MovieChat Forums > Rich Man, Poor Man (1976) Discussion > Rating the Performances

Rating the Performances

posted 9 years ago by rcocean3
6 replies | jump to latest

A+
Nick Nolte - The man who made the series. A perfect fit of role and star, except for the fact that Nick was 34 and made a rather unbelievable 18 y/o at the Start!

William Smith - One of the most memorable TV villains ever. The man you love to hate.

A

-Susan Blakely. Very lovely and does everything her part requires. Its amazing she does so well with a character that is all over the map. She a young virgin, no she's an actress, no she's in love with Willie, no she in love with Rudy, no she's in love with Booze, no she's just cynical.

-The Irish chick who won the Emmy.

-The Swedish guy who played Tom Jordache's Uncle.

-Robert Reed. Mr. Brady is very smooth and believable as the silky cynical Teddy Boylan.

B+

Peter Strauss - I feel guilty for not being more positive given his dull role - but he doesn't have the charisma necessary to make us root for this dull straight arrow as he climbs to the top. Its only around episode 6 or 7 when he evolves into an angry, controlling rich guy that he shows some acting chops.

B

Ed Asner - Not impressed. An Emmy, really? Pretty monotone and a very fake accent. Never understood the love for the performance. Maybe it was the contrast with his Mr. Grant character.

Bill Bixby - BB does well as the sniveling loser at the end and when dealing with his kid but is unbelievable at the start as a charismatic, sophisticated writer who would sweep Julie off her feet.

Pretty much everyone else.

C
Norman Fell Come on. Mr. Roper as a tough boxing trainer. Sorry, no sale.
Dick Sargent - Wooden.
Steve Allen - Why did he even bother?

[–] harryzinnerman 9 years ago

Wheras I agree Nolte made the series, I must disagree with your opinion on Ed Asner. Everything he said to Tom was negative, but you could see in his eyes he actually loved him. Actually he felt guilty that through nature and nurture, Tom's weaknesses were down to him.

[–] LukeCoolHand 8 years ago

rcocean3 You are wrong about Norman Fell. You are letting his portrayal of Mr Roper influence you just like people couldn't see Buddy Ebsen as anthing but Jed Clampett AFTER the Beverly Hillbillies. This came out BEFORE 3's Company and MR Roper. Before that he had played in a lot of varied parts as a cop or tough guy. Watch episodes of 87th Precinct or Bullitt W/ Steve Mcqueen to see what I mean. You are like the people who saw AIRPLANE or Naked Gun before seeing Leslie Nielsen in all his great dramatic roles before that.

[–] phillindholm 8 years ago

Liked Norman Fell's performance. I thought Ed Asner deserved his Emmy. Dorothy McGuire should have had one, too. I wish Gloria Grahame had been given more to do, but I thought she did well. In fact, she was the reason I watched it in the first place.

[–] phillindholm 8 years ago

[–] jackbnimbleharvardblue 8 years ago

Asner should be in the A-plus range with Nolte. His German accent was authentic and his range was excellent. Strauss should be in the A range, the way he slowly turned into his father was played very well!

[–] Noir-It-All 7 years ago

Gloria Graham's short time us the very definition of the Oscar curse. She excelled at playing sexy, sad women in many, many roles for years! She could have done so much more with her role in the series.