The Stax Report Salutes Gene Hackman
Lex Luthor turns 73 today!
by Stax - January 30, 2003

Stax here with a special birthday tribute to Gene Hackman!
The two-time Academy Award-winning actor turns 73 years old today. In honor
of this occasion, I'd like to spotlight some of my favorite performances by Gene
Hackman:

Superman: The Movie, 1978, dir. Richard Donner; and Superman II, 1980, dir.
Richard Lester. These two movies from my childhood are the films that introduced
me to Gene Hackman. Along with Marlon Brando, Hackman was the other "big name"
in Warner Brothers' first big-screen take on the Man of Steel (Christopher Reeve). As
Superman's diabolical yet droll nemesis, evil genius Lex Luthor, Hackman sneered,
smirked and schemed his way through what would eventually be three Superman films
(the less said about Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, though, the better). Purists may
still be peeved that Hackman's Luthor wasn't quite like his comic book counterpart but
for a generation of filmgoers Hackman IS Lex Luthor.

Unforgiven, 1992, dir. Clint Eastwood. Unforgiven is Clint's Oscar-winning Western ponders
the consequences of violence and is a somber reflection on his own bloodsoaked cinematic
legacy. William Munny (Eastwood) was a murderous outlaw until his (now deceased) wife
cured him "of drink and wickedness." Now an unsuccessful farmer caring for two children,
Will reluctantly agrees to pick up his guns again in order to collect a bounty on a pair of
cowpokes who disfigured a prostitute in the town of Big Whiskey. Will is accompanied on
his mission by his old saddlepal Ned (Morgan Freeman) and the cocky 'Schofield Kid'
(Jaimz Woolvett).

Will returns to his former ultra-violent ways after the sheriff of Big Whiskey, Little Bill
Daggett (Hackman, in his second Oscar-winning role), kills Ned and beats the hell out
of Will. Needless to say, William Munny shows Big Whiskey why he was once such a
feared man when he finally confronts Little Bill and his goons. Richard Harris shines as
foppish hired gun "English Bob" who happens to be an old foe of Little Bill's. English Bob,
like Will, is beaten to a pulp by Bill (who snidely calls him "The Duck of Death" rather than
"The Duke of Death").

Prime Cut, 1972, dir. Michael Ritchie. The indomitable Lee Marvin plays Nick, an enforcer
for the Irish mob in Chicago. Nick's sent down to the boonies of Kansas to investigate the
disappearance of one of his associates. This gangster had been sent to Kansas City to deal
with a mobbed-up farmer named "Mary Ann" (Hackman). Mary Ann runs a slaughterhouse
and, well, that missing associate ended up being ground into sausage! (And you wondered
what those ballpark franks were made of.)

Mary Ann and his equally nasty brother also run a sex slave/prostitution ring out of this
slaughterhouse, pimping out drugged-up runaways like Sissy Spacek (in her film debut).
Naturally, Nick ends up in a violent conflict with Mary Ann and his rednecks, and tries to
save Sissy Spacek's character along the way.


The French Connection, 1971, dir. William Friedkin. It's been thirty years since this seminal
police procedural was released but its influence remains strong (watch this to see where TV
series like NYPD Blue and Law & Order derive their visual sensibilities from). This fact-based
tale follows NYPD narcs "Popeye" Doyle (Hackman's first Oscar-winning role) and Buddy Russo
(Roy Scheider) as they methodically hunt down a French crimelord (Fernando Rey) and his
stateside Mafia accomplices (including movie mobster-for-life Tony Lo Bianco). This Best
Picture-winner boasts compelling characters, an engrossing story, and still-exciting action
sequences (including a legendary car chase). This film remains a tribute to the hard-living
street cops and their often lonely war against crime.

The Royal Tenenbaums, 2001, wr/dir. Wes Anderson. This clever and witty tale is about how
a family of geniuses, the Tenenbaums, are reunited in order to deal with the return of their
patriarch, the obnoxious (disbarred) attorney Royal Tenenbaum (Hackman). Having long been
shunned by his family for his callous and patronizing manner, Royal returns home with tragic
news: he's been diagnosed with stomach cancer and has only six weeks to live. With his time
unning out, Royal tries atoning for his past failings as a husband and father and hopes to forge
new friendships with his family. But will the other Tenenbaums bury the hatchet? And is there
more to Royal's return than just his illness? The cast includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller,
Anjelica Huston, Danny Glover, Luke and Owen Wilson, and Bill Murray.

Under Fire, 1983, dir. Roger Spottiswoode. This hard-hitting drama covers war-torn Central
America in the late 1970s/early 1980s. Photographer Russell Price (Nick Nolte) compromises
his ethics when he photographs a dead Nicaraguan rebel leader in a ruse to make the world
think that he's still alive. At first, Price is almost as mercenary as Oates (Ed Harris), an American
soldier of fortune whose path has crossed Russell's before. He eventually takes sides in the conflict
and carries on an affair with fellow journalist Claire (Joanna Cassidy), who is also the ex-lover of
hotshot network newsman Alex Grazier (Hackman). Russell and Claire must evade the military
after their neutrality becomes questionable.

