Jack Palance

[RCMerchant]

 Jack Palance! A great actor,whether in westers,war,horror,expliotaion...or narrating Ripley's "Believe it...Or Not!", he always sounded and looked sinister. Anyway...what are your 3 favorites...and why? Oh yeah..no way could I post his vast filmography...so If  I missed your favorite, you can vote other,and b#ych me out about it,no problem!

                                                     


Oh yeah...mine are PANIC in the STREETS, MAN in the ATTIC and ALONE in the DARK....and always watched Ripley's!

[soylentgreen]

It's real early, but I'm the most fond of PANIC IN THE STREETS. 

I think it's wonderful for him to be so fondly thought of and remembered by so many people.  For a guy with an arguably menacing visage, he beat the odds of becoming just another tough guy heavy used in throwaway roles involving little or no characterization beyond grunting and looking threatening.

His career across all different genres is a marvel.

Some of my favorite roles for him are in those early 80s scifi/horror flicks...the kind of kooky s**t roles most actors wouldn't touch.  And of course, his firm anchoring in late 20th century pop culture via Ripley's Believe or Not cannot be overstated.

Here's to you, Jack. 

[The Burgomaster]

I had to go with SHANE, which is one of my top 5 favorite westerns and features a slick supporting performance by a young Jack Palance.

[Dennis]

I think his most menacing role was as Jack Wilson, the gunfighter from "Shane", also enjoyed Curly in "City Slickers" but my favorite Jack Palance  character is Henry Jekyll/Edward Hyde in the TV movie "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" from 1967.

[Jim H]

No Requiem for a Heavyweight?  That's probably the best movie starring him I've seen...

It is a TV movie acted out live and now preserved only because of kinetoscopes, but it is still worth seeing - well-made across the board.

[ulthar]

No way to pick ONE (again...these polls are TOUGH), but for the shear fun of it, I picked ALONE IN THE DARK.

It was the first 'slasher' type movie I saw that did not have to stretch believability with a supernatural villain.  He was real person with a real problem killing for a 'normal' reason.

And that made it scary.

[the ghoul]

I voted for "other" because my favorite Palance film is "The Mercenary" (Il Mercenario), which is a much better western than either "Companeros" or "Can Be Done, Amigo."  Those two are very good, especially "Companeros," but they are not in the same league as "Il Mercenario," which I think may be the best non-Leone spaghetti western.  I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it, but get the widescreen full-length version.

[biff_debris]

Dracula for the win. I have fond childhood memories of this one, and I need to see it again, for sure.

[BeyondTheGrave]

I have to admit I haven't seen alot of his movies but I did like him in Alone in the Dark.

[Scott]

I picked SHANE, but almost went with CITY SLICKERS or DRACULA (1973). He's also good in COMPANERO'S and YOUNG GUNS.

What? No GODS GUN? 

[JaseSF]

He's awesome in ATTACK (1956) which would be my pick if it were on the list.

[Torgo]

What.......no Angel's Revenge?     

[Neville]

My vote would also be for Robert Aldrich's "Attack". Excellent movie, and Palance was at his best there. If I had to pick a trashiest or more recent film, that would be "Cyborg II". I can't tell if he could understand what the hall was going one, but he stole the show anyway.

[Andrew]

I have to say that he had many better roles, but I think my favorite is him as Mercy in "Cyborg 2."  Jack Palance, as the troubadour cyborg!  How can you not like a cyborg warrior poet?  Especially one that spouts stuff like, "If you're going to dine with the devil, you'll need a long spoon!"  (Imagine Palance saying that, it is ridiculously funny.)

[Raffine]

JACK PALANCE ALERT!

The fairly obscure Jack Palance film THE MAN IN THE ATTIC (1953) is playing on TCM Thursday at 12:30 AM CT. It's a remake of THE LODGER, with Palance as the suspected 'Jack the Ripper' character.

Also with: Frances "Aunt Bee" Bavier.