Happy Birthday to Classic Movie Legend, Montgomery Clift, born on October 17, 1920!
When the words “1950’s” and “method actor” are mentioned, most people tend to think of Marlon Brando. Well, with all due respect to Mr. Brando — another name pops into my head: the name “Clift.”
Montgomery Clift always struck me as a different type of leading man, especially for the 50’s. Although devastatingly handsome, he wasn’t what you would call very manly, and he seemed to lack the alpha male humor that made figures like William Powell, though not traditionally handsome, so very attractive. But it was this “un-manliness,” this disdain for the culture of machismo, that made Monty so appealing. He was moody and sensitive while at the same time being devoted and caring. He was a contradiction as well as an outsider. I also see Clift as that kid who would rather read Moby Dick than play ball in the playground; a tortured genius who wouldn’t fit in, and probably couldn’t, if he wanted. So, in celebration of this legend, let us look at some of roles that best portrayed Clift’s signature role of the “victim-hero.”
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Montgomery Clift as the troubled Priest in I Confess (1953, Alfred Hitchcock, director)
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Montgomery Clift getting sensitive with Elizabeth Taylor in A Place in the Sun (1951, George Stevens director)
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Montgomery Clift as the self destructive solider in From Here to Eternity (1953, George Stevens director)
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Minoo Allen for Classic Movie Hub
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