James Coburn: 1928-2002
James Coburn, an actor known as the personification of
cool, sly assurance, died November 18 at the age of 74. Coburn was best known for
portraying action heroes possessed of a self-deprecating sense of their own absurdity and
for quirky villains, which is a shame because he had far greater range than he was ever
given credit for. He was finally able to prove this conclusively in 1998's Affliction,
for which he won an Academy Award.
Coburn had a handsome face, a lanky physique, and a
cat-like grace when he moved -- all qualities he exploited successfully throughout his
career. He also possessed a powerful baritone voice that he could plumb well into the bass
range -- that and his saturnine features probably inspired many directors to cast him as
the heavy, roles he embraced with gleeful intensity.
When he was cast in The Magnificent Seven as the
knife-wielding Britt, he was an unknown in a testosterone-laden cast of above-the-title
names. His knife-like physique, flowing grace, and powerful voice caused him to stand out,
even among that company, and he found himself elevated to a new level of Hollywood
visibility, working in a series of prominent supporting roles (including a hilarious turn
as Lieutenant Commander "Bus" Cummings, whose fanaticism gets James Garner's Lt
Cmdr Charles E. Madison "killed") before being given the lead in 1966's Dead
Heat on a Merry Go Round.
That same year Coburn scored the lead in the first of a
trilogy of films that were to "make" him: Coburn's unflappably cool secret agent
Derek Flint anchored Our Man Flint's James Bond parody, actually lending it a
timeless sense of self-awareness that has kept it from becoming another embarrassing
'60s-era anachronism. Flint continues to amuse us today because Coburn knew
he was too good to be true and gave his swagger and banter a knowing smirk. He
recapitulated the role in the 1966 sequel In Like Flint, which was weaker, but is
still interesting, if only because of his role. The President's Analyst cast Coburn
in a Flint-like role as well: the President's psychiatrist, the subject of a war between
competing secret agencies. Analyst has not aged well -- its acid trip evokes
embarrassed laughter these days, but its conspiracy theory centered on the phone company's
bid for world domination still seems credible.
That was the pinnacle of Coburn's fame, but some of his
finest work came from his '70s efforts. His aging rodeo rider in 1971's The Honkers
was powerful, as was his turn as an explosives expert in Sergio Leone's 1972 Duck, You
Sucker. In 1973, he portrayed a producer in The Last of Sheila and in 1975
shone as a contestant in a grueling 600-mile horse race in Bite the Bullet. He was
superb as a menacing fight promoter the same year in Hard Times and he starred in
two Sam Peckinpah films, 1973's Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (as Garrett) and
1977's WWII drama Cross of Iron (he'd been in Peckinpah's Major Dundee 20
years previously).
Coburn was underrated, in my opinion, as a comedic actor.
In 1993's Maverick he almost stole the film as the scheming Commodore Duvall, and
his best work always showed his immense capacity for displaying ironic detachment.
Coburn was physically striking and
moved well. I think he was under appreciated as an actor. A true craftsman, he never let
you see him act, so most people never appreciated his talent.
When Paul Schrader approached him to appear in Affliction,
he warned Coburn, "He's not a very nice man."
Coburn shot back, "What? You mean I'd have to act? I
can do that."
Indeed he could.
...Wes Phillips
wes@onhometheater.com
|
