By Patrick F. Cannon

On a whim, and with enough time on my hands, I decided to watch a filmed version of Eugene O’Neill’s Long Days Journey into Night. O’Neill, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1936, based the play on his own family, which was notably dysfunctional. With a running time of 174 minutes, dysfunction gets its full due. Written in 1941, it was not performed on stage until 1956.

            Released in 1962, the film version stars Katherine Hepburn, Ralph Richardson, Jason Robards, Jr, and Dean Stockwell. All, of course, are long gone. Hepburn needs no introduction, and Robards is perhaps best remembered for playing Ben Bradlee in All the President’s Men. Richardson was an English actor of the same generation as Lawrence Olivier and John Gielgud, but less well known in this country. Dean Stockwell, who played the youngest son, based on O’Neill himself, had a long career on both stage and screen before his death in 2021. Then, a glutton for punishment, I decided to watch another O’Neill classic

            The Iceman Commeth – written in 1939, but first produced in 1946 – runs a full four hours! The version I saw was released in 1973. Its cast included Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Fredric March, Bradford Dillmann, and Jeff Bridges (the only one still with us); and a wonderful group of character actors you’ll recognize without quite remembering their names. All are great, but I would signal out Robert Ryan – from a noted Chicago family – for his performance as a disillusioned anarchist (the play is set in 1912).

            The location is Harry Hope’s (played by March) New York saloon, populated with a group of drunks and prostitutes, each living with his or her set of illusions. They are awaiting the annual arrival of Theodore “Hicky” Hickman, a travelling salesman who comes to celebrate Hope’s birthday, and who not only has great stories to tell, but buys the drinks! This time, he’s sober and bent on exposing everyone’s “pipe dreams.” I’ll leave it at that. You’ll have to watch it to see what happens.

            What struck me as I watched these filmed versions was how few of our more famous American actors ever take on these classical roles. It is as if a classical pianist never tested him or herself by playing the Beethoven sonatas. A notable exception is our greatest actor, Denzel Washington, who played Hickey in a 2018 Broadway production; and who has also taken on Shakespeare on several occasions. Another was Kevin Spacey, who has been blackballed for his alleged sexual misdeeds, for which he has never been convicted (he should run for president). Although not “leading man” types, the late Brian Dennehy, and Stacy Keach, both distinguished themselves in classic roles. And I should add Alec Baldwin as an actor unafraid to step on a stage.

            Most of our actors apparently don’t have the urge to test themselves, as the British do, in the great classic roles, whether Shakespeare, O’Neill, Williams or Miller; just as our singers prefer to sing their own songs instead of classics like Gershwin, Porter, or Berlin. It’s a pity, really. Actors like Tom Hanks or Leonardo DiCaprio are certainly capable of taking on Hickey in The Iceman Commeth. They could certainly afford to. Are they afraid to test themselves against the past? Or is it just easier not to?

Copyright 2024, Patrick F. Cannon