You were my first initial hero from the land they called Hollywood - much before another of your vaunted brother Clint became my favorite ..
I dont deny that part of my middle class which was strictly not so , was this one - growing up watching Hollywood movies in 80's when VCD,DVD and Blue Ray were not heard of , and middle class Bongs actually watched Uttam Kumar who passed away in 1980 and Saumitra Chattopadhyay who was still raging as a Character Hero .
Hollywood movies were not common at all in our nascent days. TV came to our household in mid 80's and I distinctly remember English movies were all courtesy a neighbour hood " aangrez" doctor who had passed his degree from UK ( came to know much later what FRCS and MRCS was ) . Courtesy Dr. Sinha who is still a very close family doctor who loved all that was English , I also started watching movies with him and unknowingly at the tender age of 7 fell for all that was Hollywood ..
One of the very few first movies that I watched 30+ years back in a hilly town was yours .. Stanley Kowalski was your screen name . Not ashamed to admit that I didnt understand the movie much way back in 1984 but was fascinated by his towering presence .. I took an instant liking for this man .
I missed your next two screen roles : Emilio Zapata & Mark Anthony which I viewed when I grew up much later . But your Magnum Opus in 1954 where you played the petty street goon Terry Malloy took my breath away . All I remembered at such an young age was your voice , dialogue throwing and that enormous swag that you had through out ..
Your first Oscar came with this iconic portrayal of a Petty Crime Lord with a emotional heart and gentle cast behavior . Who else would read " Oh Charlie " in a tone of reproach thats so loving and so melancholic that suggests such depth of pain ?
The next 16 years were sporadic attempts at musical plays, and a steady decline in box office as a mercurial actor and attempts though brief at trying hand as a director .
But then came 1972 and what a watershed year it turned out to be, your last Oscar nomination for a ground breaking role - a career turning point .
Director Francis Ford Coppola had developed a list of actor for the role : Oscar winning Italian - American Ernest Borgnine, Italian American Frank de Kova , John Marley , Italian - American Richard Konte ( who was finally cast as Vito Corleone's Don Barzini ) and Italian movie producer Carlo Ponti. Copolla admitted later in 1975 , " we knew we had to lure the best actor in the world , and it finally boiled down to Laurence Olivier and Marlon Brando . "
Brando had huge pressure coming into the movie , after a long string of flops and was signed for a low fee as low as $50,000. He gave one of the greatest screen performances of all times - the depiction of a worrying & decaying Italian Mafia Lord whose agony at losing a son and letting another to marshall reins of terror will probably be etched in memory . A gangstar who was not hated but respected and loved , Marlon Brando won his 2nd and final Oscar for portrayal of a gentle and towering gangstar who portayed power and intense authority as a Mafia Lord.
A very happy wala birthday to one of Hollywood's greatest icons - where ever you are , you must be enjoying this one from the stars !!! Stay in peace.
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