The Pen in Hand's Guide to Old Hollywood: The Legacy of Christopher Walken

GabboT, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

By Geoff Carter

He is a gifted actor who actually started his career as a dancer, a fact that is readily evident when viewing Hairspray, Pennies from Heaven, The King of New York, and much of his other work in and out of musical, an actor who is then able to move effortlessly from the free-wheeling and casual graceful performer in these films to the unrelenting menace of Brad, Sr., in At Close Range, the reptilian creepiness of Captain Koons in Pulp Fiction, or the good-natured boy-next-door vibe of Nick in The Deer Hunter.

Christopher Walken has done it all as an actor, but through the course of his long and storied career, he has transcended the title of performer. He has become an icon. His distinctive, halting, and arrhythmically paced speech pattern has made him one of the most recognizable voices in the film industry. It’s a voice can be used to maintain the utmost seriousness while relating the somewhat surreal story of how a boy’s father—and he—kept the family watch safe in a prison camp during the Vietnam War. It’s a voice of a good-natured goofy novelty shop owner who always seems one step behind the world. It’s also the voice of a brooding and arrogant—yet unfulfilled—monkey king seeking the secret powers of the human kingdom.

Like a well-tailored suit, Christopher Walken fits well everywhere. He’s switched back and forth from comedy, musicals, drama, thrillers, to horror without missing a beat. He plays the nastiest villains, the purest heroes, the most endearing losers, and the creepiest oddballs ever (remember Diane Keaton’s brother in Annie Hall?) As Captain Koons, he toes the lines between comedy, pathos, and duty effortlessly. As Frank White in The King of New York, he portrays a stylish and vicious gangster with a heart of gold. He is an embodiment of contradictions and paradoxes, which, of course, is the key to his versatility.

Hats off to the one and only Christopher Walken.

The Top Films of Christopher Walken

The Deer Hunter: In this seminal Vietnam War epic, buddies Michael (Robert DeNiro), Nick (Walken), and Steve (John Savage) leave their small Pennsylvania iron town to join the army. After Steve’s wedding (a phenomenal sequence) the boys leave and end up in a North Vietnamese POW camp. Through an ingenious and insanely heroic ploy, Michael engineers an escape. While he and Steve are temporarily lost, Nick ends up in a hospital, where his experience has traumatized him so deeply, he has trouble reconnecting with reality, and he eventually disappears into the streets of Saigon. Michael returns to rescue Nick, only to discover he is beyond all hope. In his Oscar-winning performance, Walken transforms Nick from an idealistic, kind, and somewhat dreamy young man into a troubled, dissaociated and self-destructive shell of a human being. It’s an incredible performance.

Starring: Robert DeNiro, Christopher Walken, John Savage, John Cazale, Meryl Streep, George Dzundza, and Rutanya Alda. Written and directed by Michael Cimino.

The King of New York: In this stylish neo-noir gangster flick, notorious drug kingpin Frank White (Christopher Walken) has just been released from prison and is seeking to reestablish himself as the predominant dealer in the city while simultaneously using his money for charity, ultimately hoping to become legitimate. White takes on the Italian mob, the Chinatown gangs, and even New York City’s finest in his bid to become the king of the Big Apple. As White, Walken redefines—once again—his ominous yet sophisticated persona. White is soft-spoken, courteous, and refined, but there is an anger simmering just below the surface. When those cold eyes fix on an opponent, he quickly and dispassionately eliminates the problem. He is an ice king. Notable for the sequence in which Frank meets his old gang and they exchange hellos with a frenetic and unexpected dance.

Starring: Christopher Walken, Laurence Fishburne, David Caruso, Wesley Snipes, Paul Calderon, Giancarlo Esposito, and Victor Argo. Written by Nicholas St. John. Directed by Abel Ferrara.

