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Marlon Brando: A Portrait

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I thought the book, "Marlon Brando: A Portrait," by Paul Ryan was well written and really very interesting. Although there was high praise for Marlon Brando throughout the book, there was also criticism. I found most of the criticisms of Mr. Brando to be undue and unfounded.

The photograph of Marlon Brando on page 187 of the book is one I had never seen before. It is also one that instantly brought me to tears. It is the photograph of a good and sensitive man in his darkest, most desperate hour. Anguish is written all over his face. There were those who said Marlon was "just acting" as he sat on the witness stand at his son's trial, but I strongly disagree.

Marlon was a father who loved his children with the whole of his heart and protected them in all of the ways a loving father protects his children. When he learned that his son would have to spend time in prison, he went to great lengths to try to ensure his son's well being in every way possible and he stood by his son through thick and thin, just as a father who loves his child would. At the same time, he was dealing with a suicidal daughter, one who ultimately came to take her own life despite Marlon's efforts to help her and to protect her from herself. It is unbelievable to me that Marlon would be accused of "acting" in this situation as if, just because he was an actor, he did not have real feelings, especially for his children.

Regarding Kenneth Anger's comments included in this book, I find them to be heartless and inhumane. What drives a person to such cruelty toward a fellow human being who is so clearly anguishing? I hope Mr. Anger had opportunity to rethink his comments and that he did so.

I believe that Marlon was the best among all actors because he was such a deep-feeling, deep-thinking, sensitive person inside. I think that anyone who can criticize him in the ways he has been criticized could not possibly have seen beyond their own noses when it came to looking at him for the person he was.

I was glad to see that the author of this book, Paul Ryan, included aspects of Marlon Brando's life on and off of the stage/screen and that the book was a well balanced piece of work. I disagreed with the author (and with Marlon) that Marlon could not do comedy, though. He cracked me up in "A Countess From Hong Kong," "Bedtime Story," and in "Guys and Dolls" when he ordered "Dulce Du Leche" with the "preservative" called "Bacardi" for Sister Sarah who became unwittingly intoxicated. I also had some good laughs watching Marlon in "The Freshman" and in "Free Money" as well as in some of the scenes in "Mutiny on the Bounty," including the scene in which Marlon Brando's character, Fletcher Christian, is told by Trevor Howard's character, Captain Bligh, to "make love to that damn daughter of his," referring to King Hiti Hiti's daughter, and Fletcher, who would love to "make love to that damn daughter" of King Hiti Hiti asks sarcastically and with a raised eyebrow, "Is that an order?" and then asks if it might be entered into the log.... :)

There was also a comment about Marlon being "miscast" in a couple of pictures. I do not think he was ever "miscast" in anything because he could do anything. He even sang in "Guys and Dolls," and, even though he said they pieced it together for him, I loved the tone of his voice and the attitude and tenderness he displayed with his singing words that might have been spoken had this not been a musical. I thought his performance outshone all others in the film, including that of Frank Sinatra. I liked the sweetness of Marlon's voice and the sincerity with which he sang so very much. As for him being "miscast" in "Mutiny on the Bounty" or any criticism that he was playing Fletcher Christian as a "dandified fop" and that this was a mistake, I think that is utterly crazy. Marlon MADE this film what it was and "Mutiny on the Bounty" is one of the best films ever made. Marlon's interpretation of Fletcher Christian was perfect and he acted the role to perfection just as he acted the roles of Stanley Kowalski in "A Streetcar Named Desire," Colonel Kurtz in "Apocalypse Now," Mark Antony in "Julius Caesar," Sir William Walker in "Burn," Paul in "Last Tango In Paris," Don Vito Corleone in "The Godfather," Terry Malloy in "On The Waterfront," Ian McKenzie in "A Dry, White Season," Quint in "The Nightcomers," Matt in "The Appaloosa," Weldon in "Reflections In A Golden Eye," Val Xavier in "The Fugitive Kind," Christian Diestl in "The Young Lions," Rio in "One-Eyed Jacks," and so many others. His interpretations of his characters were always fresh and he improvised details and actions that always added depth and interest to whatever role he was playing. He was reportedly fluent in French and appeared so in his roles as Bud in "Night of the Following Day" and as Paul in "Last Tango In Paris." He mastered the British accent in films such as "Burn" and "Mutiny On The Bounty" and an Irish accent in "The Nightcomers" as well as a German accent in "The Young Lions" and "Morituri," a southern accent in "Sayonara" and I think it was also a southern accent in "Reflections In A Golden Eye," a perfect Mexican accent in "The Appaloosa," and spoke Spanish in parts of "One-Eyed Jacks" with a perfect accent and intonation. I am in amazement of a person who demonstrated such talent and who cared so much about his art (and I do think acting in the manner in which Marlon Brando acted was an artform, even though he seemed not to think so...I do not think there are many who make acting an artform, but I think Marlon surely did) that he worked to perfect accents and actions, emotion, intonation and everything that matters in making each role an intriguing, interesting, fresh, unique, and exciting work of art.

