History Creator / RobertMitchum

Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor, one of the earliest of the more understated "say a lot while saying very little" types, which may be at least one of the reasons why he was often cast as drifters and loners during his career.

After a colorful youth spent traveling across the country during TheGreatDepression, jumping railroad cars (with or without the company of motley hobos), and at one point getting arrested and put on a [[WorkingOnTheChainGang chain gang]] for vagrancy, Mitchum, who initially set out to be a writer while working various labor jobs (including but not limited to boxing), casually drifted into acting at the encouragement of relatives, making his (confirmed) official film debut as a henchman in ''Hoppy Serves a Writ'' of the Hopalong Cassidy films. Gradually working his way up from supporting parts -- and refusing to change his professional name to "Robert Marshall", a request from Creator/{{RKO}} which he thought was absurd, given that his name wasn't particularly difficult to pronounce -- he started to get leading roles in such films as ''Film/ThirtySecondsOverTokyo'' and ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (where he was so convincing that some people actually thought he ''was'' the soldier he portrayed, and for which he received an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination as Best Supporting Actor). A favorite for playing anti-heroes in film noir and westerns, his career was nearly destroyed when he did jail time in 1948 for being caught smoking pot, but upon returning to RKO -- which was being run into the ground by the infamous Aviator himself Creator/HowardHughes -- Mitchum was forgiven and supported to the public and became "the staff hero" as he put it, since Hughes -- who seemed to have a bit of a man crush on Mitchum -- kept putting the tall, dark, barrel-chested leading man into the heroic roles he thought suited him.

When his RKO days came to an end Mitchum took on one of his two most iconic roles in 1955's ''Film/TheNightOfTheHunter'', in which he played Harry Powell, a sadistic woman-hating con man who marries a widow and then murders her before chasing her kids to get money that their late father stole, and then in 1962 he was Max Cady in ''Film/CapeFear'', the sadistic rapist who has come back to seek revenge on the righteous lawyer Sam Bowden (Creator/GregoryPeck) who helped send him to jail years earlier - he later [[RemakeCameo appeared]] in the early 90s remake, ironically as a sheriff while Peck's cameo had him playing an evil lawyer. Other noteworthy roles include ''Film/ThunderRoad'' (which inspired a Music/BruceSpringsteen song), ''Film/OutOfThePast'', ''Film/HeavenKnowsMrAllison'', ''Film/TheSundowners'', ''Film/TheLongestDay'', ''Film/RyansDaughter'' (PlayingAgainstType as a romantically lacking schoolteacher) and the TV miniseries ''The Winds of War''.

[[quoteright:315:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/robert_mitchum.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:315:''"Baby, I don't care."'']]

After a colorful youth spent traveling across the country during TheGreatDepression, jumping railroad cars (with or without the company of motley hobos) and at one point getting arrested and put on a [[WorkingOnTheChainGang chain gang]] for vagrancy, Mitchum, who initially set out to be a writer while working various labor jobs (including but not limited to boxing), casually drifted into acting at the encouragement of relatives, making his (confirmed) official debut as a henchman in ''Hoppy Serves a Writ'' of the Hopalong Cassidy films. Gradually working his way up from supporting parts -- and refusing to change his professional name to "Robert Marshall", a request from Creator/{{RKO}} which he thought was absurd, given that his name wasn't particularly difficult to pronounce -- he started to get leading roles in such films as ''Film/ThirtySecondsOverTokyo'' and ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (where he was so convincing that some people actually thought he ''was'' the soldier he portrayed, and for which he received an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination as Best Supporting Actor). A favorite for playing anti-heroes in film noir and westerns, his career was nearly destroyed when he did jail time in 1948 for being caught smoking pot, but upon returning to RKO -- which was being run into the ground by the infamous Aviator himself Creator/HowardHughes -- Mitchum was forgiven and supported to the public and became "the staff hero" as he put it, since Hughes -- who seemed to have a bit of a man crush on Mitchum -- kept putting the tall, dark, barrel-chested leading man into the heroic roles he thought suited him.

