RICHARD WIDMARK

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c187/john-wayne/John%20Wayne/dw_28.jpg..http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c187/john-wayne/John%20Wayne/widmark.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c187/john-wayne/John%20Wayne/the_alamo-1.jpg

INFORMATION FROM IMDb

Date of birth
26 December 1914
Sunrise, Minnesota, USA

Date of Death
Monday 24th March 2008

Height
5' 11" (1.80 m)

Spouse
Susan Blanchard (September 1999 - present)
Jean Hazlewood (5 April 1942 - 2 March 1997) (her death) 1 child

Trivia
Unforgettable in his screen debut (in 1947's 'Kiss of Death') as Tommy Udo, a psychopathic mob hit-man, who giggles gleefully even as he sends a wheelchair-bound old woman, portrayed by Mildred Dunnock, tumbling down a long stairway to her demise.

Richard Widmark's daughter, Anne Heath Widmark, married baseball legend Sandy Koufax on January 1, 1969.

President of his high school class.

He was the Friday night host for CBS Radio's "Sears Mystery Theater" (1979).

Widmark was a voice-over regular on the popular 1930s radio series “Gangbusters” that featured weekly episodes based actual crime incidents. Each program wended with various descriptions of wanted criminals, many of whom were later arrested due to avid listener participation.

Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 2002.

Personal quotes
[speaking in 1976] "The heavies in my day were kid's stuff compared to today. Our villains had no redeeming qualities. But there's a new morality today. A villain is a guy with a frailty. Heroes are villains."

"The more takes I do, the worse I get."

Mini Biography
Richard Widmark grew up in Princeton, Illinois, and attended Lake Forest (IL) College, where he first began acting. He taught acting at Lake Forest after graduation until 1938, when he made his radio debut in New York in "Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories". Widmark made his Broadway stage debut in 1943 in "Kiss and Tell". He had been rejected as unsuitable for military service because of a perforated eardrum. In 1947 he got his big break, making film history as Tommy Udo in Kiss of Death (1947), beginning a seven-year contract with 20th Century-Fox. His hand and footprints were cast in cement at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in 1949. After his contract with Fox expired, Widmark went independent. He first appeared on TV as himself in an episode of "I Love Lucy" (1951), and began producing films om the late 1950s. His film career slowed after the 1970s, but he remained active in made-for-TV movies. He starred in his own TV series in 1972, "Madigan" (1972), based on his hit movie of 1968, but only six episodes were produced before the show was canceled. In 1988 The American Movie Classics cable TV channel honored Widmark by airing "The Richard Widmark Film Festival."
IMDb mini-biography by Martin Lewison

Mini Biography-2
from Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia:
Few screen debuts have been so memorable. As Tommy Udo, the giggling gangster and homicidal maniac who pushes a wheelchair-bound woman down a flight of stairs in Kiss of Death (1947), this slight, sandy-haired actor brought shudders to jaded moviegoers who thought they had seen it all. Widmark's Tommy Udo was to 1940s filmgoers what Dennis Hopper's Frank Booth (from Blue Velvet was to movie fans of the 1980s: the ne plus ultra of screen villainy. Nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his tyro screen performance, Widmark was initially frustrated with Hollywood. He'd been a successful New York-based stage and radio actor (who later remarked that he gave up a house with a pool to move to California!); now he was being offered nothing but Tommy Udo-type roles. He took some, like the sadistic no-good who squares off against Cornel Wilde and Ida Lupino in Road House (1948), or the creepy bigot who goads intern Sidney Poitier in No Way Out (1950). But he also proved himself a capable leading man, as in the colorful Down to the Sea in Ships (1949), and Elia Kazan's terrific Panic in the Streets (1950). Still, his best characters seemed to have an edge to them, like the grifter in Samuel Fuller's flavorful Pickup on South Street (1953). In time, Widmark did it all, from war stories (1950's Halls of Montezuma to Westerns (1948's Yellow Sky1954's Broken Lance to romantic comedies (1958's Tunnel of Love, investing each performance with directness and honesty.

As Hollywood's studio system eroded, he produced two of his own starring films, Time Limit (1957) and The Secret Ways (1961), and after a busy decade in the 1960s (which he started off by playing Jim Bowie in The Alamo he became choosier about parts in the 1970s and 1980s (though he succumbed to his share of junk, like 1978's disaster opus The Swarm. In 1971 he played the President of the U.S. in the highly touted telefilm Vanishedand later starred in a short-lived "Madigan" (1972-73) series that spun off from his successful 1968 feature. His presence in films has become a rarity in recent years, but is always welcome: he lends authority to every part he takes.
Copyright © 1994 Leonard Maltin, used by arrangement with Signet, a division of Penguin Putnam, Inc.

