Cowpokin’. Swashbuckling. Athletics. Action scenes that have proved difficult for many actors to carry off on screen, thus the profession of the stunt double. If it were PC to say so, we’d say some leading men look like sissies swinging a bat or thrusting a saber. In a boxing film or scene, a double can only fill in if the scene is shot from the rear. Bloke’s gotta carry his own weight. Which actors have done it best?
Robert Ryan, “The Set-Up”, 1949 (Ryan had been boxing champ all four years at Dartmouth, and it showed in this role he took at 40)
Sly Stallone, “Rocky”, 1976
Errol Flynn, “Gentleman Jim”, 1942
John Garfield, “Body and Soul”, 1947
Kirk Douglas, “Champion”, 1949
Anthony Quinn, “Requiem for a Heavyweight”, 1962
Elvis Presley, “Kid Creole”, 1958
Paul Newman, “Somebody Up There Likes Me”, 1956
Robert DeNiro, “Raging Bull”, 1980
BCB
