I'm usually not one for writing obituaries when Hollywood's best and brightest pass away. Not that I feel they don't deserve them. It's just that the whole process is a bit depressing to me. So when the one and only Paul Newman, my favourite classic film star, passed away two years ago today, naturally I couldn't come up with words to pay the man adequate tribute. Two years on, and I think it's high time I got round to giving Ole' Blue Eyes his salute. Better late than never, am I right? Behold my ten favourite performances from one of the finest actors to bless the silver screen.10. The Sting (1973)
Two thirds of the credit for this Newman performance (as an ex-grifter coaxed out of retirement for one last score) rightly belong to director George Roy Hill and costar Robert Redford. Together, the three of them managed to recapture the magic they had spun four years earlier in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, once again getting us to relate with a pair of lovable criminals. Newman and Redford's chemistry is legendary, and so much fun to watch.
9. The Verdict (1982)
Nearing the twilight of his career, Newman gave a highly naturalistic, lived-in performance as the alcoholic ambulance-chasing lawyer with every possible odd stacked against him in this old-fashioned Sidney Lumet courtroom drama. Newman smartly plays up the sympathetic side of his character so as to make him an underdog worth rooting for, but without neglecting the sourness of his personality. It's a shrewd and calculated performance that the material needed.
8. The Long Hot Summer (1958)
In the same year Newman was famously steaming up the screen with Liz Taylor (more on that later), he flew somewhat under the radar for doing pretty much the same thing with Joanne Woodward in Martin Ritt's southern romance. It's possible that much of the their sexual tension onscreen was derived from their off-screen love affair. What also strikes me about this film is how Newman manages to hold his own against a scene-stealing Orsen Welles.
7. The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)
The notorious bandit and rapist Roy Bean could have been made a run-of-the-mill Western villain on account of his corrupt frontier justice and vengeful motivations, but Newman plays him more as an eccentric antihero. It's one of the most off-kilter but captivating portrayals of his career – an idiosyncratic but appropriate choice for what ended up being an idiosyncratic (often darkly funny) Western from John Huston.
6. Slap Shot (1977)
Funnily enough, with dozens of acclaimed dramatic performances glittering up his resume, it was this purely comedic character in George Roy Hill's irreverent ice hockey caper that Newman often cited as his personal favourite. He was clearly having the time of his life, infusing loads of impishness and rough-and-tumble fun into the Chiefs' wily coach. His goalie agitating bit is a stitch (wouldn't be surprised if Sean Avery watched it as a kid).
5. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
You'd have to chew the air when Newman and Liz Taylor go tête-a-tête in Richard Brooks' interpretation of the illustrious Tennessee Williams play. What impresses me most about him is that his is probably the most staid and taciturn performance of the cast (perhaps not saying much given the ferocious scenery-chewing of his costars) and yet he is consistently the most fascinating one to watch, whether he's yelling up a storm or remaining coolly distant.
4. Cool Hand Luke (1967)
As the aimless rebel in Stuart Rosenberg's terrific prison flick, Newman delivers a complex turn that seems to suggest that this quietly charismatic chain-gang convict knows his fate is to forever lose, forever be outcast, forever be knocked down, and yet to never give up his solitary rebellion on principle. His motives are somewhat unclear, but his knowing smiles are enough to reveal to us that he defies the system just to prove he can.
3. Hombre (1967)
Martin Ritt's depiction of racism in the old west appropriately arrived at a time when civil rights issues were very prominent in the American consciousness. Newman plays an ambiguous man of few words, born white but raised Apache, branding him a social outcast. But rather than a noble saviour, he is a self-righteous killer with his own bigoted outlook, making him a much more interesting antihero. It's one of Newman's trickier performances.
2. Hud (1963)
The title character of Martin Ritt's dusty drama represents the greed, apathy, and self-alienation of the modern man. He's a drunken, womanizing, self-centered cad whose philosophy is "if you don't look out for yourself, the only hand you'll get is when they're lowering the box". Newman played him with tremendous care and charisma so that we would not simply dislike the voracious, arrogant character, but ultimately pity him for the tragic contempt he bares against others and himself.
1. The Hustler (1961)
With The Hustler, Robert Rossen forged a cynical but gripping cautionary tale about the addictive perils of gambling, alcoholism, and money. Not to diminish the contributions of the film's fantastic cast and crew, but its success is thanks largely to Newman, whose penetrating blue eyes alone are deep enough to convey the entire spectrum from gleeful arrogance to hurt pride (it's almost like you can feel their blueness even though they're in black and white!). His “Fast” Eddie Felson is something of a signature character for him, one that would finally bring him his Oscar years later when reprised in Martin Scorsese's The Color of Money.