Filmography

Actor
1. True Colors (1991) .... Sen. Stiles
2. Cold Sassy Tree (1989) (TV) .... Enid Rucker Blakeslee
3. Once Upon a Texas Train (1988) (TV) .... Captain Oren Hayes
... aka Texas Guns
4. A Gathering of Old Men (1987) (TV) .... Sheriff Mapes
... aka Aufstand alter Männer, Ein (West Germany)
... aka Murder on the Bayou
5. Blackout (1985) (TV) .... Joe Steiner
6. Against All Odds (1984) .... Ben Caxton
7. Who Dares Wins (1982) .... Secretary of State Arthur Currie
... aka The Final Option (USA)
8. Hanky Panky (1982) .... Ransom
9. National Lampoon Goes to the Movies (1982) .... Stan Nagurski ("Municipalians")
... aka National Lampoon's Movie Madness (UK: video title)
10. A Whale for the Killing (1981) (TV) .... Tom Goodenough
11. All God's Children (1980) (TV) .... Judge Parke Denison

12. Bear Island (1979) .... Otto Gerran
... aka Alistair MacLean's Bear Island
13. Mr. Horn (1979) (TV) .... Al Sieber
14. The Swarm (1978) .... Major General Thalius Slater
15. Coma (1978) .... Dr. George A. Harris
16. The Domino Principle (1977) .... Tagge
... aka Domino principe, El (Mexico)
... aka The Domino Killings (UK)
17. Rollercoaster (1977) .... Agent Hoyt
18. Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977) .... Gen. Martin MacKenzie
... aka Nuclear Countdown
... aka Ultimatum, Das (West Germany)
19. The Sell-Out (1976) .... Sam Lucas
... aka ...e poi non rimase nessuno (Italy)
... aka Melimot Be-Yerushalaim (Israel: Hebrew title)
... aka The Set-Up
20. To the Devil a Daughter (1976) .... John Verney
... aka Braut des Satans, Die (West Germany)
... aka Child of Satan (USA: video title)
... aka To the Devil... a Daughter (USA: poster title)
21. The Last Day (1975) (TV) .... Will Spence
22. Murder on the Orient Express (1974) .... Mr. Samuel Edward Ratchett/Cassetti
23. "Benjamin Franklin" (1974) (mini) TV Series .... Benjamin Franklin
24. Brock's Last Case (1973) (TV) .... Lieutenant Max Brock
25. "Madigan" (1972) TV Series .... Sgt. Dan Madigan (1972-1973)
26. When the Legends Die (1972) .... Red Dillon
27. Vanished (1971) (TV) .... President Paul Roudebush
28. The Moonshine War (1970) .... Dr. Emmett Taulbee

29. Death of a Gunfighter (1969) .... Marshal Frank Patch
30. A Talent for Loving (1969)
... aka Gun Crazy
31. Madigan (1968) .... Det. Daniel Madigan
32. The Way West (1967) .... Lije Evans
33. Alvarez Kelly (1966) .... Col. Tom Rossiter
34. The Bedford Incident (1965) .... Capt. Eric Finlander
35. Cheyenne Autumn (1964) .... Capt. Thomas Archer
... aka John Ford's Cheyenne Autumn (USA: complete title)
36. Flight from Ashiya (1964) .... L:t. Col. Glenn Stevenson
... aka Ashiya kara no hiko (Japan)
37. The Long Ships (1963) .... Rolfe
... aka Dugi brodovi (Yugoslavia: Serbian title)
38. How the West Was Won (1962) .... Mike King
39. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) .... Col. Tad Lawson (prosecuting attorney)
... aka Judgement at Nuremberg
40. Two Rode Together (1961) .... First Lt. Jim Gary
41. The Secret Ways (1961) .... Michael Reynolds
42. The Alamo (1960) .... Jim Bowie

