Word: actor
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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...either to wit or to highbrow intellectual discussion. Alfred Hitchcock has said of him that he is probably the most anecdoteless man in Hollywood; it does not come natural to him either to tell anecdotes or to inspire them. David Selznick has called Peck the best-informed actor in Hollywood, which is probably an exaggeration. Selznick may have meant to say that Peck has one clear sign of a vigorous intelligence: an eagerness to keep on learning...
Peck still clings doggedly to the notion of being a stage actor. It is not that he considers himself too good for movies (he doesn't think he is good enough), nor even that he thinks plays are better than pictures. But he still believes that the theater is the best place to learn how to act. He has been instrumental in organizing a Selznick-financed group of movie people (Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Dorothy McGuire, et al.) who do stage-acting in their spare time. But it will be a long time-three years at least-before...
...cinema's first male idol to resist typing: the first to devote himself successfully to the art of acting, rather than a stylized display of physique and personality. He has shown no signs of that depth of intuition which would suggest that he will ever become a great actor-as Olivier, for instance, may become. But he seldom fails to turn in a performance that is honorably beyond the line of movie duty. He is diligent, definitely if quietly talented, intelligent about his work; and he has an obvious capacity for study and for growth. Unless he succumbs...
Gregory Peck turns in the first performance that may trouble his well-wishers. Although he has worked exceedingly hard to become an Englishman (he studied a recording of an Anthony Eden speech), he remains unmistakably American in appearance and bearing. A tremendously cagey and accomplished actor might conceivably have made a convincing character out of this attorney, in spite of the inadequacies of the script. Peck is not yet cagey or accomplished enough. He carries his trial scenes with considerable style; and he comes close to some first-rate acting in his difficult crack-up scene. But his lawyer...
...successful crime show, Suspense. The program was extended to 55 minutes, moved to a good early evening spot (Sat., 8 p.m.) and placed in the capable hands of Robert Montgomery, a past cinemaster at leering and bloodletting. Montgomery handles the show's gory details as narrator. As occasional actor, he may recreate some of his grislier movie roles (Night Must Fall, Rage in Heaven). He thinks it should develop into "a damn good dramatic show. The full hour opens up a vista of new material that is fantastic, just fantastic...