We Remember the Late Kirk Douglas with a Behind-the-Scenes Look at a Dozen of His Greatest Roles

#12 ‘Champion’ (1949)

Kirk plays Michael “Midge” Kelly, a guy who, desperate to pull his life together and help those around him, turns to boxing and has a shot at a championship. But then he’s told to throw the fight, which he has no intention of doing.

DARWIN PORTER: “Kirk, as boxer Midge Kelly, ‘a fighter without a soul,’ skyrocketed to stardom in this gritty boxing drama. Directed by Stanley Kramer, he played a young man who fights his way to the top, knocking out his opponents in the ring and backstabbing both his friends and his women.

“Champion was Kirk’s first big film success. After its release, Variety hailed him as ‘an overnight screen star.’ He won raves for his performance as the cocky killer in the ring, whose life ends tragically as he is literally pounded to death. Film offers poured in after his performance, which brought him an Oscar nomination.”

#11 ‘Out of the Past’ (1947)

Robert Mitchum plays gas station owner Jeff Bailey, who used to be a private eye, and is desperately trying to shake his past. Kirk plays criminal Whit Sterling, who starts coming around again and won’t let things lay.

DARWIN PORTER: “Co-starring with Robert Mitchum, Kirk made his second film as Whit Sterling, a hood with charm, charisma, and refinement, giving an electrifying performance as a smooth-talking, deceptively even-tempered racketeer.

“At the time of its release, Out of the Past was interpreted as a routine film noir, but today it’s considered one of the best films of that genre. Also, as the girl desired by both of the main characters, Jane Greer is perfectly cast.

“Out of the Past is hailed as the masterpiece of its director, Jacques Tourneur.”

#10 ‘The Bad and the Beautiful’ (1952)

Movie producer Jonathan Shields (Kirk) has made a career by crushing anyone who has gotten in his way, but now he finds that he needs a writer, director, and actress that he abused in the past while making them successful and the question is whether or not they’ll work with him.

DARWIN PORTER: “Kirk had said, ‘Clark Gable turned down one of my all-time best roles as the ruthless director, Jonathan Shields. He betrays all those around him, namely Lana Turner, Dick Powell, and Barry Sullivan. I modeled my character after David Selznick, who threatened to sue. I enjoyed luscious Lana and sultry Gloria Grahame on and off the screen. Gloria, in her role of a Southern belle, won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar.’

“In another demanding role, Kirk received almost universal praise for his chilling performance. One critic called The Bad and the Beautiful ‘the most exacting and detailed study of the Dream Factory ever presented in the movies.'”

#9 ‘Lonely Are the Brave’ (1962)

Now this is an interesting twist: Kirk plays a cowboy who intentionally gets himself arrested, and, once in jail, begins planning an escape for himself and an old friend.

DARWIN PORTER: “The once blacklisted Dalton Trumbo was called back once again to write the film adaptation of a western novel about a lone cowboy, Jack Burns. This was one of Kirk’s proudest achievements, and he didn’t want it treated like a routine western; perhaps something that might be shown in art houses instead.

“His cowpoke cannot adjust to the modern world and dreams of the days of the Old West, its old-fashioned values, and those barroom brawls. He’s like a man unwilling to buckle down to civilization, more like someone who belongs to a distant past. His life ends tragically as he and his horse are killed on the open road by a diesel truck.”

#8 ‘Seven Days in May’ (1964)

Martin “Jiggs” Casey (Kirk) is serving as aide to the President of the United States (Frederic March) when he discovers that General James Scott is plotting a military coup in seven days, and must figure out how to prevent it. One of the writers is Rod Serling, creator of The Twilight Zone.

DARWIN PORTER: “It’s a political thriller and suspense story about a coven of men, led by Burt Lancaster, plotting to overthrow the U.S. Government. Directed by John Frankenheimer, it sends a message: Beware of the military/industrial complex.

“As Col. Martin Casey, Kirk learns of the plot and alerts the rather weak president in a role cast with Fredric March. On the set, Kirk had a reunion with Ava Gardner and resumed their long-ago fling off screen. Lancaster was given his choice of roles, choosing the glacial villain, General James M. Scott. As an honest, patriotic public servant, Kirk is the more sympathetic of the two characters.”

#7 ‘Paths of Glory’ (1957)

Kirk finds himself in the middle of a complicated situation when he is told that three innocent soldiers are going to face court-martial for a mistake made by his superior officer. Directed by Stanley Kubrick.

DARWIN PORTER: “Of all the films depicting World War I, All Quiet on the Western Front and Kirk’s Paths of Glory rank at the top. Under the direction of Stanley Kubrick, Kirk created one of the all-time anti-war masterpieces. The picture was so realistic that France refused to allow it to be shown because of its unfavorable depiction of the French military.

“As a colonel, Kirk leads his men on a doomed mission where most of them are likely to get killed. His most memorable line was, ‘At times, I am ashamed to be a member of the human race.’

“He received a Best Actor Oscar nod, as he had for Champion.”

#6 ‘Detective Story’ (1951)

Detective James McLeod (Kirk) is a cop with no tolerance for criminals, and his views interfere with a case involving an abortionist who has claimed at least one victim. From there, secrets are revealed that threaten to destroy his very world.

