There are a few movies that I've seen several times, and will watch repeatedly: On The Waterfront, One-Eyed Jacks, Birdman of Alcatraz, The Cincinnati Kid, and Nevada Smith are among them. Marlon Brando, Burt Lancaster, and Steve McQueen were the stars, and (with Paul Newman) were my favorite actors during the years when watching movies was how I spent most of my weekends.
Something those five films in particular have in common is the presence of Karl Malden in an important role. He was the bad guy in One-Eyed Jacks and Nevada Smith, a good guy in On the Waterfront and The Cincinnati Kid, and was convincing in each portrayal.
Did Karl Malden just happen to play important parts in five favorite movies, or were those movies so good because he was in them ? I'm pretty sure his performances made them better movies, which is why I hated to hear that he passed away yesterday.
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