MITCHUM MOST WANTED Part One

Even a century after his birth, Robert Mitchum remains one of cinema's all-time greatest stars. His uniquely hard-boiled screen persona effortlessly radiated both detachment and danger. A fluently instinctive performer, who was as comfortable playing lugubrious losers, as he was handsome heroes. He is an actor always worth watching, no matter how mediocre the production. My extensive collection of his films is an obsessive work-in-progress. The following are the most wanted and unavailable titles of his filmography still out of reach  in North America on DVD or BLU-RAY:

THE LUSTY MEN (1952: Dir. Nicholas Ray)

Robert Mitchum did some surprisingly strong work in his early career under contract to Howard Hughes at RKO Studios. Having mostly collaborated with journeymen or rookie directors, Mitchum had yet to experience the dominant vision of true auteur, until he met Nicholas Ray. Ray was a filmmaker fascinated by the outsider. Obsessed with individualists, his cinematic legacy left us with some of the most memorable rebels of all-time (They Live By Night, In A Lonely Place, Rebel Without A Cause). Their first meeting came when director Josef Von Sternberg was fired from the film Macao (1952) and Ray was brought in to complete it. Demonstrating a largely hidden writing talent, Mitchum even collaborated on a revision of the largely nonsensical screenplay. Following that fruitful partnership they quickly went into production on The Lusty Men, a contemporary Western drama that contains the quintessential Mitchum protagonist. As broken down rodeo rider Jeff McCloud, Bob gets to play all the melancholy notes using his perfect physical instrument. With his broad barrel chest, brooding bedroom eyes, graceful gait, and laconic manner, Mitchum oozes animal magnetism from every pore. Mindful of his sexy leading man, Ray keeps all of the erotic undercurrents at a rolling boil as fiery Susan Hayward and folksy Arthur Kennedy spice up the story's tragic love triangle. One of Bob's best and a criminal omission on Blu-ray.