The Couch Potato’s Guide to Old Hollywood: The Legacy of Kirk Douglas

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By Geoff Carter

Known for his distinctive cleft chin, stony-edged stare, devil-may-care grin, gruff voice, and rough-edged demeanor, Kirk Douglas was often cast as a tough guy—sometimes bad, but mostly good. From his role as Jonathan, the ruthless movie producer in The Bad and the Beautiful to Jack Burns, the affable but determined modern-day cowboy in Lonely are the Brave to the freedom fighter Spartacus (in the film of the same name), Douglas always presented a bravura persona of determined stubbornness, dependent—for the most part—on no one but himself. His characters were men who liked to face adversity or their ambitions directly, moving in straight lines toward their goals.

His career spanned nearly sixty years during which he worked with some of the film industry’s finest actors, directors, and writers, including Burt Lancaster, Frederick March, Stanley Kubrick, John Huston, Vincent Minnelli, and William Wyler. His support of Dalton Trumbo, in the wake of his blackballing during the Red Scare of the 1950s, brought the renowned screenwriter out from under the notorious Hollywood blacklist. After recruiting him to work on Spartacus, Douglas insisted that Trumbo’s name—despite his involvement with the Hollywood ten—be listed on the credits. Douglas produced over a dozen films, most of his work going uncredited. Classics like Spartacus, Paths of Glory, Lonely are the Brave, and Seven Days in May were helmed in no small degree by Douglas’s vision. He also produced epic adventures like The Vikings and Gran Prix.

From his early career as cowboys or cops or swashbucklers, Douglas cultivated himself into a thinking man’s actor. Casting himself as Jiggs, the conscientious whistle-blowing Marine in Seven Days in May, or the war-weary Colonel Dax in Paths of Glory, or the relentlessly ambitious Chuck Tatum in the disturbing Ace in the Hole, Douglas brought new dimensions to his characters, and to the filmgoing public’s perception of what a man should—and could—be.  

Douglas could have had a solid career as a Hollywood leading man but went much further. Not unlike many of his characters, Douglas navigated his way through the minefield of the Hollywood film industry. He managed to cultivate a multi-faceted persona through the careful selection of his own star vehicles as well as creating films that addressed subtler permutations of the human condition. Ace in the Hole and The Bad and the Beautiful examine the cost of ambition, Lonely are the Brave shows a man dealing with a world overcome with technology, and—most pertinently in today’s world—Seven Days in May demonstrates the price we could pay for not protecting our Constitution. 

So here are the Couch Potato’s list of Kirk Douglas’s ten best films. 

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The Top Ten Films of Kirk Douglas

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Spartacus: The epic true story of Spartacus, an escaped slave and trained gladiator who led a massive rebellion against the Roman Empire in the first century. Douglas produced this film epic, recruiting Stanley Kubrick to direct and Dalton Trumbo to pen the screenplay. The result is a compelling tale of love, honor, loyalty, and comradeship. Trumbo and Kubrick construct a striking contrast between the supposedly uncivilized slaves’ virtue to the decadent and unscrupulous tactics of the Romans. Douglas’s Spartacus is an honorable and honest man who lays down his life for love and freedom. Notable for the outstanding performances of Tony Curtis, Laurence Olivier, Charles Laughton, and Peter Ustinov.

Starring: Kirk Douglas, John Gavin, Jean Simmons, Peter Ustinov, Tony Curtis, and Laurence Olivier. Written by Dalton Trumbo. Directed by Stanley Kubrick.

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Ace in the Hole: Chuck Tatum (Douglas), a bitter and ruthless former big-city journalist now working for a second-rate Albuquerque newspaper, tries to regain his stature as a top-notch reporter by sensationalizing the story of a man caught in a cave-in. By deliberately delaying rescue efforts and seducing local officials with promises of fame and profit, Tatum milks the desperate situation into a golden opportunity to rekindle his lagging career. Along the way manages to bring out the absolute worst in the trapped man’s family, the townspeople, and his reading public. Douglas portrays Tatum’s relentlessly naked ambition as a chillingly realistic vision of the American Dream. Only after he realizes his responsibility in the tragic conclusion of the story, does Tatum attain a small degree of humanity. Notable for Billy Wilder’s typical cynical spin on the human condition. 

Starring: Kirk Douglas, Joan Sterling, Robert Arthur, Frank Cady, Richard Benedict, and Porter Hall. Written and directed by Billy Wilder. 

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Seven Days in May: A political thriller about the—once—seemingly impossible possibility of a coup d’état taking place in America. Marine colonel Martin “Jiggs” Casey (Douglas) begins uncovering suspicious doings in the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His boss, General James Mattoon Scott, (Burt Lancaster), who is disaffected with the current administration, seems to be involved in the strange doings, including establishing secret military bases, engineering phantom troop movements, and joining strange midnight rendezvous. Jiggs is torn between loyalty to his commanding officer and his country. Douglas’s portrayal of Jiggs captures the man’s conflicted loyalties between his commanding officer and the Constitution; he is a man of action caught in a murky moral dilemma. Notable for Rod Serling’s outstanding screenplay. 

Starring: Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Frederic March, Martin Balsam, Edmond O’Brien, Ava Gardner, and Hugh Marlowe. Written by Rod Serling. Directed by John Frankenheimer.

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Lonely are the Brave: Jack Burns (Douglas), a cowboy who refuses to acknowledge the trappings of civilization, rides into town in order to visit Paul (Michael Kane), an old friend. Learning from Paul’s wife (Gena Rowlands) that Paul is in jail, Burns gets himself arrested so he can break his old buddy out. Realizing the futility of escape, Paul refuses. Jack breaks out, instigating a manhunt that tracks him—and his horse Whiskey—up into the rugged canyon rim country in his bid for freedom. Burns is a happy-go-lucky cowboy who seems to take life as it comes. His decisions are not always sound, but his heart is in the right place. Notable for Walter Matthau’s performance as the laconic sheriff hunting Burns down. 

