Cocky! That is how one would describe Ben Gazzara having watched his 1957 film, ‘Anatomy of A Murder', an outstanding court room thriller produced and directed by Otto Preminger.
As Lt. Frederick Mannion, a US Army officer facing murder charges for the killing of an influential bar owner, who had raped his wife, Gazzara was a match for James Stewart, who effortlessly played his lawyer, Paul Beigler.
There is no denial of the killing. But delving into the law books, Beigler discovers a rarely used defence strategy, ‘Irresistible Impulse,' which leads to temporary insanity on the part of the accused. As the lawyer argues his case brilliantly, Lt. Mannion, ramrod straight and immaculate in his uniform, watches the proceedings with a kind of superior contempt. Most of the time, his gaze is fixed on his attractive and sexy wife, Laura. Both the book and the movie focussed on the insanely jealous nature of the army man and Gazzara fitted the role admirably to the extent of rushing away from the trial scene after a ‘Not Guilty' verdict, without paying his lawyer. His off the cuff remark? He had an irresistible impulse to do so.
Stage, his calling
Gazzara died recently at age 82, having been busy right till the end of his life. We in India, missed his best work because he seemed to prefer the stage to the screen. “You would call me crazy if I told you the number of plum movie roles I let go to concentrate on the stage,' he once told a friend.
Perhaps there was a reason for this. After successfully playing the role of Brick in the Eliz Kazan-directed Tennessee Williams play, ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' on Broadway, Gazzara found that MGM replaced him with the better known Paul Newman for the film version. Critics said that though Newman was excellent, Gazzara would have come out with a more intense performance. Gazzara's preference for the stage perhaps resulted from this betrayal.
Christened Biago Anthony Gazzara by his Italian migrant parents, Ben changed his name once he entered the entertainment world.
He grew up in a tough, gangster-filled neighbourhood and admitted later in life that it was only the love for acting which stopped him from turning into a criminal.
He gave up engineering to enrol into drama school. Gazzara made his debut in the 1954 NBC legal drama, ‘Justice,' which paved the way for regular stage appearances, mostly as an intense, brooding young man.
He was equally successful in TV serials such as ‘Arrest and Trial' and ‘Run for Your life,' where he played a terminally ill patient, planning the last two years of his life. Several nominations for the Emmy and Golden Globe awards followed.
His films, however, were only moderately successful though his performance in ‘A Rage to Live', ‘Young Doctor' and ‘Bridge at Ramagen' pleased the critics. But they were nowhere as successful and popular as his TV performances in ‘Al Capone', ‘Voyage of the Damned' and ‘High Velocity'.
Gazzara's stage and TV career stretched well into his late 70s and he was nominated three times for the Tony Awards.
Gazzara was married thrice. He also had a long affair with actor Audrey Hepburn with whom he starred in two films, Sidney Sheldon's ‘Blood Line' and ‘They All Laughed'.
