THE GOOD DIE YOUNG

Each of them seemed to have everything to live for; each of them was dead before 40. What great performances we will never see!

Marilyn Monroe became the sex symbol of a nation. She had her pick of movie roles, and of men. To us, she had everything. And yet, she was dead at 36 from a self-administered drug overdose. You may be surprised to learn that she managed to appear in around 30 movies in her short life. In most of them she plays herself. But in The Misfits (1961) she joins Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift in a modern western with a good part for her. The Seven Year Itch (1955) is mainly known for her famous “blown skirt” scene. She is billed as “The Girl.” In  Bus Stop (1956) a cowboy falls hard for her and tries to drag her into matrimony. And in Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot (1959) she is Sugar, blissfully unaware of her sexuality. 

Heath Ledger absolutely blew the screen away as Ennis in the classic Brokeback Mountain (2005 ). And he won an Oscar. Just when the Batman franchise seemed dead in the water. Ledger burned the screen as The Joker in The Dark Knight.(2008). It is easily the best of the Batman flicks, and Ledger won another Oscar for his portrayal.  He left us, unbelievably, at 28. 

John Belushi was dead at 33 from a drug overdose. The dark-suited, dark-hatted, sunglasses-wearing Blues Brothers (1980) are still immediately recognized everywhere. Mr. Belushi and Dan Ackroyd created a cult classic. Otherwise- well, I guess Animal House (1978) was either the high or low point of stupid college comedies. 

River Phoenix was only 23 when he died of an overdose in 1993. And yet, what a legacy of good films he left. Stand By Me (1986) is a classic growing-up film from a Stephen King story. Running On Empty (1988) sympathetically  shows the family fallout from the renegade 60s. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) is the worthy last entry in that franchise (so far). And My Own Private Idaho (1991), though loathed by many, is a candid look at a youthful gay lifestyle.

Although it has been more than  50 years since James Dean died in an auto crash at 25, he is still a virtual icon of the silver screen. He made only three movies, and all are very good indeed. Rebel Without A Cause (1955) with Sal Mineo and Natalie Wood (who also died before her time), still strikes a chord with young people. East Of Eden (1955) brings to the screen the John Steinbeck classic about a conflicted California family. And Giant (1956) is from an Edna Ferber story of newly rich oil barons. 

Jean Harlow, one of the earliest and best blonde sex symbols, died at 26 in 1937. Hitched to the studio system, she had already been in over 40 movies! Some are quite good: Public Enemy (1931) with James Cagney is especially worth noting. 

Carol Lombard, another studio contract player, was only 34 when she died in 1942, but had already been in an astonishing 75 movies! To Be Or Not To Be (1942); Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941); My Man Godfrey (1936); Twentieth Century (1934); We’re Not Dressing (1934) are all very good. 

All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. There are too many to try to rate for the kiddies.