Thursday 30 April 2020

Early Redford

Most devotees of classic film, and collectors of classic quotes, know of the dismissal of Fred Astaire's performance at his first screen test: “Can’t act; slightly bald; can dance a little.”. Less well-known (indeed I cannot trace a Web reference) is an assessment of the young Robert Redford by an equally obtuse studio underling: “Just another Hollywood blonde; throw a stick on the beach and you would hit half-a-dozen of them.”

Well, the chance comes to assess that aspirant actor tonight on the CBS Justice channel. In 1960, five years before his big screen credit in Situation Hopeless -- But Not Serious followed by Inside Daisy Clover, he launched his career playing numerous parts in TV series. One such was the Perry Mason episode being screened tonight at 6 p.m. (and repeated tomorrow at mid-day).

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