Comments on: Vladimir Sokoloff: “The Hell with ALL the Acting Theories”

By: moirafinnie

moirafinnie — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 19:13:39 +0000

Hi Alan, I mentioned that Robert Ryan was one of Sokoloff's favorite students. A couple of sources mentioned that Vlad and Max Reinhardt reportedly believed that Robert Ryan's All American boy quality blended with his thoughtfulness made him a particularly effective performer. I did not know that our generous online pal Lisa received her name as a variation of the name of Sokoloff's wife, Elizabeth, but I do seem to remember that Lisa's mother and father had both reportedly appeared onstage at Vladimir Sokoloff's theater in Los Angeles at The Beachwood Theatre Studio. Hi Juana Maria, I suspect that many of us were first introduced to Vladimir Sokoloff for his excellent performances on television, particularly in that evergreen series, The Twilight Zone. You can see two of his performances in The Twilight Zone online for free at the links below: The Twilight Zone episode with Vladimir Sokoloff from the 1961 season: "Dust" The Twilight Zone episode with Vladimir Sokoloff from the 1962 season: "The Gift" Hi Al, Thanks for the kind words about Skeins of Thought From what I've read about the script for High Noon it had the fingerprints of most of the big actors of the time on it before Gary Cooper was approached about the role, including Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift and Charlton Heston. I wonder if Gregory Peck may have been a bit leery about Westerns after Duel in the Sun and The Gunfighter. The latter is a film that I think has stood the test of time, but was a financial disappointment for those involved. I envy you your experience seeing Peck reminisce on stage. Fortunately, his daughter Cecilia Peck and others were instrumental in making a documentary about her father's tours in the last years of his life, called A Conversation with Gregory Peck (1999) which you are probably familiar with too. Hi Jenni, I have mixed feelings about Back to Bataan (1945-Edward Dmytryk). The story seems to lose steam for me when it shifts away from the Filipino people in the story, such as the character played with such eloquence by Sokoloff, and focuses on the derring-do low budget war story. However, it is an example of fascinating wartime propaganda, along with this coming Wednesday's broadcast (on 1/20/10) of Mission to Moscow (1943-Michael Curtiz) on TCM, with a cast of thousands, (including Mr. Sokoloff). That unwieldy Howard Koch script seems to be based on a jaw-dropping script collected from the more rose-colored memos from the Office of War Information. Despite the grandstanding of the HUAC gang years later and the acquiescence of Hollywood moguls, the truth is that it reflected a great deal of American policy in the war years and wouldn't have made anyone a Commie, imho--though it should be seen to be believed. I appreciate each of you taking the time to respond to this post about a favorite character actor. All the best, Moira

By: Alan K. Rode

Alan K. Rode — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 17:48:04 +0000

Did you know… that Sokoloff and Robert Ryan were lifelong friends via the Max Reinhardt connection. Our friend Lisa Ryan was named after Sokoloff’s wife.

By: Juana Maria

Juana Maria — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:39:01 +0000

I have seen Vladamir Sokoloff in many films and thought he was great in those parts he played. He was also on the “Twilight Zone” episode “Dust”. He was wonderful in that one as a father who did not want his son to be hanged for accidently killing a little girl when he was drunk. “Twilight Zone” from the 50′s and 60′s had some really wonderful character actors on there.

By: Al Lowe

Al Lowe — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 16:29:50 +0000

Moira, I remember some of his performances such as the character in FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS. He was always good, better than what the script required. I hope he felt good about his career at the end of his life.

Incidentally, I read “Skeins of Thought.” You do a lot of good writing there, as you do here. I read about Gary Cooper and HIGH NOON. Gregory Peck was also offered the marshall role.
I heard him say this. He once came to Pittsburgh in a presentation called “A Conversation with Gregory Peck.” He said he turned the Will Kane role down because he thought it might be considered close to THE GUNFIGHTER. He said, though, that he thought he might have brought something to the part.
I read somewhere that Monty Clift was also sent the script but turned it down like he turned down a lot of roles – BUS STOP, SHANE, etc.

By: Jenni

Jenni — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 03:33:14 +0000

Fascinating post about a character actor I have seen, but knew so little about. I watched Back to Bataan about 6 months ago, and was moved by it, especially the scene you showed of Sokoloff playing the principal,refusing to lower the U.S. flag despite the threat of death. Thanks for writing this!