Starring: Kirk Douglas, Walter Matthau, Gena Rowlands, Michael Kane, Carrol O’Connor, and William Schallert. Written by Dalton Trumbo. Directed by David Miller.

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The Bad and the Beautiful: Jonathan (Douglas), a once-powerful Hollywood producer, reaches out to a famous director (Barry Sullivan), actress (Lana Turner), and screenwriter (Dick Powell) to help him engineer a comeback, but none of them want to give Jonathan the time of day. Through a series of flashbacks, each recounts their experiences with Jonathan. In his own way, he launched each one of their careers, but while pursuing his own ambitions, alienated each and every one of them. As Jonathan, Douglas brings the man’s consuming need for power to the point where he no longer needs anyone—and then peels back the hardened layers to reveal his weakness and ultimate humility. Notable for Minelli’s outstanding direction.

Starring: Kirk Douglas, Barry Sullivan, Lana Turner, Dick Powell, Walter Pidgeon, and Gloria Grahame. Written by Charles Schnee and George Bradshaw. Directed by Vincente Minelli.

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Detective Story: A gripping film noir about one day in the lives of various members of a New York City police squad. Jim McLeod (Douglas) considers his job of detective as a personal mission to rid the city of criminals. He considers the apprehension and prosecution of Dr. Karl Schneider (George Macready), a murderous abortionist, to be his personal mission. In a series of melodramatic plot turns, McLeod, frustrated at his inability to close the case, attacks the doctor, which results in the revelation that he has, in fact, operated on McLeod’s wife for a baby that does not belong to him. Douglas turns in one of his most aggressive performances as the relentless detective. Notable for the Oscar-nominated performances of Eleanor Parker and Lee Grant. 

Starring: Kirk Douglas, Eleanor Parker, William Bendix, Cathy O’Donnell, George Macready, and Lee Grant. Written by Robert Wyler. Directed by William Wyler. 

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Ulysses: In a role that seems custom made for his on-screen persona, Douglas’s Ulysses is impetuous, crafty, reckless, and determined beyond the scope of most mortal men. He is also a skilled and courageous warrior. Although the special effects in this 1954 production seem tame by today’s standards, it is still a gripping, action-packed film version of Homer’s epic. The encounters with Polyphemus, Scylla, Charybdis, the Sirens, and his dalliance with Circe are perfect vehicles for Douglas’s brand of steely-eyed heroism and deft intelligence. He is perfect for this role. Notable for Mario Camerini’s great direction. Notable for Anthony Quinn’s supporting performance and Mangano’s dual roles as Circe and Persephone.

Starring: Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn, Silvana Mangano, Rosanna Podesta, and Jacques Dusemnil. Written by Mario Camerini, Franco Brusati, and Hugh Gray. Directed by Mario Camerini.

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Lust for Life: A stirring biopic of artist Vincent van Gogh’s (Kirk Douglas) tortured life, this film garnered a huge amount of critical acclaim for both Douglas’s performance and the movie’s conceptional use of color. The film follows Van Gogh’s tortured life as he attempts to assimilate his passion for art with the demands of an outside world that rejects and reviles him at every turn. Although supported both financially and moral in his artistic pursuits by his brother Theo (James Donald) Vincent ultimately cannot assimilate his artistic passion with the outside world. This was perhaps Douglas’s finest role, managing to create a sympathetic character fueled to self-destruction and ultimate suicide by an impossibly attainable inner vision.

Starring: Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn, James Donald, Pamela Brown, Everett Sloan, and Henry Daniell. Written by Norman Corwin and directed by Vincent Minnelli.

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The List of Adrian Messenger: Writer Adrian Messenger (John Merivale) is convinced that he discovered a link between a series of unrelated murders. He brings his evidence to his old friend Anthony Gethryn (George C. Scott) who starts trying to sift through the names on Messenger’s (who dies mysteriously) list. The sleuths uncover clues in Messenger’s manuscript and discover that all are linked to prisoner of war camp in Burma where one of the men betrayed the others. The trail leads to George Brougham (Kirk Douglas) a member of the gentry who lays a trap for the would-be sleuths, leading to a climactic showdown. Notable for the many disguises and cameos, including Tony Curtis, Frank Sinatra, Robert Mitchum, and Burt Lancaster.

Starring: George C. Scott, Kirk Douglas, Dana Wynter, Clive Brook, Gladys Cooper, and Herbert Marshall. Written by Phillip MacDonald and directed by John Huston.

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Paths of Glory: An anti-war film produced by Douglas and co-written and directed by Stanley Kubrick, the movie follows a company of French soldiers in World War I. After refusing to take part in a suicidal attack on a German stronghold, General Broulard (Ralph Meeker) orders an artillery company to fire on his own men. Afterwards, to cover up his own crime, he calls for a number of the men to be court-martialed. Their commanding officer Colonel Dax (Douglas) a lawyer in civilian life, offers to defend the men. The trial, however, is nothing short of a travesty. A number of the men are convicted and sentenced to die. The rest are to return to the front. Douglas’s portrayal of Dax embodies the courage of a soldier and the compassion of a leader. 

Starring: Kirk Douglas, Adolphe Menjor, Ralph Meeker, George Macready, Wayne Morris, and Richard Anderson. Written and directed by Stanley Kubrick.

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Honorable Mentions

The Vikings

The War Wagon

The Big Sky

The Fury

20,000 Leagues Under the Seas