Edward Cronenweth (1903-1990) [1], Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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Marlon Brando has been almost universally hailed as being the greatest actor of all time, a genius who revolutionized the craft. Luminaries like James Dean, Paul Newman, and Steve McQueen modeled their acting styles after Brando’s brand of method acting—a term he detested—based on the Stanislavski Method of Acting and taught to Brando by Stella Adler. Drawing on Adler’s emphasis on emotional memory to bring his characters’ inner lives to the fore and with a mesmerizing magnetism that resembled a force of nature more than a personality, Brando dominated the screen whenever he appeared on it.
After gaining initial fame and notoriety with his naturalistic portrayal as the brutal Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire, Marlon Brando became recognized as a combination of incredible talent and virtuosic skill that bordered on genius. Following this initial success, he starred in a series of movies that displayed not only his extraordinary skills but also his incredible range. He played revolutionary Emiliano Zapata in Zapata, Marc Antony in Julius Caesar, ex-boxer Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront and teen punk Johnny Strabler in The Wild One, characters that had nothing in common except for the excellence with which they were portrayed. There didn’t seem to be any role Brando couldn’t handle.
From the transparent vulnerability of washed-up boxer Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront to the rustic shrewdness and calculated brutality of Vito Corleone in The Godfather, Brando not only played his characters, he somehow seemed to embody them. As an actor, he was not the sort of chameleon actor who becomes a character like a Christian Bale or a Daniel Day-Lewis; on the screen, Brando was always undeniably Brando, but his skill lay in delineating the inner lives of his characters, their sensibilities, their instincts, and their emotionality so seamlessly that they transcended themselves as creations of an author and cogs in a narrative. In Brando’s hands, they became real people. Even his portrayal of the psychotic Walter Kurtz in Apocalypse Now was fraught with very human sensibilities. On the surface, Brando stamped Kurtz’s madness with a cynical amorality and an understandable weariness, but the audience knew almost immediately that Brando’s Kurtz had had enough, that he wanted Willard to take him out.
Marlon Brando is probably, arguably (although it would have to be one hell of an argument) the best screen actor of all time. His genius lay in the subtlety of his understandings of the characters he portrayed. It was as if he inhabited their souls, not their personalities.
The Top Films of Marlon Brando
A Streetcar Named Desire: Elia Kazan’s production of the hit Tennessee Williams play became a breakout film role for Brando, who had also originated the part on Broadway. Performance as the brutal and sadistic Stanley Kowalski was a watershed moment for film actors everywhere. His raw emotionality, distinctly indistinct delivery, and menacing physical presence dominated every scene in which he appeared. The chemistry between Brando and Vivien Leigh, who played the delicate and emotionally fragile Blanche, was absolutely remarkable. The mounting tension between the two, which culminates in a violent crescendo even as his wife Stella (Kim Hunter) is away at the hospital, is simultaneously mesmerizing and harrowing.
Starring: Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden, Rudy Bond, and Nick Dennis. Screenplay by Elia Kazan, Oscar Saul, and Tennessee Williams. Directed by Elia Kazan.
On the Waterfront: In this Kazan production, Brando plays Terry Malloy, a washed-up prize fighter who is forced by union boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb) and his brother Charley (Rod Steiger) to lure dockworker Joey Doyle onto a rooftop, where Friendly’s men murder him. Racked with guilt, Terry meets with Joey’s sister Edie Doyle (Eva Marie Saint) who is bent on finding the men who killed her brother. She persuades Father Barry (Karl Malden) to call a meeting of dockworkers fed up with Friendly’s strongarm tactics. Edie eventually persuades Terry to testify against Friendly, setting loose a torrent of violence. Brando’s depiction of Terry, a man ground down by Friendly and his own brother but who finally decides to stand up to them, is both touching and hypnotic. He is a pathetic underdog trying to understand a complicated world. We pity him but cannot take our eyes off him.
Starring: Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Rod Steiger, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Fred Gwynne, and Pat Henning. Screenplay by Budd Schulberg. Directed by Elia Kazan.
The Godfather: In what is arguably the finest film ever made, Brando plays Vito Corleone, the godfather, an organized crime boss and family patriarch in this epic crime drama. Envisioned by director and co-writer Francis Ford Coppola as much more than a simple gangster movie, The Godfather is almost a Greek tragedy of epic proportions. Brando’s performance as Corleone is so definitive and seamless that it’s impossible to imagine anyone else in the role. Depicting Corleone as a soft-spoken, reasonable, and seemingly gentle man whose criminal malignance is only seen fleetingly, Brando gave a performance of a lifetime.
Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, John Cazale, Diane Keaton, and Abe Pagoda. Screenplay by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
Last Tango in Paris: In this controversial psychosexual drama, Brando plays Paul, an American expatriate and hotel owner mourning the suicide of his wife. He and Jeanne (Maria Schneider) a young Parisian, simultaneously arrive to look at an apartment to rent. While there, they begin an anonymous sexual relationship. Paul insists that they not share any personal information. Even though the relationship turns violent, Jeanne tells Paul she cannot leave him. Despite being engaged, the relationship continues until Paul leaves without explanation. Shortly afterwards, he runs into her and demands they renew their relationship. When she refuses, he chases her until she has to kill him. Despite the film’s explicit sexual content, including a brutal rape scene, and its resulting controversy, Brando’s performance was praised by many critics and peers alike as his best since On The Waterfront.
Starring: Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider, Jean-Pierre Leaud, Maria Michi, Massimo Girotti, and Gitt Magrini. Screenplay by Bernardo Bertolucci, Franco Arcalli, and Agnes Varda. Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci.
