Robert Mitchum was an actor that came to prominence in the 1940’s and 50’s. He never became as famous as other actors of the era like Humphrey Bogart, Paul Newman or Jimmy Stewart. In his movies, Mitchum accomplished a certain quality other actors couldn’t quite nail, he was always supernaturally calm and relaxed, never raising his voice or getting excited. It took me awhile to figure out what exactly this quality in his acting was.

Mitchum was the ultimate outsider. Leaving home at 16, he road the rails across America, he even did time in a Georgia chain gang. Once he became an actor they had problems casting him in parts that would personify his loner attributes. In 1948 after his career started to take off, Mitchum was arrested for possession of marijuana. This became major Hollywood news, to other actors this would have shattered their career. For Mitchum, it only enhanced his image.

(Incredibly, this is an actual court room photograph from the marijuana trial, not from a movie)

Once I learned of his arrest, things were much clearer to me. He was high in most of the movies I liked him in. This turned out to be the “X” factor I had been unable to describe about his acting. Take the beginning of this scene from one of my favorite movies, 1947’s Out Of The Past, one year before his arrest (and yes that’s Kirk Douglas)

TCM would like to thank Robert Mitchum for being both a trail blazer and a certified badass.