DOUBLE FEATURE 11.06.20
Sean Connery's 2 Best
Even though Sean Connery, who passed away at the age of 90 last week, hadn’t appeared onscreen since 2003 (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), the iconic Scottish actor made an indelible mark throughout his career. So much so that fans may have thought he never stopped working over the last 17 years.
Could it be that he was the first actor to bring James Bond to the screen, originating a film franchise that continues with Daniel Craig as the suave, unflappable 007? Connery could have played Bond for the rest of his career, but he famously chose to walk away to prevent type casting.
While he appeared in more than a dozen films in the 1970s, including John Huston’s brilliant The Man Who Would Be King, some of his most memorable roles came in the 1980s. They include Indiana Jones’s dad in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and his Oscar-winning turn as Jim Malone in The Untouchables, Brian De Palma’s thrilling gangster pic about Eliot Ness’ dogged pursuit of Al Capone. Connery’s Malone assassination at the hands of Capone henchman Frank Nitti is one of the saddest movie deaths of that decade, primarily because Connery created such a likable larger-than-life character. Even with a cast including Robert De Niro and Kevin Costner, The Untouchables still belongs to Connery.
The Hunt for Red October, based on Tom Clancy’s Cold War action-thriller, was a perfect late-career vehicle for Connery, who played a Soviet submarine captain on the brink of defecting. As he had so often done, Connery stole the show. Since his first appearance as Bond in 1962’s Dr. No, his magnetism never diminished and grew with age. His appearance in any film always made a good one better. Red October remains a highly entertaining big-budget action flick, and Alec Baldwin delivered a reliable Jack Ryan, but Connery’s presence made the film memorable. And better.