Catch Me if you Can: In this combination comedy/caper/crime tale based on the true-life story of master forger and impersonator Frank Abagnale, Jr., Frank Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) keeps FBI Agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks) on the run for years before he is finally caught. Young Frank successfully impersonated an airline pilot, a teacher, a surgeon, and a lawyer while forging millions of dollars of worthless checks. He idolizes his father (Christopher Walken) whose own business failures have resulted in the dissolution of his marriage. To prove himself to his dad, Frank, Jr. goes on his incredible crime spree. As Frank Abagnale, Walken simultaneously exudes hope and hopelessness. Frank keeps talking a good game (especially his fable about the mouse drowning in milk) while reliving past successes, but it’s obvious he’s done for. Walken manages to combine the antithesis within the character’s voice—every hesitation in a hesitation holds regret while every pause is a reflection for hope. He’s the ultimate lovable loser.

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Christopher Walken, Tom Hanks, Amy Adams, Ellen Pompeo, Elizabeth Banks, and Martin Sheen. Written by Jeff Nathanson. Directed by Steven Spielberg.

Hairspray: In this film adaptation of the Broadway musical based on Roger Water’s independent film about Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonski), an overweight teen trying to make her onto a local Baltimore dance show, Walken plays Nikki’s dad Wilbur, who runs the novelty store below their flat. Despite her weight, and the machinations of her nemesis Amber Van Tussle (Brittany Snow) Tracy manages to win the hearts of the viewing audience while simultaneously bringing integration to The Corny Collins Dance Show. The show features phenomenal songs and great dance numbers (including a romantic number between Wilbur and Tracy’s mom Edna—played by John Travolta in drag) and is a ton of fun to watch. Like most good dads Wilbur is completely, although naively, supportive of his daughter’s aspirations. He is touchingly—and dopily—in love with Edna. Walken’s cluelessness and sweetness are perfectly conveyed in his deliberate way of speaking; his rhythmic cadences here seem the results of his reassuring nature, and his dancing is supelative.

Starring: Nikki Blonski, John Travolta, Christopher Walken, Zac Efron, Allison Janney, Amanda Bynes, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Queen Latifah. Screenplay by Leslie Dixon. Directed by Adam Shankman.

Pulp Fiction: In this iconic Quentin Tarantino blockbuster that weaves strands of a set of wildly different characters into a distinctly LA milieu. A pair of philosophical hitmen attempt coming to terms with a near-death experience, a desperate boxer madly in love with a scatterbrained Frenchwoman, and a bored young wife out on the town—and who gets more than she bargained for—are only the tip this epic tale. In a very short (but decidedly memorable—who can forget that story?) Walken portrays Captain Koons, a soldier who comes to visit young Butch (the boxer) to give him the family heirloom his dad was able to keep concealed in prison camp. Painfully sincere and tender when recounting the ordeals of his old friend, Walken is able to somehow transcend the rather gross irony—and dark humor—of the heirloom while maintaining an odd dignity.

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, Ving Rhames, Uma Thurman, Eric Stoltz, Rosanna Arquette, and Maria de Medeiros. Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino.

At Close Range: In this neo-noir crime thriller, Brad Whitewood, Jr. (Sean Penn) decides to come live with his father Brad, Sr. (Christopher Walken) who runs a crime ring in rural Pennsylvania. In an attempt to emulate his father’s criminal activities, Brad Jr. starts a gang of his own, including his brother Tommy (Chris Penn). After they are caught during a theft, the police lean on Jr. in an attempt to nail the elder Whitewood. Convinced that Jr.’s girlfriend Terry (Mary Stuart Masterson) is a risk to his criminal enterprises, Sr., tries to break them up by getting her stoned and raping her. Sr. eventually decides to eliminate his son’s entire gang to preserve his own freedom, a move that results in wholesale carnage. Walken’s chilling portrayal of Brad, Jr., is the epitome of the cold-blooded yet seemingly kindly psychopath. Walken uses his eyes not to reflect what is going on behind them, but to mask what is there. He seems sincere when he looks at his son, but his eyes are as empty and cold as a shark’s eyes. A remarkable performance.

Starring: Christopher Walken, Sean Penn, Mary Stuart Masterson, Chris Penn, Crispin Glover, David Strathairn, and Candy Clark, Written by Nicholas Kazan. Directed by James Foley.

