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He's not just another pretty face in Hollywood. Anthony Quinn: he's virile and volatile, passionate and colorful. He's been a painter and a prizefighter, a dashing young turk and a graying elder statesman. Quinn launched his film career playing character roles, mostly heavies and gangsters in B-movies like Parole (1936) and Night Nurse (1936). He built his reputation on supporting parts, and soon became the man to call when Hollywood needed an ethnic type. In Sinbad the Sailor (1947), Quinn played an evil exotic Arab prince. But he swept the stunning Maureen O'Hara off her feet with such style that it was hard not to sympathize with the villain. Whether he was bullfighting and tangoing with Rita Hayworth in Blood and Sand (1941) or fighting on the front lines of WWII in Guadacanal Diary (1943) and Back to Bataan (1945), Quinn was the ultimate man's man with a gruff unpolished style all his own. Hollywood finally recognized his skill with two Best Supporting Actor Oscars, for Viva Zapata! (1952) and as Paul Gauguin in Lust for Life (1956). Just as he was succeeding in Hollywood as a featured player, Quinn defied expectations and took off for Europe. Fredrico Fellini cast the mighty Quinn as Zampano, a dim-witted, coarse mannered strong man in La Strada (1954). With his massive build and volcanic temper, Zampano was an anti-hero that was both pathetic and inspiring. As he aged, Quinn's smooth manicured countenance became weathered into a craggy map, his hair grayed and his trim physique filled out. As the battered ex-boxer in Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962), Quinn proved himself the very opposite of the polished star he once was groomed to be. With his face bruised and torn and his brain rattled by years of pummeling blows, Quinn plays a boxer facing the end of his career. His performance is realistic and the film seems stained with the sweat, bourbon and cigar smoke of a boxer's final days. This new grizzled screen image wasn't the end of his career, but the beginning of a new type of role. The passionate, unpredictable Anthony Quinn found his signature character in Zorba the Greek (1964). Zorba is an irrepressible spirit of optimism, able to speak volumes, drink volumes and dance a Greek Pentozale into the morning. After honing the character on the Broadway stage for four years, Quinn took the tale to the screen. Zorba is lusty and life affirming-like the man who gave him voice. In a screen career that has stretched seven decades, Anthony Quinn has proved his strength of character. He was one of Hollywood's most animated personalities. Off screen he's a noted painter, sculptor and art collector. He's said that his films will fade, but the art is eternal. But the films won't fade, they are a legacy of a supporting actor's struggle and success, of his many lives and loves in Hollywood. 
21 Wednesday 8:00 PM La Strada (1954) A traveling strong man buys a peasant girl to be his wife and co-star. Giulietta Masina, Anthony Quinn, Richard Basehart. D: Federico Fellini. BW 107m. 10:00 PM The Guns Of Navarone (1961) A team of Allied saboteurs fight their way behind enemy lines to destroy a pair of Nazi guns. Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn. D: J. Lee-Thompson. C 157m. LBX 1:00 AM Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962) A washed-up prizefighter tries to free himself from his ruthless promoters to build a new life. Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason, Mickey Rooney. D: Ralph Nelson. BW 87m. 2:30 AM The Man From Del Rio (1956) An uneducated Mexican gunfighter wins a town over when he shows his courage. Anthony Quinn, Katy Jurado, Peter Whitney. D: Harry Horner. BW 83m. 4:00 AM Sinbad the Sailor (1947) The Arabian Nights hero sets off to find the lost treasure of Alexander the Great. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Maureen O’Hara, Walter Slezak. D: Richard Wallace. C 118m. |
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