DARWIN PORTER: “Before filming began, Kirk spent time at Manhattan’s 19^th Precinct to prepare himself for the role of the ruthless police detective, James McLeod. Helmed by William Wyler, he was guided through one of his most memorable performances, playing a character who prejudges others, but ends up destroying himself.

“As his long-suffering wife, Eleanor Parker gave one of her best performances, winning a Best Actress nomination.

“’I was told to play the role like a one-man army against crime, a real authoritarian sadist,’ Kirk said. ‘I dealt with crooks by smashing their face with my fist.'”

#5 ‘Gunfight at the O.K. Corral’ (1957)

What seems like a good idea at first goes disastrously (and historically) wrong when lawman Wyatt Earp (Burt Lancaster) and outlaw Doc Holliday (Kirk) decide to put their differences aside, which ultimately leads to the infamous gunfight that nobody leaves happy from (but how many gunfights do result in happy participants?).

DARWIN PORTER: “Based on an actual gunfight at the O.K. Corral in 1881, this western features Burt Lancaster and Kirk battling the Clanton Brothers. ‘Okay, to tell the truth, Hal Wallis wanted Bogie but got me,’ Kirk said.

“Set in Tombstone, Arizona, Kirk plays an ailing Doc Holliday: ‘I spend much of the film coughing. Burt is a peace officer, and I have a whore for a girlfriend (Jo Van Fleet). I’m the black sheep of an aristocratic Southern family, a jaded idealist, and a bad dentist.’

“The film was the best western of 1957 and locked Kirk into starring in westerns for most of the rest of the 20^th Century.”

#4 ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’ (1954)

Set in the late 1800s, this Disney classic sees a team of people (including Kirk as harpooner Ned Land) setting out to sea to hunt a giant sea monster that has reportedly been attacking ships. Instead, they find the advanced submarine captained by James Mason’s Nemo.

DARWIN PORTER: “This was the first movie Disney ever made with live characters. It cast Kirk as a roguish sailor, Ned Land. Opposite him was James Mason as Captain Nemo, who mans a crew in an 1870 submersible ship as it explores the mysteries of the ocean’s depths. As a harpoonist, Kirk is at his best battling a giant squid. This fantastic tale was based on the writings of Jules Verne, its special effects appealing both to adults and kids. Many of the underwater sequences were shot in a huge tank at Disney Studios.

“’The role gave me an ample chance to romp, strut, and carouse, but Walt made me shave off my beard,’ Kirk said.”

#3 ‘Lust for Life’ (1956)

In what was an extremely different role for him, Kirk took on the character of Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh in a telling of his life story.

DARWIN PORTER: “A beautiful, tragic, and rather astonishing performance, Kirk portrayed one of his all-time memorable roles as the doomed painter, Vincent Van Gogh, who cuts off his ear. Based on the artist’s self-portrait, Kirk even looked like Van Gogh. Many location scenes were shot at the exact spots which the artist had depicted in his paintings.

“Director Vincente Minnelli said, ‘I think no actor but Kirk could play this tormented genius.’ Kirk said, ‘I’m proud of this one. But I lost the Oscar to Yul Brynner. My buddy, Quinn, won Best Supporting Actor for Paul Gauguin. There is no justice in the world.’”

#2 ‘The Vikings’ (1958)

A long feud has gone on between Viking Prince Einar (Kirk) and the slaved Eric (Tony Curtis), which grows increasingly worse when Einer kidnaps the intended bride of King Aella (Frank Thring), Princess Morgana (Janet Leigh). Things get a wee bit more complicated when Einar learns that Eric is his half-brother.

DARWIN PORTER: “Ranking with Spartacus as Kirk’s second greatest screen epic, The Vikings was filled with visual grandeur, with many of its scenes shot in Norway. It was produced by Kirk’s own production company, Byrna, and he wanted it as authentic as possible, even duplicating Viking ships. He had to play the part with a patch over his eye, after his character lost the sight in one in a battle with the character played by Tony Curtis, who dies after being thrown into a pit of giant, man-eating crabs. In the last scene, the body of Kirk’s character of Einar sails off in a flaming funeral barge on its way to Valhalla.

“’I was pretty damn proud of it, but some dumb critics called it a ‘Norse opera,’ Kirk said.”

#1 ‘Spartacus’ (1960)

Whether he likes it or not, this is likely the role that Kirk will always be best known for, playing the Thracian gladiator who leads a revolt against the Roman Republic.

DARWIN PORTER: “As the Thracian slave revolting against Rome a century before the birth of Christ, he immortalized himself for his acting, as well as for having boldly hired the blacklisted Dalton Trumbo to write the screenplay. Kirk said, ‘Never have I worked with such formidable co-stars, the best actors in Britain: Laurence Olivier, Peter Ustinov, Charles Laughton, and my character’s love interest, the beautiful, talented Jean Simmons.’

“Fans flocked to see Spartacus, expecting orgies and chariot races. Instead, they were treated to one of the biggest battle scenes ever to reach the screen. Its filming required 8,000 ‘soldiers,’ all of them hired in Spain.

“’We did a hell of a job,’ Kirk said, as he sat through what was to become his biggest hit.”