Next Stop, Greenwich Village: In this coming-of-age story that takes place in 1950s New York,

Larry Lapinsky (Lenny Baker) a 22-year-old aspiring actor decides to move to Greenwich Village to make it big in the theater, nearly giving his overprotective mother (Shelley Winters) a heart attack in the process. Lenny hangs with his group of wacky and off-beat friends, including the nutty girl Connie (Dori Brenner), Bernstein, an African American gay man (Antonio Fargas), Robert, a pretentious would-be poet (Christopher Walken), and his girlfriend Sarah (Ellen Greene). As in most coming-of-age tales, Lenny finds himself used, betrayed, and disillusioned—mostly by Sarah and Robert—but of course finds the optimism to keep going. As Robert, Walken exudes a strangely still and calm confidence, which of course for people that age, is synonymous with wisdom. His portrayal of Robert hits the perfect balance between smarmy and brilliant.

Starring: Lenny Baker, Ellen Greene, Shelley Winters, Lois Smith, Christopher Walken, Antonio Fargas, Bill Murray, and Jeff Goldblum. Written and directed by Paul Mazursky.

Seven Psychopaths: In this black comedy crime film, Billy (Colin Farrell) is attempting to finish his screenplay Seven Psychopaths. His friend Billy (Sam Rockwell) who kidnaps dogs for a living, suggests enlisting the help of real psychopaths to inspire him; he puts an ad in the paper encouraging psychos to tell their stories. His partner Hans (Christopher Walken) helps Billy kidnap Bonny, who turns out to be the beloved pet of Charlie Costello (Woody Harrelson) a local mob boss. Through a series of insane plot convolutions, the trio realize that Billy is a wanted killer and become enmeshed in a fever dream of violence and bloodshed—which results in a finished movie. For his portrayal of Hans/The Quaker, Walken again draws on his sinister persona but tempers it with a genuine affection for his dying wife.

Starring: Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken, Woody Harrelson, Tom Waits, Abbie Cornish, Harry Dean Stanton, and Michael Stuhlbarg. Written and directed by Martin McDonagh.

The Dead Zone: In this adaptation of the Stephen King classic, after waking from a five-year coma, Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken) discovers he has the power to see other people’s futures. After he is enlisted by the local sheriff (Tom Skerritt) to investigate a series of unsolved murders, her realizes that Deputy Frand Dodd (Nicholas Campbell) committed the murders. Campbell shoots Smith before taking his own life. Smith moves away, trying to isolate himself from his horrible gift, but Sarah (Brooke Adams) his ex-fiancé, persuades him to join the campaign for presidential candidate Greg Stillson (Martin Sheen). After Smith has a vision of Stillson’s catastrophic future presidency, he realizes he must take action. Walken is eminently believable as boy-next-door turned seer; his anguish and fear as he deals with his visions belie the fantastical elements of the story.

Starring: Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Nicholas Campbell, Anthony Zerbe, and Martin Sheen. Written by Jeffrey Boam from the novel by Stephen King. Directed by David Cronenberg.

True Romance: In this oddly romantic crime film, Clarence (Christian Slater) hooks up with Alabama Whitman (Patricia Arquette) a beautiful young woman who he learns is a prostitute hired by his boss for his birthday. Despite this, they fall in love and marry. A vision of Elvis tells Clarence he has to kill Alabama’s pimp Drexl (Gary Oldman), which he does, taking Drexl’s bag after the murder. He and Alabama soon discover that the bag contains an epic amount of cocaine and they soon find a vicious assortment of gangsters, cops, and other thugs on their tails. Written by Quentin Tarantino, the script takes some odd, unexpected—and sometimes beautiful turns before screeching to a halt. Walken’s depiction of Vincent Coccotti is vintage. His calm and halting delivery and staring eyes implies a man permanently on the verge of violence.

Starring: Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Christopher Walken, Gary Oldman, Saul Rubinek, Dennish Hopper, and Samuel L. Jackson. Written by Quentin Tarantino. Directed by Tony Scott.