Comments on: McGraw & Me

By: Dennis Daily

Dennis Daily — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 07:35:18 +0000

I knew Charles through my father, Pete Daily of Pete Daily and his Chicagoans. Charles could be as tough in real life after a few drinks as he was on screen.

By: Alan K. Rode

Alan K. Rode — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 06:02:56 +0000

Hi Phil, I am glad you noted McGraw's performance in The Bridges of Toko-Ri because it is one of his best performances on screen- arguably the high point of his movie and television career-that is frequently overlooked. The final scene on the aircraft carrier bridge where Charlie faces down Frederic March was remarked on prominently in my book. Best regards, Alan K. Rode

By: Phil Southerland

Phil Southerland — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 18:12:50 +0000

Charles McGraw was one of a kind. I still remember the impression he made on me in “The Killers,” which I saw when it was originally released and in which he appeared with my radio favorite William Conrad. (Both had marvelous voices, though McGraw’s wasn’t used there.) Sadly under-rated, I think, because not that often mentioned, was his performance as the Air Group Commander (CAG) in “The Bridges of Toko-Ri.” He really caught the essence of what it means to command and to lose one of your men in combat. The scene in which he stands up to the admiral (Frederic March) says it all.

By: Carbubble

Carbubble — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 10:07:19 +0000

This is from my favorite Film Noir "B" Movie - Narrow Margin made in 1952. This is Marie Windsor (Mrs. Frankie Neall) along with Charles McGraw (Det. Sgt. Walter Brown). She plays a tough talking broad and he's the cop transporting her to Los Angeles by train.Before he meets her in person, his partner, Gus Forbes, asks him about her.Forbes: "What about this dame?"Brown: "She's a dish."Forbes: "What kind of dish?"Brown: "A sixty cent special... Cheap, flashy and all poison under the gravy."You just don't get that kind of dialog any more...

By: MDR

MDR — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 21:56:55 +0000

I never thought of that, Moira, and you could be right – Charles McGraw does bear a striking resemblance to "Fedora Man";-)

By: moira finnie

moira finnie — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 13:05:49 +0000

*Mild Spoiler about Spartacus Below* It's great to hear that a biography of this memorable character actor is pending. Two of his most memorable roles for me is as the gladiator instructor in Spartacus, (who literally ends up in the soup).The other, unheralded role is as the figurehead logo of TCM. I swear that's got to be his blockhead under the fedora that looms up whenever films are introduced in the evening on the network, though others may have other candidates. Whatever the part, even the most underwritten and hackneyed ones, he brought an indelible verisimilitude to it.Btw, in Lee Server's bio of Robert Mitchum, "Baby, I Don't Care", he quotes Mr. McGraw at length regarding his rather un-p.c. friendship with the star, pursuing good times whenever and wherever possible.

By: RHS

RHS — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 01:37:45 +0000

It's a funny old world, isn't it?

By: Brian Olewnick

Brian Olewnick — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 01:23:07 +0000

Foreword by Jim Steranko?!?! There's a weird intersection. You're 13 and adulating Charles McGraw; when I was 13 I was doing the same for Steranko. Otherwise, I can't imagine what they had in common!

By: Barney

Barney — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 17:06:29 +0000

He is truly one of the unsung heroes of the film noir genre. It's hard to image what "The Narrow Margin" would have been like without his tough, cynical verbal sparring with Marie Windsor. And his presence adds immeasurably to Anthony Mann's "T-Men" and "Border Incident." The guy was even a great straight man in comedies like "Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town" and "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World." What a terrible way to die, though! Being impaled on a piece of sharp glass after slipping in the shower and falling through the glass door!