Reed had a certain charisma; however, in all the movies I've seen him in he seems to have a single facial expression, and a single tone of voice. A completely frozen demeanor that suited him to certain roles, but was limiting and often monotonous to watch.
shareHe was very good in certain roles. He did a great job as a menacing villain in several movies. He was also good in horror movies. I don’t recall ever seeing him in comedy or romantic roles.
shareHe was great in Women In Love(1969). I've never seen someone portray the frustration and realities of romantic thrall so convincingly. Alan Bates was very sympathetic in that film too.
shareI have not seen that. After I wrote my comment, I remembered that he was in the three musketeers. He was pretty good in that, and it was sort of romantic comedy.
shareHe was the star of a spoof called The New Spartans: https://popcultmaster.com/2018/08/14/sparse-spartans/
shareHannibal Brooks is a comedy
shareReed is one of my favorites and Hannibal Brooks is one of his best movies. If you contrast his portrayal of Brooks as a gentle, somewhat reluctant WW2 hero to some of his more brutal roles, nobody could ever call him one-dimensional.
shareI can call him one-dimensional. Maybe two. But well-suited to certain roles.
shareTwo of a Kind was a comedy where he played the Devil. He was hysterical.
shareHe was exceptional in the right role - probably a limited actor, I agree.
His best roles from those I’ve seen - Women in Love and (especially) The Devils. Ken Russell certainly seemed to know how to make the most of Reed’s talents.
So many credits and I've only seen him in Gladiator--exceptional performance in that one.
You should see the Colosseum, Spaniard. Fifty-thousand Romans...watching every movement of your sword...willing you to make that killer blow. The silence before you strike and the noise afterwards. It rises. It rises up...like a storm. As if you were the thunder god himself.
Gladiator was the only one I had seen til last year. Now I’ve seen 41 of his movies!
shareHe's always been one of my favourites. If ever an actor was born to play Bill Sikes it was Reed. Absolutely chilling.
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