Apocalypse Now: Francis Ford Coppola’s epic film about the Vietnam War, based on Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness, traces one man’s journey into the depths of evil, horror, and malevolence. Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) is sent on a mission to assassinate a rogue American colonel Walter Kurtz (Brando), who has gone insane and set up his own kingdom deep in the jungle from which he wages his own guerilla war. As he travels upriver on a patrol boat to confront Kurtz, Willard becomes fascinated by—and sympathetic to—Kurtz’s brutal methods. Before the audience even sees Brando in this small role, the character of Kurtz has grown to gigantic proportions in the audience’s mind. When we do finally see him, Brando does not disappoint. When Kurtz finally emerges from the shadows and describes his war to Willard, stating how insanity is the only sanity in Vietnam, his presence is chilling, fascinating, and inevitable.
Starring: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Laurence Fishburne, Frederic Forrest, Robert Duvall, Albert Hall, Sam Bottoms, and Harrison Ford. Screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola and John Milius. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
The Men: In this drama dealing with soldiers suffering from paraplegia, Brando plays Ken Wilocek, a veteran who was paralyzed by a sniper’s bullet. As he recuperates in a VA hospital under the care of Dr. Brock (Everett Sloane), he faces struggles coping with his condition, his re-entry into society, and his physical and emotional relationship with his fiancé, and eventual wife Ellen (Teresa Wright). Brando’s portrayal as Ken covers the gamut from self-pity and anger to frustration, and—finally—acceptance as he demonstrates the willingness to accept help from his wife and family. Brando created a stir with the magnetic presence of his screen debut. He spent a significant amount of time in a VA hospital preparing for the role, and director Zinneman used many real-life veterans, including Arthur Jurado, in the film.
Starring: Marlon Brando, Everett Sloane, Teresa Wright, Jack Webb, Arthur Jurado, and Richard Erdman. Written by Carl Foreman. Directed by Fred Zinneman.
Julius Caesar: In this seminal production of the classic Shakespeare tragedy, Brando plays Marc Antony, giving the famous “Friends, Romans, countrymen” speech his unique turn. Initially apprehensive about Brando’s diction—as seen in Streetcar—some of his fellow actors, including John Gielgud, doubted he could handle the part, but were pleasantly surprised at his performance. At one point, Brando asked Shakespeare veteran Geilgud for advice on the part. Brando’s portrayal, and his unique interpretation of the poetry of Shakespeare, gave the film a modern feel not often seen in film adaptions of his works.
Starring: Marlon Brando, James Mason, John Gielgud, Louis Calhern, Edmond O’Brien, Greer Garson, and Deborah Kerr. Screenplay by John Mankiewicz. Directed by John Mankiewicz.
The Chase: In this Southern drama, Bubber Reeves (Robert Redford) escapes from prison and starts making his way back to his hometown and his wife Anna (Jane Fonda), where the townspeople have conflicting feelings about his innocence. Sheriff Calder (Brando), who is in the pocket of local banker Val Rogers (E.G. Marshall), but convinced that Bubber is innocent, attempts to shield him and is severely beaten by local vigilantes for his trouble. Calder and Anna discover Bubber but are followed by the townspeople who try to kill him. They save Bubber, but he is shot as Calder tries to imprison him. Despite being directed by Arthur Penn, the film is flawed in a number of ways, but has some good points, including Brando’s performance as the jaded yet moralistic Calder. The scenes in which the townspeople become a mob are overwrought—the film as a whole shoots a blank.
Starring: Marlon Brando, Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Angie Dickinson, Robert Duvall, E.G. Marshall, and Janice Rule. Screenplay by Horton Foote from the play by Lillian Hellman. Directed by Arthur Penn.
The Fugitive Kind: In this adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play Orpheus Descending, Brando plays Valentine “Snakeskin” Xavier, a drifter who comes into the small town to avoid imprisonment in New Orleans. He meets Lady Torrance (Anna Magnani), the owner of a small dry-goods store and starts work there. Carol Cutrere (Joanne Woodward) and housewife Vee Talbot (Maureen Stapleton) attempt to seduce Xavier, but he is attracted to Lady. Sheriff Jordan Talbot (R.G. Armstrong), a friend of Vee’s husband, threatens to kill Xavier, but he decides to stay after discovering Lady is pregnant, leading, an act which leads to tragedy. Brando’s undeniable sexual magnetism is on full display here and is used by director Sidney Lumet to its fullest.
Starring: Marlon Brando, Anna Magnani, Joanne Woodward, Maureen Stapleton, R.G. Armstrong, and Victor Jory. Written by Meade Roberts from the play Orpheus Descending by Tennessee Williams. Directed by Sidney Lumet.
The Wild One: In this crime thriller widely regarded as the first outlaw biker film, Brando plays Johnny Strabler, the leader of the Black Rider Motorcycle Club. TBRMC rides into a small California town and causes trouble. The bikers are forced to leave and head to Wrightsville, another small town, where they run into The Beetles, another biker gang, led by Chino (Lee Marvin). Johnny finds himself attracted to Kathie (Mary Murphy) and decides to stick around. Trouble follows and Johnny finds himself embroiled in not only a long-standing feud between himself and Chino but unfairly accused of causing a townsperson’s death. Brando’s portrayal of the brooding yet sensitive gang leader became the template for many of that generation’s younger actors, including James Dean. Brando carefully toes the line between sensitive tough guy and genuine thug, never losing audience sympathy.
Starring: Marlon Brando, Mary Murphy, Lee Marvin, Robert Keith, Hugh Sanders, Ray Teal, and Will Wright. Written by John Paxton and Ben Maddow. Directed by Laszlo Benedek.