(In Memorian: January 30, 1930 to February 27, 2025)
Trish Overton, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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By Geoff Carter
During his long and storied career, spanning back to his breakthrough role as Buck Barrow in 1967’s Bonnie and Clyde, Gene Hackman has excelled at portraying tough gritty characters as both a leading man and a character actor. While perhaps not as handsome as some of the leading man of his generation, Hackman nevertheless conveyed intense, sometimes volatile personas that riveted an audience’s attention. His portrayal of Popeye Doyle, the obsessively driven narcotics detective in The French Connection—which earned him an Academy Award—brought a combination of rage, determination, and fortitude to the character; in effect, he attained the impossible, making an extremely unlikable guy likable. While the same kind of toughness is evident in some other roles like Little Bill Daggett in Unforgiven or the acerbic Max Millan in Scarecrow, Hackman also displayed a deft hand in comic roles like the Blind Man in Young Frankenstein or Senator Keeley in The Birdcage. He also brought a brooding and vulnerable sensitivity to audio bugging specialist Harry Caul in The Conversation.
He was an actor’s actor who could—and did—tackle any part. The common denominator Hackman brought to all his roles was an incisive intelligence; he also excelled at bringing an aggressive sort of shrewdness to his characters; they always seemed to be thinking, figuring things out.
The Top Ten Films of Gene Hackman
The French Connection: As the fiercely determined narcotics detective Popeye Doyle, Hackman created a hard-living character who would stop at nothing to get his man. Doyle learns of a big heroin deal coming down from a French source and makes it his mission to stop it. While the character is combative, aggressive, and violent, he is also tough, gritty, and—in the end—determined to uphold justice despite difficulties dealing with his superiors. Hackman somehow makes Doyle sympathetic and even likable. He—like most Hackman characters—has a sense of humor and earns our respect with his zealous—albeit unorthodox—sense of justice. This film also features one of the most intense chase scenes in the history of cinema.
Starring: Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, Fernando Rey, Frederic de Pasquale, Tony Lo Bianco, and Eddie Egan. Written by Ernest Tidyman. Directed by William Friedkin.
Scarecrow: In this 1973 buddy film, Hackman plays Max Millan, an acerbic and distrustful ex-con on his way to Pittsburgh to open a carwash. Along the way, he runs into Lionel “Lion” Delbuchi (Al Pacino) a trusting and naive ex-sailor on his way to see his son for the first time. Millan, an aggressive and violent man who will brawl at the drop of a hat, slowly begins to trust the naïve Lion. After they are thrown in jail and Lion is beaten and traumatized, Max makes sure Lion sees his ex-wife, who lies and tells him their son is dead. Lion falls into a catatonic state and Max, after hospitalizing him, vows to return to his friend’s side. Hackman’s performance follows the arc of a bitter and cynical man learning to trust and appreciate others. One of Max’s quirks is that he wears multiple layers of clothing. In one telling scene, when uncharacteristically trying to defuse a situation, he peels off his layers to a mock striptease, an apt metaphor for shedding his protective skin.
Starring: Gene Hackman, Al Pacino, Eileen Brennan, Dorothy Tristan, Ann Wedgeworth, and Richard Hackman. Written by Garry Michael White. Directed by Jerry Schatzberg
The Conversation: In this Francis Ford Coppola masterpiece, Hackman plays Harry Caul, an audio surveillance specialist who specializes in bugging conversations. In the opening scene, Caul is supervising the recording of a seemingly innocent conversation of a young couple in love financed by the head of a powerful corporation. While piecing together the auditory fragments with his assistant Stan (John Cazale), Harry—already plagued with guilt about the murder of one of his earlier subjects—begins to worry about the couple and refuses to release the tapes. After they are stolen, Harry follows the couple to a rendezvous where he is confronted with an awful truth. Hackman’s performance is an understated masterpiece. Harry Caul is an introverted and socially awkward man who cannot relate to people. Fraught with guilt and feelings of powerlessness, Harry becomes the victim of his own professional skills. Hackman’s performance is an understated portrayal of a man plagued with self-loathing and fear, who finally musters up the courage to do the right thing.
Starring: Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Robert Duvall, Harrison Ford, Cindy Williams, Frederic Forrest, Terri Garr, and Allen Garfield. Written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
Bonnie and Clyde: In one of his first major roles, Hackman played Buck Barrow, Clyde’s older brother, as an eminently likable country boy who happens to be an ex-con who robs banks. His humor and enthusiasm are infectious, especially in the scene where he is joking with one of the Barrow Gang’s kidnapping victim (Gene Wilder) in the back of their car. The chemistry between him and Beatty is undeniable and, as a henpecked husband, Hackman is utterly believable. The scene in which he has been mortally wounded, the viewer watches in horror as dozens of lawmen slowly close in on him.
Starring: Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman, Michael J. Pollard, Estelle Parsons, Denver Pyle, and Gene Wilder. Written by David Newman and Robert Benton. Directed by Arthur Penn.