43. Warlock (1959) .... Johnny Gannon
... aka Shoot Out at Warlock (USA: reissue title)
44. The Trap (1959) .... Ralph Anderson
... aka The Baited Trap (UK)
45. The Tunnel of Love (1958) .... August 'Augie' Poole
46. The Law and Jake Wade (1958) .... Clint Hollister
47. Time Limit (1957) .... Col. William Edwards
48. Saint Joan (1957) .... The Dauphin, Charles VII
49. The Last Wagon (1956) .... Comanche Todd
50. Run for the Sun (1956) .... Michael 'Mike' Latimer
51. Backlash (1956) .... Jim Slater
52. The Cobweb (1955) .... Dr. Stewart 'Mac' McIver
53. A Prize of Gold (1955) .... Sergeant Joe Lawrence
54. Broken Lance (1954) .... Ben Devereaux
55. Garden of Evil (1954) .... Fiske
56. Hell and High Water (1954) .... Capt. Adam Jones/R.J. MacDougal
57. Take the High Ground! (1953) .... Sgt. Thorne Ryan
58. Pickup on South Street (1953) .... Skip McCoy
59. Destination Gobi (1953) .... CPO Sam McHale
60. My Pal Gus (1952) .... Dave Jennings
61. O. Henry's Full House (1952) .... Johnny Kernan (The Clarion Call)
... aka Full House (UK)
62. Don't Bother to Knock (1952) .... Jed Towers
63. Red Skies of Montana (1952) .... Cliff Mason
... aka Smoke Jumpers
64. The Frogmen (1951) .... Lt. Cmdr. John Lawrence
65. Halls of Montezuma (1950) .... Lt. Carl Anderson
66. No Way Out (1950) .... Ray Biddle
67. Panic in the Streets (1950) .... Lieutenant Commander Dr. Clinton 'Clint' Reed U.S. Public Health Service
68. Night and the City (1950) .... Harry Fabian

69. Slattery's Hurricane (1949) .... Will Slattery
70. Down to the Sea in Ships (1949) .... First Mate Dan Lunceford
71. Yellow Sky (1949) .... Dude
72. Road House (1948) .... Jefty Robbins
73. The Street with No Name (1948) .... Alec Stiles
74. Kiss of Death (1947) .... Tommy Udo

Producer
1. The Bedford Incident (1965) (producer)
2. The Secret Ways (1961) (producer)
3. Time Limit (1957) (producer)

Director
1. The Secret Ways (1961) (uncredited)

Himself
1. Dobe and a Company of Heroes (2002) (TV) .... Himself
2. "A&E Biography"
- Gene Tierney: A Shattered Portrait (1999) TV Episode .... Himself
3. Big Guns Talk: The Story of the Western (1997) (TV) .... Himself
4. Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick (1996) .... Himself
5. Lincoln (1992) (TV) (voice) .... Ward Hill Lamon
6. The American Film Institute Salute to Sidney Poitier (1992) (TV) .... Himself
7. Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend (1987) .... Narrator
8. The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn (1986) (TV) .... Himself
... aka The Spencer Tracy Legacy (USA)
9. The American Film Institute Salute to Lillian Gish (1984) (TV) .... Himself
10. The American Film Institute Salute to Henry Fonda (1978) (TV) .... Himself
11. Inside 'The Swarm' (1978) (TV) .... Himself
12. "V.I.P.-Schaukel"
- Episode #4.3 (1974) TV Episode .... Himself
13. The American Film Institute Salute to John Ford (1973) (TV) .... Himself
14. Shooting the Moonshine War (1970) (uncredited) .... Himself
15. "Here's Hollywood"
- Episode dated 22 January 1962 (1962) TV Episode .... Himself
16. The 33rd Annual Academy Awards (1961) (TV) .... Himself - Co-Presenter: Best Special Effects
17. "I Love Lucy"
... aka Lucy in Connecticut (USA: rerun title)
... aka The Lucy Show (USA: rerun title)
... aka The Sunday Lucy Show (USA: rerun title)
... aka The Top Ten Lucy Show (USA: rerun title)
- The Tour (1955) TV Episode .... Himself
18. 1955 Motion Picture Theatre Celebration (1955) (uncredited) .... Himself
19. "What's My Line?"
- Episode dated 31 January 1954 (1954) TV Episode .... Himself
20. Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Night Life (1952) .... Himself

Archive Footage
1. Premio Donostia a Willem Dafoe (2005) (TV)
2. Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust (2004)
3. Images of Indians: How Hollywood Stereotyped the Native American (2003) (TV) (uncredited) .... Himself/Capt. Thomas Archer (from Cheyenne Autumn (1964))
4. The Kid Stays In the Picture (2002) (uncredited) .... Himself
5. John Wayne's 'The Alamo' (2001) (V) .... Jim Bowie
6. Margret Dünser, auf der Suche nach den Besonderen (1981) (TV) .... Himself
7. "Toast of the Town"
- Episode #6.26 (1953) TV Episode .... Himself

Hi,

Well he should be known as a
'not' a Pal of the Saddle,
as he and Duke were hardly pals,
during and after making The Alamo.
He was also in How The West Was Won,
but not in the same scenes, as Duke.

How the West Was Won (http://www.dukewayne.com/thread1998.html) (1962) .... Mike King
The Alamo. (http://www.dukewayne.com/thread3755.html)(1960)...Jim Bowie

When casting the film,although Widmark, was not his first choice,
Duke was initially elated, but this was to soon change.
Duke took out an ad, in a trade magazine, that hailed Widmark's acting skills,
and it said in, big bold letters,

"WELCOME ABOARD DICK"

When Widmark next saw Duke, he told him,
Tell you publicity man, or whoever wrote that ad,
that the name is Richard, not Dick!.
Supposedly,Duke had to hold back his anger,
as it was he who took out the ad, and said,
I'll remember that, the next time, I take out an ad- Richard.
The two almost came to blows over all this,
and Widmark has often remarked,
Don't talk to me about that Alamo thing.
Needless to say, Duke and he, remained off each other's Christmas card list.
Ironically, Harry Carey Jr, in his book, is always,
referring to Widmark as Dick!!!
Work that one out, if you will!!

Hi Keith,
Very interesting information about relations between Widmark and Duke. Anyway he played well in Alamo and I like him as the most of you I guess. The only other film in wich I have seen him is Warlock. I truly didn't remember him in How th West was Won.
Regards,
Vera

Not too much additional information out there, but here's one for you Richard Widmark fans -

http://www.meredy.com/widmarktriv.htm (trivia quiz)

Mrs. C :angel1:

Hey thanks for the great information, Keith and Mrs. C!

Cheers B)

Hi Sue,

Thanks for the links, it all helps!

If you want to see some good Richard Widmark film's, try Halls of Montezuma, Broken Lance, The Frogmen and of course Warlock.

Richard Widmark is yet another whose name was a household name in our house. To date I have seen only 24 of his films, and have enjoyed him in all of them. I sure hate to see such great actors age and retire.

Snarling is the word that comes to mind when I think of Dick or Richard Widmark. A good actor but I could never take to him.

Mike

Widmark was a good actor, although he did not get along with Duke. I always thought Charlton Heston would have made a far better Jim Bowie, at least Heston had the height and size to stand up to Wayne's Davy Crockett.

Did anyone else know that Widmark wore a toupee? I only found out when I read a biography of Jimmy Stewart.

Come on Cole if they had Charlton Heston as Jim Bowie they would have won.

I think most of Hollywood males wore toupees. Even a lot of the present stars are challenged in that area.


Mike

Hi Mike, Cole,

Funny you should mention Charlton Heston as Jim Bowie. I had always thought of that role as tailor made for Charlton Heston and I had wished that he could have made a film with Duke. Heston is another favorite of mine.

Widmark with a toupee? I never heard that before. Added a new wrinkle to my brain though ;-))

A Wayne & Heston co production would have been an interesting prospect.

Chuck has had a rug for years too by the way

Mike

It would have been interesting if Heston had played Bowie and Clark Gable had played Travis. It's a shame Heston turned the film down. At least he got to work with Gary Cooper, his childhood idol, although sadly "The Wreck of the Mary Deare" had to be interrupted frequently by Cooper's illnesses.

Hi Cole, I saw that movie when TCM showed it I think a few months ago. I thought it was an unusual one for the both of them to be in. However, I did like the movie.

It would have been interesting if Heston had played Bowie and Clark Gable had played Travis. It's a shame Heston turned the film down.

Amen, Cole , Heston would have been perfect for the part, and Gable would have been at least as good as Widmark.

Chester :newyear:

Hi all.
Mr. Richard Widmark is a very loved actor here in Sweden too, not only for that he have a Swedish origin. In some year in the end of the 1980s, I think, he told his life story in a Swedish TV interview by Lasse Holmquist from Sweden and his wife Britt Bass from New York in America. He told that he was born as Richard Lund or some else short Swedish name he not could remember. His real parent should have died in some sickness or accident when hi was a very little child and been adopted by the Widmark family. That is long time ago since I heard that story about Richard Widmark and I hope there is someone who can fill up all hole in my story about his growing up story.
Len

Hi Len, i'll have to watch my copy of a movie he was in which also had his Bio in it. I think it was an extra on the: Hell and High Water DvD. It's strange that you would mention that he was adopted? I don't recall that being told about on the DvD? If I get a chance soon to rewatch the DvD, ill post here what it said-if anything; about when he was born.

BY the way: Welcome to this fine site.

Gee, I'm surprised that no one mentioned Widmarks work in Cheyenne Autumn. I thought he was excellent in that role. In fact, my favorite Widmark westerns are:
Cheyenne Autumn
The Alamo
Garden of Evil
Backlash
Yellow Sky
Warlock

I am afraid you have missing one wonderful Richard Widmark movie who even was very popular here in Northern Europe and that is Alvarez Kelly from 1966.
Len

Hi

Nice choice of films. The Garden of Evil especially with a great cast. I watched it on TV a couple of months ago, the first ime I had seen it since the 1950s on the big Cinemascope screen.

Regards

Arthur

Hi Len, I have to agree with you that he was great in Alvarez Kelly. I don't have it on DvD yet but, sometime hopefully in the next few months I will ;-))

Hi

If you go back far enough one of his early films was playing Tommy Udo in Kiss of Death, playing a really homicidal villian.

Regards

Arthur

Arthur, I remember that film well, after murdering someone he came out with a real crazy laugh

Good part for him, I have read at home he was a real dedicated family man

Watched a documentary about him not long ago and he came across as a real decent fella

We lost a golden oldie today. Great actor and another one that cannot be replaced.

Here is the atricle from the Minneapolis paper. He was born in Minnesota.

http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/movies/17018186.html

RIP Mr. Widmark, you will be sadly missed.

R.I.P.Mr Widmark. He certainly had a distinguished career.

Farewell Dick. yes, another one from Old Hollywood is gone.

RIP

A sad story indeed. I always liked his performance in The Alamo, but to live to be 93, he lived a very long life.

Great Actor who will be sadly missed

Mike

VERY sad, sad news. Widmark was a great actor and kept me entertained for many an hour watching him in such great movies such as: Kiss of Death, Warlock, Garden of Evil, Judgment at Nuremberg, Time Limit, The Last Wagon, Yellow Sky, Pickup on South Street, The Long Ships, The Tunnel of Love, No Way Out, The Street with No Name, Don't Bother to Knock, The Bedford Incident, O. Henry's Full House, The Frogmen, The Way West, Panic in the Streets, Broken Lance, Halls of Montezuma, Cheyenne Autumn, Night and the City, Madigan, How the West Was Won, The Alamo (of course!!!), and many. many more.

A bona fide star and leading man in three decades (40's, 50's, 60's and even into the 70's). Shame he never won an Oscar (why the Academy didn't give him an honorary one before he died is a mystery).

R.I.P. Mr. Widmark, we're all sorry to lose you.

Another classic gone.

ET

I heard this afternoon of the death of Widmark, and wasn't aware that he was 93 years old. Shouldn't be surprise, but it seems when you see the movies he did, he just couldn't be that old, but Duke is 100, and that makes Mr. Widmark 7 years younger which I know that's right.

Sorry to hear about another great one, but he did have a full life and sorry to hear that his illness was long and I know hard.

RIP Richard Widmark.

Cheers :cool: Hondo

One of Hollywood legends is gone.
RIP Mr.Widmark.

H.sanada

May he rest in peace.

Mark

we are loosing them like flies this year, while he had a long life his parting causes sweet sadness. may he have happy times where he is heading

cheers smokey

Rip Mr Widmark. His Bebut In Kiss Of Death Became His Kiss Of Life As A Great Actor.

Though he only made one film with Duke ("The Alamo"), and reportedly there was some anamosity on the set, he stood out in the film.
R.I.P. Richard Widmark - we'll continue to enjoy the portrayals you have left us.:cry2:
Cheers - Jay

That is such a shame, another legend gone, they don't seem to make them the same these days, do they?? I loved him in 'The Alamo' and 'The Way West' (& many others, of course). He left us some good stuff to remember him by!!

Anita & Boz

I always liked Widmark.

Somewhere I read he and Wayne met at a party and didn't like each other. He hired him for The Alamo at the suggestion of John Ford and they didn't get along.

Hi may2,

This is correct, and if you click on here:-


Pals Of The Saddle- Richard Widmark (http://www.dukewayne.com/showthread.php?t=2054)

This is explained in the second post on this thread!

Hi

Although Widmark and Duke didn't get on all of the time whilst making the Alamo Richard Widmark brought his own brand of expertise to the production and made many fine films.

