A Centennial Tribute to Robert Mitchum

August 6th is the centennial birth date of Robert Mitchum.

Mitchum was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on August 6, 1917.

It's fun to note that another Bridgeport, in California, would play a key role in Mitchum's career 30 years later, as that's where he filmed several scenes for one of his key breakout roles, in the film noir classic OUT OF THE PAST (1947), seen here with Virginia Huston:

There are multiple Mitchum Centennial celebrations taking place this year. Today TCM is hosting Robert Mitchum Day as part of its annual Summer Under the Stars Festival.

There's currently a Mitchum film festival in Boston, with one coming later in the year to New York.

At this year's Lone Pine Film Festival in October, Mitchum's daughter Petrine will be present at a screening of his early Western NEVADA (1944). (Update: Petrine instead went to the New York tribute, but William Wellman Jr. was present to honor Mitchum in Lone Pine.)

After the screening Ed Hulse will moderate a "Centennial" Q&A with Petrine and William Wellman Jr., whose father directed Mitchum in another important star-making role, THE STORY OF G.I. JOE (1945) as well as the later Western TRACK OF THE CAT (1954). (And who, as we learned from yesterday's movie, kicked him off of 1955's BLOOD ALLEY; it will be interesting to see if that comes up!)

It's difficult to name a favorite Mitchum film, as he made so many good ones; indeed, I've reviewed over 30 here (scroll to end of post) and have many more still ahead of me to see for the first time.

That said, here are a few photos from some Mitchum films which are personal favorites, starting with Jane Greer in OUT OF THE PAST (1947):

With Teresa Wright in publicity for Raoul Walsh's "Western noir" PURSUED (1947):

Costarring with William Holden, Gary Gray, and Loretta Young in the wonderful RACHEL AND THE STRANGER (1948). I need to revisit this one and review it here!

With Barbara Bel Geddes in another one of his excellent '40s Westerns, BLOOD ON THE MOON (1948):

With Janet Leigh in a publicity pose for the Christmas perennial HOLIDAY AFFAIR (1949), another Mitchum film I've seen multiple times yet haven't reviewed here:

With Greer again in the lighthearted chase film THE BIG STEAL (1949):

With his good friend Jane Russell in HIS KIND OF WOMAN (1951):

With Ann Blyth in the Korean War film ONE MINUTE TO ZERO (1952):

With Linda Darnell in the thriller SECOND CHANCE (1953):

His performance in THE LONGEST DAY (1962) as Brigadier General Norman Cota, one of the highest-ranking men on Omaha Beach on D-Day, definitely ranks up there for me as an all-time favorite Mitchum role:

My friend Raquel is a great Mitchum fan, as one might guess from her blog being named Out of the Past! She's written an article for DVD Netflix naming 10 of her favorite Mitchum films. Most of her recommendations are different from my favorites above, which speaks to the breadth and depth of his career.

In later years Mitchum occasionally worked in television. He had a small role in a fond favorite, NORTH AND SOUTH (1985), and he was the lead in the sprawling Herman Wouk WWII miniseries THE WINDS OF WAR (1983) and its sequel, WAR AND REMEMBRANCE (1988-89):

Robert Mitchum died on July 1, 1997, in Santa Barbara, California. He was just shy of his 80th birthday. His wife Dorothy would live until 2014, passing away at 94.

With Dorothy and sons Chris and James:

With Petrine, who became a historian of movie horses:

Robert Mitchum movies previously reviewed at Laura's Miscellaneous Musings: NEVADA (1944) (also here), JOHNNY DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE (1944), WHEN STRANGERS MARRY (1944) (aka BETRAYED), THIRTY SECONDS OVER TOKYO (1944), WEST OF THE PECOS (1945), TILL THE END OF TIME (1946) (also here), THE LOCKET (1946), CROSSFIRE (1947), PURSUED (1947), OUT OF THE PAST (1947) (also here), DESIRE ME (1947), BLOOD ON THE MOON (1948) (also here), THE BIG STEAL (1949), WHERE DANGER LIVES (1950), MY FORBIDDEN PAST (1951), HIS KIND OF WOMAN (1951), THE RACKET (1951), MACAO (1952), ONE MINUTE TO ZERO (1952), THE LUSTY MEN (1952), SECOND CHANCE (1953) (also here), SHE COULDN'T SAY NO (1954), TRACK OF THE CAT (1954), MAN WITH THE GUN (1955), THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955), THE ENEMY BELOW (1957), THE SUNDOWNERS (1960), THE LONGEST DAY (1962), EL DORADO (1967), THE YAKUZA (1975), MIDWAY (1976).

He starred in many more excellent films, far too many titles to list here; I'll be updating this post with additional links as I review more of his movies!

Update: Here's my review of RIVER OF NO RETURN (1954).

Bonus Posts: Out of the Past in Bridgeport, California (2010) and Bridgeport, California Movie Locations (2014).

Additional Bonus Posts: Raquel has also very recently written on the location filming of both RIVER OF NO RETURN (1954) and OUT OF THE PAST (1947), so be sure to check those out as well!

As Raquel notes in her OUT OF THE PAST piece, we can also be grateful that Mitchum's life didn't come to an early end making that movie, as his arrival in Bridgeport was a bit, er, abrupt.

As we honor Robert Mitchum on his centennial, I feel gratitude for his long, robust career and a body of work still enjoyed today by countless film viewers. Robert Mitchum will be remembered and appreciated for as long as movies exist.

Update: Here are additional reviews of Robert Mitchum films: CROSSFIRE (1947) (now out on Blu-ray), BLOOD ON THE MOON (1948) (also on Blu-ray), RACHEL AND THE STRANGER (1948), HOLIDAY AFFAIR (1949), ANGEL FACE (1952), THE WAY WEST (1967), and FAREWELL, MY LOVELY (1975).