I was also impressed with Marlon's talent as a director in his directing of "One-Eyed Jacks." What a fantastic film "One-Eyed Jacks" turned out to be. Monterey is one of my favorite places on earth. I live about 2 hours away. I go there when I can. I fell in love with the scenery and the detail Marlon included such as the ocean at high tide and the dust blowing up as he lay looking over it from a hill - the scenes, the sounds, the photography, the acting, the timing, and the perspectives from which scenes were shot. The beauty of the film is in the details - details Marlon always found and made optimal use of. I read that Marlon was a patient and perfectionist director which I am certain lent itself to the exceptional quality evident througout "One-Eyed Jacks" as well as the beautiful acting relationships and the story's unfettered flow.

I would like to comment about statements that there were some who, at times, became frustrated with Marlon in rehearsals. They said he "mumbled" or would not give his all. This is just a thought: I wonder if Marlon did not want to make the mistake of giving his all in a rehearsal and, instead, saved his emotional energy for the take. Even with "Julius Caesar," Marlon reportedly sent a tape recording of the "Let slip the dogs of war" scene to producers or to someone in charge of the film and those in charge were happily astounded and amazed at Marlon's recording, but then, it was said that Marlon "mumbled" in rehearsing the same scene in their presence. However, when the scene was put on film, everything about it sent chills through me - from Shakespeare's words to Marlon's giving life to those words with a voice and a portrayal that came from I don't know where - someplace deep within him. His actions in the scene to the expression on his face and the undeniable depth of soul in his eyes were chilling. As I once heard someone say, "Marlon acted all others in the film off of the screen." My point is that I believe that Marlon not giving his all in rehearsals could be because he saved the best for the actual take. Maybe the reason that some actors are already spent by the time they get to filming is because they have already acted their scene over and over so many times that they are drained and then the emotion is no longer there. Marlon quite obviously knew what he was doing. This is most assuredly reflected in his exemplary work in each and every film he made.

I would also like to comment about Louella Parsons who is mentioned in the book and who seemed critical of Marlon Brando - maybe because he would not give her the time of day (and, rightfully so, if that be the case). First of all, who is she? Who are these people who sit back in their chairs in offices with their feet up on their desk, criticizing the performances of others - performances they, themselves, lack the talent to put forth? It reminds me of a scale of justice. One side of the scale is weighted heavily because you have a brilliant actor who works tirelessly and invests his entire self into creating a piece of art. It is difficult, time-consuming, emotional, tedious, and draining at times, but he is creating a complex and beautiful gift for those who appreciate his talent and his willingness to share his unique gift. And, we get tremendous pleasure from it. The "weight" on the other side of the scale really makes no perceptible change in the scale's balance at all because there you have someone who gets paid to give her "opinion," an opinion she probably spent less than 5 minutes thinking up and one which also has no basis in fact or truth. It is just the fanciful whim of a person who believes her opinion is above the opinions of all others and one whose own opinion may be tainted and biased by personal feelings of rejection by the artist she is being paid to critique. Her opinion is like a grain of sand on a vast ocean beach, in my..........uh...................opinion.

I have to say that I so appreciated the inclusions of Marlon's humanitarian efforts toward alleviating human suffering and starvation (as a child, I trick-or-treated for Unicef, myself) as well as shedding light here in the U.S. on the struggles of the American Indian and efforts toward Civil Rights. I was happy to see that there were also inclusions about what a good and generous friend he was to Monty Clift and to others in their most desperate hours in life. He cared and it showed.

I was very pleased with the last pages of "Marlon Brando: A Portrait." Paul Ryan's commentary on these pages is insightful, poignant, heartfelt, and true. I would like to quote this entire part of the book because it was so moving to me, but I will leave that to others to read and judge for themselves.