Kirk douglas

Neither school, nor method, nor technique, the impetus of his own ambition was the main argument that led Kirk Douglas (Amsterdam, New York, 1916) to succeed in post-war American cinema. His vigorous personality, his iron determination to rise from the most modest strata – the son of humble Russian immigrants, of Jewish origin – to the golden hills of Hollywood, are the hallmarks of the self-made man who fulfills the American dream. . This is how he tells it in his memoirs, `The ragpicker’s son’, detailing the pilgrimage through all kinds of trades –dock loader, boxer, soldier in World War II– to support his family and pay for his studies . Goddess luck, never shy away from the chosen ones, rewarded his efforts after his first stint on Broadway. An “angel”, named Lauren Bacall, convinced the all-powerful Paramount producer, Hal Wallis, of Douglas’s worth as a counterpart to Barbara Stanwyck in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946). With the instinct of one who does not let opportunities pass him by, the former Issur Danielovich Demsky (his real name) took advantage of that opportunity to test his caste as an actor. Since then his film career would not stop growing.

With the unscrupulous boxer in El ídolo de barro (1959), he achieved consecration. Not only did he get his first Oscar nomination, he was also the revelation of a performer who fit the profile of intense, energetic, violent and often tragic types, victims of his aggressiveness and ambition. Memorable were the corrupt cop from Brigade 21 , the cynical journalist from El gran carnaval and the egocentric and tyrannical film producer from Cautivos del mal , directed by Vincente Minnelli . With this director he starred in another introspection into the world of cinema, Two weeks in another city , and what is perhaps his most valued role, that of Vincent van Gogh inThe madman with red hair(1956), a film where he squeezed all his talent to externalize the inner torment and madness of the impressionist painter. Even today he remembers the disappointment of not winning that year –and never– the golden statuette of the Academy, yes achieved 4 decades later by his son Michael.

Kirk Douglas’ stone face, graced by his unmistakable dimple in his chin, not only served to embody formidable villains—“virtue is not photogenic,” he said—and adventurers ( Ulysses , 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ), it also emerged energetic in defending noble causes. Unforgettable are Colonel Dax in the antimilitarist plea Paths of Glory , and the heroic Spartacus (1960). At that time, Douglas’s status had surpassed the canons of the old star-system, he chose the scripts freely and with a nose, he made his voice heard among the directors ( Anthony Mann was fired from Spartacus), had a production company running –Bryna Productions– and would even dare to direct the failed Scalawag ).(1973) and recover with Los justicieros del Oeste (1975) the flavor of the western that he had gone through successfully as an actor ( Lawless Prairie , Duel of the Titans , The Last Train from Gun Hill

The executive with an identity crisis in The Compromise (1968) would be his last great role. From the seventies, his interpretive sap would continue to flow ( Saturn 3 , The end of the countdown ), but used in discreet films. Kirk Douglas long ago moved away from the cameras, keeping his image of living glory of the cinema, possibly the last of the golden Hollywood. But it would be unfair to remember who has been one of the most vital stars on the screen like this. Luckily, Kirk Douglas, who died at the age of 103, will live forever dancing on the great oars of The Vikings .