![]() In the latter Western, in which he teaches the son of the man he killed how to shoot, knowing he is likely to become the boy's first victim, Stack revealed tragic depths.ĭouglas Sirk recognised this and gave him two of his most challenging roles. ![]() In Sabre Jet (1953), he was busy bombing Koreans, while in The High And The Mighty (1954), he was the jittery captain of a passenger plane that has lost an engine.Īs a cop in Sam Fuller's House Of Bamboo (1955), and a Confederate soldier in Jacques Tourneur's Great Day In The Morning (1956), he represented toughness. Budd Boetticher gave Stack one of his better screen roles in The Bullfighter And The Lady (1951) as an American on holiday in Mexico, who becomes a matador.Īfter two sterling Westerns, Conquest Of Cochise and War Paint (both 1953), in which Stack was a cavalry officer dealing with native Americans, he was back to playing pilots. He was a pilot again in Fighter Squadron (1948), and the beau of teenage soprano Jane Powell, successor to Deanna Durbin, in A Date With Judy (1948). He was an aerial gunnery instructor during the war, and on his return had lost his boyish grin and features, becoming instead the strong and silent type. Stack played a pilot again as an American flyer with the RAF in Eagle Squadron (1942). Every time Benny, an actor playing Hamlet, begins the soliloquy of the title, it is the signal for Stack to meet Lombard backstage. The following year, Stack made an impact in Ernst Lubitsch's comic masterpiece To Be Or Not To Be as the Free Polish pilot who drops into Jack Benny's pyjamas and falls for Benny's wife Carole Lombard. He was soon back at Universal opposite Durbin again in Nice Girl? (1941). Stack was loaned out to MGM for Frank Borzage's The Mortal Storm (1940), in which he played a Nazi in his all-American manner. He was seen in an amateur stage production by a Universal Studios talent scout and signed a contract. At the same time, he became a National Skeet Champion, a star of the university polo team and a speedboat racer. He began to pursue acting seriously during his second year at the University of Southern California. Some years later, he starred in Bwana Devil (1952), the first feature made in three-D.Ī fifth-generation Californian, Stack was born Robert Langford Modini in Los Angeles. In his film debut, First Love (1939), Stack (aged 20) got to give fresh-faced teenage star Deanna Durbin (aged 18) her first screen kiss. Among his films were two celebrated "firsts". Site contents © 1997-2023, were two Robert Stacks: the prewar pretty boy, and the hardened post-war hero of mostly action movies. The Three Stooges TM characters, names, and all related indicia are trademarks of C3 Entertainment, Inc. Even small donations are appreciated for site maintenance and further development. is a privately-owned non-profit site, and its' resources are made available to Three Stooges fans everywhere. The Three Stooges: Stocking Stuffer # 1 (Dec 2021, American Mythology main cover) The Three Stooges - Joe and Curly Joe Years."Oh, my darling, I'll give you security! The most beautiful cave in Mesopotamia!" - Moe (I'M A MONKEY'S UNCLE, 1948)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |