The Reason Robert Mitchum Was In Such High Demand As An Actor

Many movie stars of the Hollywood Golden Age were “the strong, silent type” — Robert Mitchum was definitely one of them.

That silence and piercing gaze meant Mitchum could play villains more convincingly than many of his contemporaries.

He played not one but two serial killers — Harry Powell in “The Night of The Hunter” and Max Cady in “Cape Fear” — before the phrase even entered the popular lexicon.

Even his heroic roles, such as Jeff Markham in the noir “Out of the Past,” had as much edge as the Hays Code would permit.Mitchum’s stardom even survived brushes with the law.

In 1949, he served two months in prison for marijuana possession.

So, why was Mitchum in such demand? It wasn’t just because audiences loved him.Where The Demand Came FromA 1982 Village Voice profile explores why Mitchum was popular with both Hollywood money-men and movie-goers.

For the former, it’s because he

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