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Film and Basehart blew my mind back in the day.


I saw this in the '50s and never forgot it. Richard Baseharts character doing surgery on himself freaked me out. I still recall him sweating and quivering. Is that the way it goes? He was removing a bullet I believe. Its been 50 years since i saw that.

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Yes, it seems like you have remembered it well. That surgery scene was AWESOME. All you see for most of the removal is Basehart's face as he struggles. He was unbelievable. The entire film is on YouTube, at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xun33RbLF-I

On that 1st page you get, you should be on Part 1 of 8, and are able to access the subsequent chapters from there.

The surgery scene is in Part 4. I just now watched the film, and the acting was by far the best part. Jack Webb is great in this too, playing a forensic dept. cop.

Mr. Basehart is sadly practically forgotten - a shame, he always gave 110% performances. Watch "Tension" or "La Strada." Wow.

Happy viewing!

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Glad to have someone who remembers the '50s on these boards! That scene with Richard Basehart removing the bullet was brutal. What a strong performance by an actor who never got the credit he deserved.

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What I also found interesting about his performance, which I agree was very good, was that even his voice sounded quite different from a lot of his later roles, the very obvious one being Admiral Nelson, in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.🐭

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That sort of reminded me of Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) operating on himself in "No Country For Old Men".

😎

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Yes, the self-surgery scene was intense, and Basehart carried it off with extreme effectiveness. He was a fine actor, and should have had a more prominent career as a leading man in theatrical films.

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