Jarre, George Cosmatos
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Action, Adventure, Historical, Western
Actors Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Michael Biehn, Dana Delany, Sam Elliott, Powers Boothe
Roles Narrator (voice)
Rating77% 3.898723.898723.898723.898723.89872
Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell), a retired peace officer with a notable reputation, reunites with his brothers Virgil (Sam Elliott) and Morgan (Bill Paxton) in Tucson, Arizona, where they venture on towards Tombstone, a small mining town, to settle down. There they encounter Wyatt's long-time friend Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer), a Southern gambler and expert gunslinger, who seeks relief from his worsening tuberculosis. Josephine Marcus (Dana Delany) and Mr. Fabian (Billy Zane) are also newly arrived in Tombstone with a traveling theater troupe. Meanwhile, Wyatt's wife, Mattie Blaylock (Dana Wheeler-Nicholson), is becoming dependent on a potent narcotic. Wyatt and his brothers begin to profit from a stake in a gambling emporium and saloon when they have their first encounter with a band of outlaws called the Cowboys, led by "Curly Bill" Brocious (Powers Boothe). The Cowboys are identifiable by the red sashes worn around their waist.
La Classe américaine, 39minutes
Directed by Michel Hazanavicius, Dominique Mézerette
Genres Comedy, Crime
Actors John Wayne, Christine Delaroche, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Marc Cassot, Steve McQueen
Roles Yves (archive footage)
Rating73% 3.665473.665473.665473.665473.66547
Diffusé pour les fêtes de fin d'année, ce second détournement (qui fait suite à Derrick contre Superman) est un Ça cartoon déjanté mêlant des séquences originales présenté par Valérie Payet et Philippe Dana à des extraits redoublés de dessins animés avec Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck... et de films avec Steve McQueen, Burt Lancaster, Jack Nicholson, Jean Gabin, etc. Il s'agit du second des trois téléfilms du Grand Détournement.
La Classe américaine
Directed by Michel Hazanavicius, Dominique Mézerette
Genres Comedy, Crime
Actors John Wayne, Christine Delaroche, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Marc Cassot, Paul Newman
Roles Yves (archive footage)
Rating78% 3.936623.936623.936623.936623.93662
George Abitbol, l'homme le plus classe du monde, meurt tragiquement lors d'une croisière. Dans un dernier souffle, il murmure : « Monde de merde ». Pourquoi ? Ces mots intriguent le rédacteur en chef d'un quotidien américain. Il dépêche ses trois meilleurs enquêteurs : Dave, Peter et Steven (prononcer « Pétère et Stéveune ») pour éclaircir ce mystère...
Cape Fear
Cape Fear (1991)
, 2h3
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Horror, Crime
Themes Films about sexuality, Rape in fiction
Actors Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis, Joe Don Baker, Robert Mitchum
Roles Lieutenant Elgart
Rating72% 3.649673.649673.649673.649673.64967
Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte) is a lawyer in the quiet town of New Essex, North Carolina. Max Cady (Robert De Niro) is a former client whom Bowden defended 14 years earlier when he was working as a public defender in Atlanta. Cady was being tried for the violent rape and battery of a young woman. Bowden, appalled by Cady's crime, buried crucial evidence about the victim—that she was promiscuous—which might have lightened Cady's sentence or even secured his acquittal, violating his ethical and professional duty as a defense attorney. Cady was illiterate at the time and unaware of Bowden's actions. After his release from prison, Cady tracks down Bowden. The former convict learned to read and studied law in prison, and even assumed his own defense, unsuccessfully appealing his conviction several times. Cady hints strongly that he has learned about Bowden burying the report, stating that the judge and prosecutor in his case did their jobs while Bowden betrayed his own client.
Midnight Ride, 1h33
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Action, Horror
Actors Mark Hamill, Robert Mitchum, Michael Dudikoffi, Dee Dee Rescher, Debbie Evans, Timothy Brown
Roles Dr. Hardy
Rating51% 2.5586652.5586652.5586652.5586652.558665
After a heated argument with her military police turned cop husband, Lawson; Russian immigrant house wife, Lara storms off into the night convinced he's more married to his job than her. On her drive to a friend's house, she takes pity on a mournful hitchhiker Justin Mckay, desperately searching for a ride. Her offer of a lift to him plunges her into a night of pure terror as Justin is seriously disturbed, twisted by a tortured childhood which ended in being made to see his little sister's shocking murder and mutilation at the hands of his brutal alcoholic mother (who took a butcher knife to her head and used it like a comb) who systematically slays anyone who harms or offends him on a murderous impulse, as he captures their dying moments on his Polaroid camera. As Lawson struggles to follow Lara despite a leg in a cast, he is left for dead by our Justin, but recovers and now must search the steadily darkening roads for Lara, while her deeply troubled captor Justin continues his uncontrollable slaughter-spree, rampaging through the night leaving behind carnage and fiery devastation on his path of madness. As soon as Justin and Lara reach the hospital, Justin pretends Lara is paranoid and soon encounter Dr. Hardy, Justin's doctor who tried to help Justin when he first met him. While Lawson arrives at the hospital, Justin forces Dr. Hardy to give Lara the treatment of electric shocks. As much as Dr. Hardy tries to persuade Justin not to he ignores him and gives Lara electric shocks, thus trying to kill her. Lawson comes right out of a ventalation shaft into the room stopping Justin from his insane doing and pursues him down to the engineers room tackling Justin down and throwing him right into a current, electrifying him to death. Lawson and Lara in the end head to the elevator, which Lawson forgives Lara and says that she is more important than his work. Not realizing that Justin survived the incident and secretly dresses up as a patient and is in the elevator with them and grabs a knife to kill them both, but Lawson grabs his gun and shots him directly to the head leading him to his real death, thus ending the film.