Geronimo, 1993, dir. Walter Hill. This lavishly produced, well-intentioned biopic of the fierce Apache
leader was co-written by John Milius and Larry Gross. Its biggest mistake was to make its title
character a supporting player. Instead, Geronimo follows U.S. cavalry officers Charles Gatewood
(Jason Patric) and Britton Davis (Matt Damon) and, quite frankly, they're just not as compelling as
the renegade Apache (Wes Studi). Gene Hackman plays General Crook who struggles to understand
Geronimo even as he tries to conquer him. Robert Duvall is famed scout Al Sieber who employs
Apaches to hunt down other Apaches. Despite its shortcomings, Geronimo tells an important story
from a dark chapter in American history.


No Way Out, 1987, dir. Roger Donaldson. Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman, and Sean Young star
in this loose remake of the Noir classic, The Big Clock. Costner, a Navy hero assigned to the
Pentagon, is having a fling with an amorous D.C. socialite (Young). When she's killed by her
other lover, who happens to be the Secretary of Defense (Hackman), Costner realizes he'll
become the prime suspect in her murder if their affair is uncovered. Hackman and his insanely
devoted aide (Will Patton) concoct an alibi that blames Young's murder on a near mythic Soviet
mole allegedly operating within the Pentagon.

What they set in motion, however, proves that this Soviet mole actually exists and that he's much
closer to them than they realize. Costner's character investigates Young's death while also
shielding himself from suspicion. The film's ending is still shocking and memorable.

Crimson Tide, 1995, dir. Tony Scott. Essentially Mutiny on the Bounty set onboard a nuclear
sub, I thought this entertaining thriller was crassly sold as a blatant rip-off of The Hunt for Red
October. Denzel Washington plays Lt. Commander Hunter, the stalwart first officer of the USS
Alabama, which is commanded by the stern Capt. Ramsey (Hackman). Needless to say, their
relationship deteriorates to the point where Hunter is forced to try and take over the vessel from
Ramsey after it appears that Russian rebels are preparing to nuke the U.S. There was so much
that I enjoyed about this intense military thriller that I couldn't help but be disappointed by two
very unnerving elements.

The first is the all too obvious script doctoring performed by Quentin Tarantino; the glib dialogue
about comic books draws far too much attention to itself. My other grievance is when Capt.
Ramsey uses the "N word" during the climax. The film suddenly introduces racism into the mix,
transforming Ramsey from a seasoned but unyielding military man into a bigoted nutcase. I liked
Crimson Tide better when it was the procedural and attitude differences that put Hunter and
Ramsey at odds. Viggo Mortensen and James Gandolfini co-star.

Night Moves, 1975, dir. Arthur Penn. Gene Hackman plays Harry Moseby, a private eye who
accepts the task of locating an aging Hollywood starlet's (Janet Ward) spoiled daughter (Melanie
Griffith) who has run away. Harry takes this seemingly easy gig in order to escape marital strife
(wife Susan Clark is two-timing him). Harry's investigation leads him to the Florida Keys and to
the realization that there's far more going on here than some little rich girl who flew the coop.
Harry soon finds himself ensnared in a web of murder and corruption. Night Moves, one of the
most unappreciated films of the 1970s, helped re-define the detective genre along with Chinatown
and The Long Goodbye. Hackman recently appeared in Twilight, which borrowed many elements
from this film.


Mississippi Burning, 1988, dir. Alan Parker. This still-controversial Oscar-nominated film stars
Gene Hackman as a no-nonsense Southern career FBI agent and Willem Dafoe as his by-the-
book partner. They're investigating the disappearance (and murder) of three civil rights activists
in a brutally racist Mississippi town. Their investigation leads them to the KKK and to the town
sheriff's wife (Frances McDormand) who knows more than she can reveal.

Critics slammed Mississippi Burning for altering history and for making white FBI agents the
heroes of the story when it is well known that J. Edgar Hoover despised blacks (and Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., in particular). Critics also fault the film for portraying black people as too scared
and helpless to defend themselves, and for casting white Southerners in a stereotypical light.
Admirers of the film credit the performances of its cast and its visceral depiction of one of
America's worst times.

The Conversation, 1974, dir. Francis Ford Coppola. This "lost classic" features what is arguably
Gene Hackman's best screen performance to date. Hackman brilliantly underplays his role as
withdrawn, paranoid surveillance expert Harry Caul who is hired to tape a conversation between
a seemingly benign couple (Cindy Williams and Frederic Forrest) that soon sounds like a murder
plot. Fearing that his enigmatic corporate benefactor, "The Director" (Robert Duvall), will kill this
young couple, Caul becomes conflicted and refuses to hand over his tapes to the Director. The
truth, however, is not quite what it seems. Hackman would reprise this role (sort of) in Enemy
of the State.
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