RIP Richard

Regards

Arthur

TCM has plans to honor Richard Widmark...

http://www.tcm.com/movienews/index/?cid=197318

I loved his Jim Bowie, and his presence made The Alamo all the more awesome. I watched a movie in which he had a featured role and I didn't recognize him at all, Murder on the Orient Express, with Albert Finney as Agatha Christie's Hercule Poroit .

Rest in Peace Mr. Widmark.

Im going to have a private marathon of his movies when I get The Bedford Incident in from DDDvD.

He sure was great in all the films I saw him in. I don't yet have Kiss of Death but look forward to getting it. Anyway, I plan on watching:

The Halls of Montazuma, The Bedford Incident, The Long Ships, The Frogmen, The Alamo, Alvarez Kelly (again) Judgement At Nuremberg and Madigan.

One of the reasons JW and Widmark didn't see eye to eye was the fact that Widmark was a "Rabid " supporter of gun control and very anti gun on any level. The fact that he made his living with a gun in his hand in his movies didn't seem to bother him too much though.I enjoyed some of his movies but he always came off as a wanna-be.There was a story I heard years ago that he and JW met at a get together of sorts when Widmark was to play in Kiss of Death. Jw told him if he played that role that he would forever be type cast as a sniveling lunatic. A coward who preyed on the helpless and infirm.Well I never cared for Widmark after seeing that film but thats just my opinion.I have watched his other movies for what they are worth. It is sad to see these old Actors go and with them goes a large part of Hollywood history.Hopefully some of these new and upcoming actors can fill the void left by the true stars of Hollywood...RIP...DICK...

Two of my favorite Widmark movies were "Down To The Sea In Ships" and "Take The High Ground". I especially liked the second because it also featured a young Karl Malden. Both of them were DIs training Army recruits at a post in El Paso and both were vying for the attention of some good-lookin' gal (Elaine somethin').

TCM has plans to honor Richard Widmark...

http://www.tcm.com/movienews/index/?cid=197318

Just thought I'd (bump)this back to the top as TCM is about to salute Mr. Widmark. Stumpy, I think they're showing one of your faves tonight.

Stumpy, I think they're showing one of your faves tonight.

Thanks for the heads-up but unfortunately, I don't get the Turner movie channel. The wife and I hardly ever watch TV (except for the occasional local news or weather) so we don't subscribe to cable or satellite.

Take the High Ground was on last night and I finally got to see it all the way through. Usually I never catch it from the beginning. Anyway, Widmark and Malden were great in it as ell as Russ Tamblyn.

I bought Halls of Montezuma Broken lance & Alvarez Kelly, and felt he did well in the Alamoe.

I've enjoyed all Widmark's films, and thought he was especially good in westerns. The Alamo is pretty much my favorite Wayne film, and Widmark as Bowie only added to my enjoyment. The scene where he dismounts and joins Laurence Harvey, when his character could have left, was priceless. You never would have guess he & Duke didn't get along from watching the film. True pros!

He was quite good in the Alamo, but he aged horribly by the time he did Murder on the Orient Express. I had to watch that twice in a row just to convince myself that was indeed Widmark.

"When casting the film,although Widmark, was not his first choice,
Duke was initially elated, but this was to soon change.
"Duke took out an ad, in a trade magazine, that hailed Widmark's acting skills,
and it said in, big bold letters,

"WELCOME ABOARD DICK" "

From what I've read, that was another bit of urban legend. Richard Widmark went by "Dick" quite often and had no problem with it. Apparently the real problem occured
well before production began. The story I heard went something like this: both Duke and Richard Widmark were friends of Olive Carey. One nite while Duke was visiting Olive Carey, Widmark stopped by. When Duke saw him, Duke said something derogatory about Widmark's role in Kiss of Death. Richard Widmark never forgot it and when the casting was being done for The Alamo, Duke offered Widmark Travis. Widmark wanted Bowie. Duke said something about how he wanted someone big in the role, and Widmark said "I can play big". Richard Widmark didn't really want to do the film originally, but was between work at that time, and took it grudgingly. They DID seem to keep things professional on the set tho for the most part.

richard widmark was a class act in his films.he hardly made a bad movie.he was in some of the great westerns like yellow sky,the last wagon,backlash and of course the alamo.
in the last wagon, he didnt speak until 15 mins into the film.the western showed how good an actor he was especially when he didnt speak for about 15 mins that he had great presents on screen.one of my favourite actors

I'll have to find The Last Wagon, sounds like a goodie-

I'll have to find The Last Wagon, sounds like a goodie-


its a classic western alamo 221

Widmark held his own while working with some other giants in Judgement at Nuremberg.