Mr Corleone is a man who insists on hearing bad news at once.
Lorie darlin’, life in San Francisco, you see, is still just life. If you want any one thing too badly, it’s likely to turn out to be a disappointment. The only healthy way to live life is to learn to like all the little everyday things, like a sip of good whiskey in the evening, a soft bed, a glass of buttermilk, or a feisty gentleman like myself.
We just can’t imagine any actor other than Robert Duvall delivering these lines. I can’t imagine Apocalypse Now!, The Godfather or Lonesome Dove without Duvall.
Duvall had the gift of finding the essence of each character. He had an unerring instinct to turn his roles into indelible characters. His supporting performances are as memorable as his starring turns.
Duvall was nominated for an Oscar seven times, including for The Great Santini, where his Colonel Bull Meecham organized his family with “Moving day. Let’s go, Hogs! Breaking camp. Everybody at the car in 5 minutes. Move it!” Duvall won the Best Actor Oscar for Tender Mercies.
Duvall started out as a New York stage actor, rooming with fellow struggling actor Dustin Hoffman, and then Gene Hackman. Working mostly on television, he amassed 50 screen credits before The Godfather. He did get to play Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Eventually, in 1968 he began to get roles in high profile movies: Bulitt!, M*A*S*H*, the John Wayne True Grit, Francis Ford Coppola’s early film The Rain People and he starred in George Lucas’ debut film, THX 1138
Robert Duvall in APOCALYPSE NOW!
Then came The Godfather in 1972, launching an amazming 12-year run that included The Godfather, Part II, Network,The Great Santini, Tender Mercies and The Natural. His most beloved performance came in 1989, as Gus McCrae in Lonesome Dove.
Between Godfather movies, he starred in a grievously overlooked neo-noir The Outfit, which I recommend streaming on Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube or Fandango.
Duvall himself had a sly sense of humore. He appeared uncredited as the plastic-covered corpse in The Conversation and the silent priest on a swing in Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
