Words matter. These are the best Rod Steiger Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
I’m not so sure that younger people today really appreciate the enormous bravery that went into the creation and production of that film, or how important a film at the time it really was.
I was pleased when the picture was over I fit in all right and I spoke well enough as I said before, cause I was scared to death there for a minute. I mean, you’re doing a scene with somebody like that or they’re watching you or something, you’d better come up with something.
If he didn’t fall in love he would have never come back near the end of the film. Because, what man is going to dishonor himself so that he comes back in front of the man that took a woman away from him… and warns her to save her life?
He got up and there were both of us in our underwear and this kid goes through the whole thing again, all the closets, the bathroom, everything else and then he left.
I said ‘well, I’ll kiss her twice, you see? We’ll come around, I’ll kiss her, and if you put a little more track down for the camera, then I’ll put my tongue down her throat and you’ll get what you want’. He said ‘You think so?’
I didn’t ever think of it as a social thing at the time. I took it as a good story. Maybe because I’ve always been kind of progressive so I never thought of it, you know.
If you see the picture when things get exciting, he chews faster. When he really gets shocked, everything stops, including the chewing. So I worked it in for me.
He saved the production a tremendous amount. Now they did the scene where Omar is on the horse and he’s in the deep snow, they went to Finland to do that. That scene they went to Finland for a week. I wasn’t around then.
Only after awhile. After it came out and people began to engage in discussions about the social reflections of the film that I realized it had an importance I hadn’t thought of.
‘The Mark’ I played a psychiatrist. And in the ’50’s everybody went to a psychiatrist because if you didn’t, you’d have nothing to talk about at cocktail parties.
Anyway, so what he did was, he spread sheets for 100 yards and underneath them he’d put things so there were bumps and different levels and on top he’d put little bushes and if you didn’t look to close, it looked like snow!
Now that was one thing, but from an actor’s point of view, this poor young man, crying from the moment I opened the door to the moment he left. Now if an actor did that they would say he’s over-acting.
I was very pleased you know, and I was afraid that I might stick out, but I didn’t. My happiest thing about that picture is that I proved that American actors can speak as well and also fit in with an ensemble like that.
Is this a proposal? I’m married now, you know.
