Iceman Cometh

 

 

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I'm not going to write a lot leaving that to others.

"The Iceman Cometh" is good writing, good acting and fun.

It questions life in a light way.

It's wonderfully uncertain regarding meanings.

If you haven't seen it, see it.

It's terriffic.

I originally saw this many years ago wondering what Lee Marvin was doing in such a high brow production and was rewarded with a memorable experience and new respect for the actors involved. I was surprised to find Fredric March in this. A movie star from the early days of the sound era, a two tme Oscar winner, I always knew March was a good and well respected actor, and there were two times when he shocked me and I realised HOW good he was: one was the original A STAR IS BORN where his performance surpassed the era it came from, playing more modern amidst the hokum and phony sentimentality that surrounded everything else in the picture, giving the film a lasting relevancy; the other was INHERIT THE WIND, where I was all geared up to watch Spencer Tracy in a great role and wound up picking my jaw off the floor at March in the Brady role. No Academy nomination, no lasting hossanahs, was anybody else aware of what March was doing here? Well his performance here surpasses those two. Amazing how his acting style kept changing, permitting him to give relevant performances for over forty years in quality films. His work here is fully shaded and from an aesthetic viewpoint, a joy to watch. But even his performance is not the outstanding one in the picture. That honor goes to Robert Ryan. ROBERT RYAN??!!??!! Always a solid performer, whether playing the hard-bitten good guy or the hard-bitten bad guy (usually), there is nothing in his canon of work that will prepare you for the magnitude or the depth of his performance here. Who knew there was a giant, and I do mean GIANT, talent lurking in that lean boxer frame. It will make you angry, and sad, that his talent was barely scratched in all those movies. But it is ultimately a blessing that in this, his last film, he was able to get a role that would utilize his full range as an actor. An incredible revelation. Since these AFT productions only played for 2 screenings, they fell under the radar of the Academy Awards' stipulation that a film must play for a week to be eligible for nominations, which is why you won't see any of these AFT productions in the Academy books on excellence. Marvin doesn't hit the mark of these two performances, but he is very good, at times excellent. Tough going, but a rewarding, memorable experience..

All the performances in this film are excellent. A fine example of cohesive ensemble playing. Lee Marvin has been described by various critics as being miscast as Hickey. I suppose this is based upon comparisons with Robards. I haven't seen any other versions of this play but I think Marvin's performance is fine. Certainly Ryan and March are brilliant and for these two performances this video is worth owning. For those of you who have seen this version on TV in the past note: this is the 4 hour uncut version rarely seen outside of the original season of 1973. Only O'Neill can sustain drama over such a long time. You Americans should be proud of him he was a genius and this is his masterpiece.

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4.0 out of 5 stars YOUNG LEE MARVIN SHINES
All fourteen AMERICAN FILM THEATER productions have been rediscovered and restored. Collection One features: Lee Marvin in Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh"; Gene Wilder and... Read more

Published on April 2 2003 by Robin Simmons

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