by Nathaniel R
Yes, that guy! It seemed fitting to begin with a photo from one of Martin Balsam’s most famous pictures 12 Angry Men (1957) in which you can barely see him; Great character actors never get their due in Hollywood. So we wanted to make sure we gave a shout out to one of the key supporting actors of the 50s, 60s, and 70s today on what would have been his 100th birthday.
Unlike many headlining movie stars of the 20th century, his stage name was also his actual birth name…
He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the Bronx who weren’t in showbiz. The young Balsam caught the drama bug in high school. After World War II his professional career grew quickly during the late 40s and early 50s through lots of guest work on a wide variety of television series but it wasn’t until his breakthrough in 12 Angry Men (as Juror #1) that he began to make an indelible mark at the movies and fame caught up with his talent.
The television work continued (including Archie Bunker's Place, Dr Kildare, and The Twilight Zone) but many classic films followed including Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Cape Fear - both versions, The Carpetbaggers, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, All the President's Men, Murder on the Orient Express and Little Big Man, and. Eventually it was Psycho (1960) that eclipsed them all.
The ur slasher flick was an immediate sensation and Detective Arbogast (what a great character name, eh?) became part of movie history. You may recall that we recently listed his death scene as one of the most disturbing things we’ve ever seen in movies. For the past few days I’ve been wondering why it stuck with me so long and I think it’s twofold. First, it’s not as famous as the shower scene (so it plays more shocking, at least the first time through, due to less familiarity) but it is a masterful companion, bearing visuals echoes of that obsessed over scene with the phantom strike, the knife never actually touching the skin but a death blow nonetheless. Second, with Psycho’s subversion of the most mandatory of all storytelling rules, killing off its protagonist halfway through, your psyche desperately casts for another hero figure and latches on to Arbogast as the one most likely to rescue us from the horror. But there's no comfort in Psycho and anyone might be expendable if there's no protagonist.
Martin Balsam won the Oscar five years later on his first and only nomination for A Thousand Clowns (1965) providing that Best Picture nominee with its only win.
Lee Marvin (Cat Ballou), Julie Christie (Darling), Shelley Winters (A Patch of Blue), Martin Balsam (A Thousand Clowns)
Curiously he wasn't in the original Tony-nominated production of A Thousand Clowns (though much of the cast transferred to the screen) and though the show had two Tony nominations for acting, neither were for his character, the brother of the leading man (played by Jason Robards in both the play and on film).
Do you agree with his win in 1965? If not, what's your favourite Martin Balsam performance?