After a colorful youth spent traveling across the country during TheGreatDepression, jumping railroad cars (with or without the company of motley hobos) and at one point getting arrested and put on a [[WorkingOnTheChainGang chain gang]] for vagrancy, Mitchum, who initially set out to be a writer while working various labor jobs (including but not limited to boxing), casually drifted into acting at the encouragement of relatives, making his (confirmed) official debut as a henchman in ''Hoppy Serves a Writ'' of the Hopalong Cassidy films. Gradually working his way up from supporting parts -- and refusing to change his professional name to "Robert Marshall", a request from Creator/{{RKO}} which he thought was absurd, given that his name wasn't particularly difficult to pronounce -- he started to get leading roles in such films as ''Film/ThirtySecondsOverTokyo'' and ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (where he was so convincing that some people actually thought he ''was'' the soldier he portrayed, and for which he received an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination as Best Supporting Actor). A favorite for playing anti-heroes in film noir and westerns, his career was nearly destroyed when he did jail time for being caught smoking pot, but upon returning to RKO -- which was being run into the ground by the infamous Aviator himself Creator/HowardHughes -- Mitchum was forgiven and supported to the public and became "the staff hero" as he put it, since Hughes -- who seemed to have a bit of a man crush on Mitchum -- kept putting the tall, dark, barrel-chested leading man into the heroic roles he thought suited him.

After a colorful youth spent traveling across the country during TheGreatDepression, jumping railroad cars (with or without the company of motley hobos) and at one point getting arrested and put on a [[WorkingOnTheChainGang chain gang]] for vagrancy, Mitchum, who initially set out to be a writer while working various labor jobs (including but not limited to boxing), casually drifted into acting at the encouragement of relatives, making his (confirmed) official debut as a henchman in ''Hoppy Serves a Writ'' of the Hopalong Cassidy films. Gradually working his way up from supporting parts -- and refusing to change his professional name to "Robert Marshall", a request from RKO that he thought was absurd given that his name wasn't particularly difficult to pronounce -- he started to get leading roles in such films as ''Film/ThirtySecondsOverTokyo'' and ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (where he was so convincing that some people actually thought he ''was'' the soldier he portrayed, and for which he received an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination as Best Supporting Actor). A favorite for playing anti-heroes in film noir and westerns, his career was nearly destroyed when he did jail time for being caught smoking pot, but upon returning to RKO -- which was being run into the ground by the infamous Aviator himself Creator/HowardHughes -- Mitchum was forgiven and supported to the public and became "the staff hero" as he put it, since Hughes -- who seemed to have a bit of a man crush on Mitchum -- kept putting the tall, dark, barrel-chested leading man into the heroic roles he thought suited him.

On the flipside of his stoicism, Mitchum was easily one of Hollywood's most colorful characters - a casual ladies man and professional DeadpanSnarker, he was also known for acts of great generosity, bringing lunch to cast and crew when they needed them in outright defiance of tyrannical directors and offering advice to and support to actors who were just starting out and could benefit from his experience. He was also known for being a natural storyteller, poet, mimic of accents and even a fairly good singer. He was a long time friend of actresses Jane Russell and Creator/DeborahKerr (the latter his leading lady in four films, including ''Heaven Knows Mr. Allison'' and ''The Sundowners'', and by his own admission the favourite leading lady of his career).

!!Filmography (partial):