Believed Violent, 1h40
Directed by Georges Lautner
Origin France
Genres Thriller, Action
Actors Michael Brandon, Sophie Duez, Robert Mitchum, Francis Perrin, Marie Laforêt, Mario Adorf
Roles Pr. Forrester
Rating40% 2.0405352.0405352.0405352.0405352.040535
Le professeur Forrester détient la formule d'une arme suprême. Par sécurité, on lui a ordonné de la garder dans le secret de sa mémoire. Soudain, un traumatisme affectif imprévisible rend le professeur amnésique. Drame. Si cette mémoire "arrêtée sur image" détient la paix du monde pour ses commanditaires, pour d'autres elle vaut des milliards. Les deux parties s'arrachent le professeur. Combats sanglants mais vains si l'amnésie se révèle incurable. Contre toute éthique, les "amis" de Forrester choisissent de détruire chimiquement son cerveau, ses souvenirs, son secret. Un jour lointain, son savoir pourrait revenir… et chez l'ennemi. Le professeur est "présumé dangereux". L'autre camp croit à une thérapie, on enlève le savant. Désillusion. Forrester demeure prostré, indifférent à la guerre dont il est l'enjeu. Un psy satanique préconise une thérapie de choc. Il conseille de le confronter à celle qui lui a fait perdre la raison, son épouse. Mais l'issue ne sera pas celle escomptée.
Scrooged
Scrooged (1988)
, 1h41
Directed by Richard Donner
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Fantastic, Comedy, Romantic comedy, Fantasy
Themes Christmas films, Films about television, Time travel films, Ghost films
Actors Bill Murray, Karen Allen, Robert Mitchum, John Forsythe, John Glover, Bobcat Goldthwait
Roles Preston Rhinelander
Rating68% 3.4493253.4493253.4493253.4493253.449325
Frank Cross (Bill Murray) is a successful but cynical television programming executive for the IBC network headquartered in New York City. He has demanded the network put on a extravagant live production of A Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve to seize the ratings opportunity, forcing the network's staff including his direct assistant Grace Cooley (Alfre Woodard) to work on the holiday. When some of his decisions are questioned, he fires timid yes-man Eliot Loudermilk (Bobcat Goldthwait) on the spot. Frank's boss Preston Rhinelander (Robert Mitchum) takes the liberty of hiring an assistant for Frank, Brice Cummings (John Glover), who is transparently after Frank's job. Hours before the show is set to start, Frank is alone in his office when he is visited by the ghost of his mentor Lew Hayward (John Forsythe), who warns him of the errors of his ways and that three ghosts will visit him over the course of the night. Before he leaves, Lew causes Frank's phone to call Claire Phillips (Karen Allen), Frank's true love who he had foregone when he became a television executive. Claire comes to visit Frank, but finds him too busy with preparations for the show, though leaves him the address of the homeless shelter that she helps out at.
Mr. North
Mr. North (1988)
, 1h33
Directed by Danny Huston
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Fantasy
Actors Anthony Edwards, Robert Mitchum, Lauren Bacall, Harry Dean Stanton, Anjelica Huston, Mary Stuart Masterson
Roles Mr. Bosworth
Rating58% 2.9484352.9484352.9484352.9484352.948435
In 1920s Newport, Rhode Island, Theophilus North (Anthony Edwards) is an engaging, multi-talented, middle-class Yale graduate who spends the summer catering to the wealthy families of the city. He becomes the confidant of James McHenry Bosworth (Robert Mitchum), and a tutor and tennis coach to the families' children. He also befriends many from the city's servant class including Henry Simmons (Harry Dean Stanton), Amelia Cranston (Lauren Bacall), and Sally Boffin (Virginia Madsen).
The Ambassador, 1h37
Directed by J. Lee Thompson
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Thriller
Themes Films set in Africa, Political films
Actors Robert Mitchum, Ellen Burstyn, Rock Hudson, Fabio Testi, Donald Pleasence, Michal Bat-Adam
Roles Peter Hacker
Rating53% 2.654552.654552.654552.654552.65455
American Ambassador to Israel Peter Hacker (Robert Mitchum) and head of security Frank Stevenson (Rock Hudson) are en route to a secret location in the Judean desert to meet with representatives of the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization). It is part of Hacker’s secret plan to have young Jews and Muslims begin a peaceful dialogue. An armed Israeli helicopter locates and disrupts the meeting by firing on it causing several deaths. Hacker and Stevenson survive and are apprehended by Israeli ground soldiers.
Maria's Lovers, 1h49
Directed by Andreï Kontchalovski
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Romance
Actors Nastassja Kinski, John Savage, Robert Mitchum, Keith Carradine, Vincent Spano, Anita Morris
Roles Ivan's Father
Rating64% 3.246943.246943.246943.246943.24694
In the spring of 1946, Ivan, an American soldier, returns home psychologically scarred after spending some time in a Japanese prison camp during World War II. Once back in his small Pennsylvania town, Ivan settles in, trying to put his life back together while living with his stoic peasant father.