jody
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Subjective, I know. But I've now watched Night of the Living Dead three times, and I'm bored.
10. Donald Pleasance. Face it. Any movie became eerie by Pleasance's presense. Even "The Great Escape", possibly because he'd actually been a POW and had been tortured by the Germans. But he could also do comedy (The Hallelujah Trail), and played both heroes and villains with equal believability.
9. Peter Cushing. In real life, one of the kindest men ever to take the screen - and he had a comforting quality that showed through as Van Helsing or Sherlock Holmes. But as Baron Frankenstein or Moff Tarkin, he could be equally chilling.
8. Vincent Price. Chewed the scenery more than Al Pacino - but made you enjoy it as much as he did. Could be the brave protagonist, or the callow fop. Could be psychotic killer, or the Pharoah's slavedriver. Go back and watch Dr. Phibes to see what he could do with only his eyes and a slight grin. And not only was he Batman's Egghead, he helped sell about 200 million copies of Thriller. Not too shabby.
7. Bela Lugosi. Gets a bad rap for his prima donna ways, campy style, and later indulgences. But when Dracula was made, Lugosi was already a stage legend. Would have also played Frankenstein's Monster, had director James Whale been able to stand him. Walt Disney hired him to create the demon's hand gestures used in Fantasia's "Night on Bald Mountain" sequence. And although he rarely played sympathetic characters, look at his work in "Son of Frankstein" or "The Body Snatcher". So iconic that his characterization of Dracula is still the image most peope have - and Jim Henson even turned him into a muppet.
6. Peter Lorre. Parodied and almost comical, but added character to every movie he appeared in - including classics such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Creepy as a clammy hand on your shoulder, and never needed makeup to do it. And if you've never seen "M", it is one of the most unsettling performances of all time.
5. Christopher Lee. To date has made more films than any living actor, in all genres. Accomplished operatic singer, dancer, artist, and lecturer. Reknowned for his titler role in "Jinna". Considered one of the best character actors of all time, he was actually up for the role of James Bond before Sean Connery - and for Dr. No before eventually playing Scaramanga. Served in Britain's Special Services during WWII, and once advised a director about the correct sound a knife makes when entering a human body.
4. Dwight Frye. Most people don't know the name, because he so completely lost himself in roles such as Dracula's "Renfield" or Frankenstein's "Fritz". But from the 1920's to 1943, he appeared in countless comedies, westerns, and dramas. Known as The Man With the Thousand Watt Stare, he specialized in loonies - but was set to play Secretary of War Newton Baker in the film "Wilson" before dying of a heart attack at the age of 43.
3. Anthony Hopkins. Everyone thinks of Hannibal Lecter. Everyone knows he's a superior actor. But most people forget Dr, Van Helsing, Quasimodo, Bruno Hauptman, Cory Withers ("Magic"), Frederick Treves ("The Elephant Man"), and Adolph Hitler. That's not just a great horror actor. That's a great actor, period.
2. Bill Pratt. If you don't know the name, that's because most people knew him by another. But that was the name on his mailbox, and that's who kids thought was reading them stories when they went to the home of their kindly neighbor each Halloween. He was originally a truck driver from England who took roles as heavies and gangsters in early James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson films. He went on to play everything from Shakespeare to Indian chiefs to Fu Manchu. And in his signature role, he wasn't even credited at first - as the screen merely showed a "?" next to the role of "The Creature". During filming of the sequel, he frequently went home to mow his yard during lunch - in full makeup. Boris Karloff.
1. Lon Chaney. His gift for pantomime came from being the child of deaf-mutes. His makeup skills were born of necessity, after a studio head told him he'd never make more than $100 a week in Hollywood. Eventually, those skills led people to say "Don't step on it. It might be Lon Chaney". But he was also an accomplished stage actor, comedian, song and dance man, and marvelous baritone. And he played far more than merely "monsters". In fact, his role as the drill sergeant in "Tell It To the Marines" was his highest grossing film - and so elated the Corps and its members that he was made an honorary Marine, and was provided a full Marine honor guard at his funeral.
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