* 1943 ''Border Patrol'' as Quinn
* 1943 ''Film/CryHavoc'' as an unnamed soldier (bit part)
* 1943 ''Film/TheHumanComedy'' as Horse (bit part)
* 1943 ''Film/WeveNeverBeenLicked'' as Panhandle Mitchell
* 1944 ''Film/ThirtySecondsOverTokyo'' as Bob Gray
* 1947 ''Pursued'' as Jeb
* 1947 ''Film/{{Crossfire}}'' as Keeley
* 1947 ''Film/OutOfThePast'' as Jeff
* 1948 ''Film/RachelAndTheStranger''
* 1949 ''Film/HolidayAffair'' as Steve Mason
* 1949 ''Film/TheRedPony'' as Billy Buck
* 1951 ''Film/TheRacket'' as Captain Thomas [=McQuigg=]
* 1953 ''Film/AngelFace'' as Frank
* 1953 ''Second Chance'' as Russ Lambert
* 1954 ''River of No Return'' as Matt Calder
* 1955 ''Film/TheNightOfTheHunter'' as Rev. Harry Powell
* 1957 ''Film/HeavenKnowsMrAllison'' as Col. Allison
* 1957 ''Fire Down Below'' as Felix
* 1957 ''Film/TheEnemyBelow'' as Capt. Murrell
* 1958 ''Thunder Road'' as Lucas Doolan
* 1960 ''Film/TheSundowners'' as Paddy Carmody
* 1962 ''Film/CapeFear'' as Max Cady
* 1962 ''Film/TheLongestDay'' as Brig. Gen. Norman Cota
* 1963 ''Rampage'' as Harry Stanton
* 1964 ''Film/WhatAWayToGo'' as Rod Anderson, Jr.
* 1966 ''Film/ElDorado'' as Sheriff Harrah
* 1968 ''Film/FiveCardStud'' as Reverend Jonathan Rudd
* 1970 ''Film/RyansDaughter'' as Charles Shaughnessy
* 1971 ''Going Home'' as Harry K. Graham
* 1972 ''Film/TheWrathOfGod'' as Father Van Horne
* 1973 ''Film/TheFriendsOfEddieCoyle'' as Eddie 'Fingers' Coyle
* 1974 ''Film/TheYakuza'' as Harry Kilmer
* 1975 ''Film/FarewellMyLovely'' as Literature/PhilipMarlowe
* 1978 ''Film/TheBigSleep'' as Philip Marlowe
* 1982 ''Film/ThatChampionshipSeason'' as Coach Delaney
* 1988 ''Film/{{Scrooged}}'' as Preston Rhinelander
* 1991 ''Film/CapeFear'' as Lieutenant Elgart
* 1993 ''Film/{{Tombstone}}'' as Narrator

When his RKO days came to an end Mitchum took on one of his two most iconic roles in 1955's ''Film/TheNightOfTheHunter'', in which he played Harry Powell, a sadistic woman-hating con man who marries a widow and then murders her before chasing her kids to get money that their late father stole, and then in 1962 he was Max Cady in ''Film/CapeFear'', the sadistic rapist who has come back to seek revenge on the righteous lawyer Sam Bowden (Creator/GregoryPeck) who helped send him to jail years earlier - he later [[RemakeCameo appeared]] in the early 90s remake, ironically as a LawfulGood sheriff while Peck's cameo had him playing an evil lawyer. Other noteworthy roles include ''Film/ThunderRoad'' (which inspired a Music/BruceSpringsteen song), ''Film/OutOfThePast'', ''Film/HeavenKnowsMrAllison'', ''Film/TheSundowners'', ''Film/TheLongestDay'', ''Film/RyansDaughter'' (PlayingAgainstType as a romantically lacking schoolteacher) and the TV miniseries ''The Winds of War''.

After a colorful youth spent traveling across the country during TheGreatDepression, jumping railroad cars (with or without the company of motley hobos) and at one point getting arrested and put on a [[WorkingOnTheChainGang chain gang]] for vagrancy, Mitchum, who initially set out to be a writer while working various labor jobs (including but not limited to boxing), casually drifted into acting at the encouragement of relatives, making his (confirmed) official debut as a henchman in ''Hoppy Serves a Writ'' of the Hopalong Cassidy films. Gradually working his way up from supporting parts -- and refusing to change his professional name to "Robert Marshall", a request from RKO that he thought was absurd given that his name wasn't particularly difficult to pronounce -- he started to get leading roles in such films as ''Film/ThirtySecondsOverTokyo'' and ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (where he was so convincing that some people actually thought he ''was'' the soldier he portrayed, and for which he received an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination as Best Supporting Actor). A favorite for playing anti-heroes in film noir and westerns, his career was nearly destroyed when he did jail time for being caught smoking pot, but upon returning to RKO - which was being run into the ground by the infamous Aviator himself Creator/HowardHughes - Mitchum was forgiven and supported to the public and became "the staff hero" as he put it, since Hughes -- who seemed to have a bit of a man crush on Mitchum -- kept putting the tall, dark, barrel-chested leading man into the heroic roles he thought suited him.

[[caption-width-right:315:"Baby, I don't care."]]

->''"People can't make up their minds whether I'm the greatest actor in the world - or the worst. Matter of fact, neither can I."''

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/robert_mitchum.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:"Baby, I don't care."]]

* 1973 ''Literature/TheFriendsOfEddieCoyle'' as Eddie 'Fingers' Coyle