Hamlette's Soliloquy

I'm starting to like Burt Lancaster. A lot.

That makes sense, you say. He's got massive shoulders. He's an Old Hollywood movie star, and Hamlette loves old movies. He made westerns and war movies, and Hamlette loves those kinds of movies. He's got a boyish charm, a quick grin, and a smooooth voice. Of course Hamlette likes him.

But for most of my 29 years, I haven't liked him. I haven't hated him -- I haven't avoided his movies, or at least not often. I just thought he was boring. Vanilla. White bread. Bland and uninteresting. Granted, I'd only seen him in a couple movies, like Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and From Here to Eternity, but he was pretty dull in them, so I didn't bother looking for more.

Then DKoren told me last year that one of her all-time favorite movies is The Professionals, which stars Lancaster and Lee Marvin and is a fun western romp. A few months later, I was at my parents' house and discovered that my dad had two copies of The Professionals. Sometimes that happens to him, because he can't always remember if he has a movie or not. When Johnnycake and I were home, he'd always ask us before buying a new movie, and we could tell him if he had it or not. But now we're gone, so sometimes he finds a movie he thinks looks good, buys it, and then I come to visit and discover he's got two copies of it. Anyway, Dad gave me one of his copies, and I watched it sometime during the winter.

And Burt Lancaster wasn't boring in it! He was sarcastic and sly and sexy, with a twinkle in his eye and a trick up his sleeve.

So I decided maybe I'd have to give him a second chance. But, my life being what it is, I didn't get around to watching one of his movies until this week. I saw Birdman of Alcatraz. And I loved it. And I loved Burt Lancaster. He was subtle, he was angry, he was loud, he was quiet, he was just plain cool. And did I mention he has the broadest pair of shoulders I've seen on a man since, oh, David Boreanaz?