Get Shorty: One of Gene Hackman’s trademarks is his throaty laugh which can convey entirely different meanings—depending on the situation. As Little Bill in Unforgiven, his chuckle is a prelude to violence; as Royal Tenenbaum, it is a sidestep, an evasion; as sleazy film director Harry Zimm, it is just another lie, an attempt to charm. Get Shorty is termed a “gangster comedy” and Hackman’s portrayal of a manipulative and arrogant director who ultimately outsmarts himself is a comedy gem. Hackman masterfully portrays a B-grade player almost always comically a step behind the manipulations of Chili Palmer (John Travolta) its gangster hero. The unanticipated twists and turns of the script are both delightful and hilarious.
Starring: John Travolta, Rene Russo, Danny DeVito, Gene Hackman, Delroy Lindo,
Dennis Farina, and James Gandolfini. Written by Scott Frank. Directed by Barry Sonnenfield.
The Royal Tenenbaums: In this typically whimsical Wes Anderson movie, Hackman plays Royal Tenenbaum, the patriarch of a famously successfully family who have subsequently suffered pain and disappointment in their adult years. Oldest son Chas (Ben Stiller) is a math genius from whom Royal stole money; Margot (Gwyneth Paltrwo)—adopted—is a gifted playwright who Royal never took seriously, and Richie (Luke Wilson) is a tennis prodigy. Royal leaves the family during the children’s teen years. When he discovers he is out of money, he feigns having a terminal illness in an effort to reconcile with his children and his ex-wife Etheline (Angelica Houston). Royal is a self-centered opportunist whose charming demeanor barely conceals his pecuniary interests. For all that, Royal loves life and living. During a sequence in which he “kidnaps” Chas’ over-protected sons for a wild day out on the town, he almost seems paternal. In this performance, Hackman toes the line between rascal and charmer, upright citizen and bullshitter.
Starring: Gene Hackman, Angelica Houston, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Danny Glover, and Bill Murray. Written and directed by Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson.
Hoosiers: This film has been rated as one of the greatest sports films of all time—and for good reason. Hackman plays Norman Dale, a former college basketball coach with a checkered past who has been hired by an old friend to coach the tiny Hickory High School basketball team. Hackman brings his usual determination and toughness to the role of a man battling to gain acceptance and respect from his players, his neighbors, his colleagues, and himself. Making unorthodox (for 1950s Indiana) choices, he bulls through all opposition to carve out a monumental legacy. The game footage in the film is incredible, as is Dennis Hopper’s supporting performance as Shooter.
Starring: Gene Hackman, Dennis Hopper, Barbara Hershey, Sheb Wooley, Maris Valainis, and Brad Boyle. Written by Angelo Pizzo. Directed by David Anspaugh.
Mississippi Burning: This historical drama is based on the real-life 1964 murders of three civil rights workers. In the film, Hackman plays Rupert Anderson, a veteran FBI agent who is paired with idealistic agent Alan Ward (Willem Defoe) to investigate the disappearance of these three freedom workers. While Ward, a Northerner, wants to go by the book, Anderson, who knows the South, tries to convince him that his approach will get them nowhere. The two finally agree to a strategy and eventually—using unorthodox police methods—are able to infiltrate the local KKK chapter and find the murderers. As Anderson, Hackman provides a down-home commonsense foil to his partner’s zealous righteousness. Hackman affability and charm as a former good old boy fit perfectly with his screen persona.
Starring: Gene Hackman, Willem Defoe, Frances McDormand, Brad Dourif, R. Lee Ermey, and Michael Rooker. Written by Chris Georimo. Directed by Alan Parker.
The Birdcage: In this delightful comedy, Armand (Robin Williams) and Albert (Nathan Lane) discover their son is engaged to be married. When Val, (Dan Futterman), their son informs them that his fiance Barbara (Calista Flockhart) and her parents, conservative senator Kevin Keeley (Hackman) and his wife Louise (Dianne Wiest) are coming to visit, it throws the household into an uproar. Val doesn’t think the Keeleys will be able to handle his gay parents, and as the two live about the gay nightclub that Armand manages, they scramble to mask their true identities. Hackman plays the comic foil of Keeley brilliantly, especially when paired with Albert (in drag as Val’s mom) on whom he develops an obvious crush. Hackman is underrated as a comic actor; his timing and delivery here is impeccable.
Starring: Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Dan Futterman, Calista Flockhart, Dianne Wiest, Gene Hackman, and Hank Azaria. Screenplay by Elaine May. Directed by Mike Nichols.
Heist: In this convoluted crime drama full of twists and misdirections, Hackman plays master thief Joe Moore. After his face is captured on camera during a robbery, Joe decides to retire, but Mickey Bergman (Danny DeVito) his fence, forces him into one more job and to include his nephew Jimmy Silk (Sam Rockwell). The gang pulls off the robbery, but through a series of fluidly changing loyalties, including Silk seducing Joe’s wife Fran (Rebecca Pidgeon) and complex layers of double crosses, Joe is finally able to come out on top. Hackman’s performance as the cynical and professionally demanding mastermind is a perfect showcase for the same sort of toughness and grit we saw in The French Connection.
Starring: Gene Hackman, Delroy Lindo, Sam Rockwell, Rebecca Pidgeon, Ricky Jay, and Danny DeVito. Written and directed by David Mamet.