Henry Fonda

[sergioleonefan]

Hey guys, had a question for you?  Obviously Henry Fonda is a great actor and Once Upon a Time in the West is one of his best performances, but what other movies did you like him in?  I saw 12 Angry Men, and he was very good in that, but yeah, what other movies do ya'll like with him?

[Sackett]

I'll only speak of the westerns.  'The Ox Bow Incident', is not to be missed and "The Cheyenne Social Club" is good for chuckles.

[cigar joe]

My Darlin' Clementine is not bad though the hat he wears is a bit goofy, its also a tad bit racist towards Native Americans.

Fire Creek is supposed to be his first dabble as a bad guy but I haven't seen it.

[Beebs]

The Longest Day (or the Longest Movie as I sometimes call it.) was a great performance. He plays Teddy Roosevelt's son.

[Leone Admirer]

My Name Is Nobody, Ox-Bow Incident has already been said, The Wrong Man, Young Mr Lincoln, Advise and Consent are the films I enjoyed him the most in. 

[Tim]

  Firecreek is a good western where it seems Fonda is playing a similar character to Frank in OUATITW, a little less evil though.

  I also like his performances in Drums Along the Mohawk, The Grapes of Wrath, There Was a Crooked Man,  Battle of the Bulge, How the West Was Won,  and one of his best Mister Roberts.

  Most of these are available on dvd if you'd like to see them.

[KERMIT]

The Longest Day (or the Longest Movie as I sometimes call it.) was a great performance. He plays Teddy Roosevelt's son.

http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/roosev.htm

[cigar joe]

Hi Kerm, nice to see you gracing these pages again. Warlock isn't a bad western either.

[Sensei]

Hey guys, had a question for you?  Obviously Henry Fonda is a great actor and Once Upon a Time in the West is one of his best performances, but what other movies did you like him in?  I saw 12 Angry Men, and he was very good in that, but yeah, what other movies do ya'll like with him?

I absolutely agree with you. Fonda is becoming one of my favorite actors right up there with Eastwood and De Niro If you enjoyed "12 Angry Men" I recommend John Fords "Young Mr Lincoln" (starring a really young Mr Ford ). Just like "12 Angry Men" the plot is a trial and many points are made that makes you think. An awesome and sometimes funny performance by Fonda.

Fonda has one of the most awesome voices I know of, and he is really good at talking in this movie. I just gotta quote a scene from this movie that made me laugh so hard it hurt:

[spoiler alert!]

Lincoln: You say your name is J. Palmer Cass?
Cass: Yea.
Lincoln: What's the J stand for?
Cass: John.
Lincoln: Anybody ever called you a Jack?
Cass: Um, yes...
Lincoln: Why J. Palmer Cass? Why not John P. Cass?
Cass: Um, I dont know...
Lincoln: Anything the matter with John P?
Cass: No, but...
Lincoln: Has J. Palmer Cass anything to conceal?
Cass: No!
Lincoln: Then what do you part your name in the middle for?
Cass: I got the right to call myself anything I please as long as it's my own name
Lincoln: Well if it's all the same to you I'll just call you Jack Cass.

*Court breaks into laughter, judge bangs hammer and restores order, trial moves on*

*20 seconds later the judge starts laughing and says:*

Judge: Jackass! I just got it!

*Court breaks out in laughter again*

 

[Juan Miranda]

One great Fonda role not mentioned so far was his later collaboration with Sidney Lumet in FAIL SAFE. It's a paranoid, cold war armageddon thriller, which had the great misfortune to be released at the same time as DOCTOR STRANGELOVE. It played the end of the world for laughs, where as Lumet's film is frighteningly serious. Fonda again plays the US president, in a clammy and superb performance.

I still think he was never better in Ford's YOUNG MR.  LINCON though.

[Poggle]

Is it true that he was Leone's favorite actor?

[Leone Admirer]

Fonda was an actor Leone always wanted to use, from as early as Fistful and he always respected and admired him.

[Groggy]

"Fort Apache" and "The Grapes of Wrath" are my favorites, and "The Longest Day" is pretty damn good too.  I didn't much like "My Darling Clementine", to be honest.  "Warlock" was okay but nothing more IMO.

Since it hasn't been mentioned, I'd like also to add Anthony Mann's "The Tin Star".  Not one of my favorite films, but Fonda's great in it.

It should be pointed out, unfortunately, that I haven't seen "12 Angry Men" or "On Golden Pond".

[Tim]

  I'll second Juan Miranda's recommendation for Fonda's performance in Fail Safe.  With a large ensemble cast, sometimes people can get lost in the story, but Fonda stands out in this movie, especially in the last 30 minutes or so when he has to make a huge decision.

  Just reading these posts, you realize how many great movies Fonda was in.  His career started all the way back in the 30s and continued strong for almost 5 decades.  I think sometimes he gets overshadowed as a movie star, but the man surely made some great movies.

[Le Bon]

Like Leone admirer i think that one of his best performances was in Hitchcock's THE WRONG MAN
He was very good in FIRECREEK too and FORT APACHE.