Robert Duvall is perhaps best known for his Academy Award -nominated, tour-de-force starring turn in The Great Santini, or the leading actor role for which he won the Oscar, in Tender Mercies. Duvall was also very memorable as Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore in Apocalypse Now. But did you know he got his start in 1960’s television, or that his first big screen part was as the mentally impaired Boo Radley in To Kill A Mockingbird? Here are a few films featuring Duvall’s lesser known, but just as enjoyable, performances that’ll have you saying, “I didn’t know that was Duvall!” or “I didn’t remember that Duvall was in that!”
The Chase (4/5 stars, not rated due to its age, currently priced at $2.99 to rent and $9.99 to buy) – This steamy pot-boiler follows the intrigues surrounding an escaped convict who attempts to return to the small southern town where he was raised. THE CHASE boasts Brando as a disillusioned sheriff, Dickinson as his unhappy wife, Redford as the wrongly convicted criminal and Fonda as his misbehaved wife.
Watch for Duvall in the role of Edwin Stewart.
Time Tunnel (4.5/5 stars, TV series, currently priced at $1.99 per episode to buy and $29.99 to buy the entire first season – 30 episodes) – Dr. Who and sci-fi fans, take note!
In the Chase Through Time episode, Tony and Doug chase a tunnel saboteur through the Grand Canyon and through time, from 1547 to 1 Million A.D. and back to 1 Million B.C. Duvall guest stars as Raul Nimon.
This series also features some surprising “before they were stars” guest stars, like Dennis Hopper in the first episode, so you might want to check out the entire series.
The Rain People (R, 4.75/5 stars, currently priced at $2.99 to rent and $9.99 to buy) – One of Francis Ford Coppola’s early films. Looking for a vacation from her marriage, pregnant Natalie wanders cross-country, coming to grips with personal responsibility. Robert Duvall co-stars as Gordon.
Amazon reviewer B. Holen says:
A brilliant character study of a pregnant woman who runs out on her husband and hits the road with no destination in mind. Years ahead of its time with its feminist viewpoint, this early Coppola film is sadly one of his least viewed. Shirley Knight is excellent as the troubled woman and James Caan is perfect as killer, a brain damaged ex-football player who Knight ends up befriending. The Rain People is a good example of 70’s cinema when characters mattered more than special effects or action-packed plots.
MASH (R, 4/5 stars, currently priced at $2.99 to rent and $9.99 to buy) – It may surprise you to know that Duvall, who’s mostly known for his more macho roles, plays the fussbudget Major Frank Burns in this film.
A pair of surgeons at a mobile army surgical hospital create havoc with their martini parties and their practical jokes on nurses and other doctors. Based on Richard Hooker’s novel.
The Godfather (R, 4.75/5 stars, currently priced at $2.99 to rent and $9.99 to buy) – Duvall teams up with Francis Ford Coppola a second time (and will do so again in The Godfather II and Apocalypse Now) to play Tom Hagen in this seminal gangster film.
Francis Ford Coppola’s epic masterpiece features Marlon Brando in his Oscar-winning role as the patriarch of the Corleone family.
The Natural (PG, 4.75/5 stars, currently priced at $9.99 to buy) – This award winning, Barry Levinson -directed Robert Redford vehicle co-stars Glenn Close and Kim Basinger, as well as Duvall in the role of Max Mercy.
Robert Redford stars in the inspiring fable of a baseball player’s major league dreams and the mysterious woman who shatters them.