ERNEST BORGNINE

He had a face that would frighten hardened criminals. Ernest Borgnine died at the good old age of 95 and worked literally up until his death. He made more than 100 movies and more than 200 TV shows. Some of you may remember him as the title figure in the long-running TV comedy, McHale’s Navy (1962-66), which still shows up on some of the more exotic cable channels. 

Because of his looks, he was almost always cast as a bad guy. He first attracted notice as the villainous Fatso, in the splendid Oscar-winning From Here To Eternity (1953). He slays heroic Frank Sinatra in a knife fight, instantly earning the hatred of millions of women (and some men). This great film still features one of the hottest loves scenes ever as Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr roll in the surf (not naked!). It also features the saintly Donna Reed as a prostitute. 

Mr. Borgnine is Bart Lonergan, one of many really bad guys, in the little-known classic western, Johnny Guitar (1954). It’s saloon owner Joan Crawford versus self-righteous moralizer Mercedes McCambridge. Nicholas Ray’s direction gets the most out of Phillip Yordan’s quirky screenplay. 

        Bad Day At Black Rock (1955) is another classic western. Spencer Tracy shows up in a one-horse town that has a terrible secret. Ernest Borgnine is one of the many townspeople determined to thwart his efforts and keep the lid on. 

      The Wild Bunch (1969) had enough bad guys for three or four movies. Ernest Borgnine, as Dutch Engstrom,  is one of them.  Based loosely on The Seven Samurai, it is about a bunch of bad guys hired to run a bunch of badder guys out of town. It is  most famous for Sam Peckinpah’s direction of the violent action. It is the first movie to show people getting shot in slow motion, complete with flying dust and blood. However, it is really good and fairly mild by today’s standards. 

The very best Ernest Borgnine part came in 1955 when he played the title character in Marty. Marty is just an ordinary working Joe, trying to get along, trying to have a life. When he describes himself on the phone to Betsy Blair as he asks for a date, it is one of the truly great moments in filmdom. Mr. Borgnine deserved, and won, an Oscar. This is an underplayed, and very great, movie. 

Mr. Borgnine also shines as one of the guys on an impossible mission in The Dirty Dozen (1967), a film that spawned numerous copy-cats. He is also very good in The Badlanders (1958) and in Jubal (1956).  

All of the movies in this column are available on DVD. All are for mature audiences.