Jack Nicholson has had the greatest career in Hollywood history. His status as a star is now in its 34th year, which is nearly as long as John Wayne’s run. Even an icon can have some overlooked films, and here are some of Nicholson’s lost gems:
• The King Of Marvin Gardens (1972). Nicholson is a bland radio personality who ventures to Atlantic City in its pre-casino days to help his irresponsible brother (Bruce Dern). Dern portrays a dreamer whose wild moneymaking schemes are likely to get him into trouble with the local mob. This was director Bob Rafelson’s follow-up to his classic Five Easy Pieces, and it explores similar themes of strained family relationships. Marvin Gardens failed to click with audiences because of its surrealistic style, but now it is regarded as one of the best films of the ’70s.
• The Passenger (1975). Nicholson chose the great Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni (L’Avventura, Blow-Up) for his one foray into European art cinema, and the result is a triumph. Nicholson gives a subdued performance — you wouldn’t expect anything else in an Antonioni film — as a reporter who meets a mysterious stranger in a desolate hotel in Africa. When the man is found dead, Nicholson assumes his identity as a means of escaping his own life. He soon discovers the man was a gunrunner, but Nicholson recklessly continues his journey into very dangerous territory. In international polls, critics cite The Passenger as one of the greatest films ever.
• The Missouri Breaks (1976). Here is a rare case where Nicholson was upstaged. Marlon Brando, in his loopiest performance, steals the show as a regulator, an old Western term for bounty hunter, who is hired by a rancher to stop a gang of cattle rustlers led by Nicholson. Brando dons various disguises and accents as he stalks his prey one by one. He even appears in drag. Nicholson is also good in the less flashy role of an outlaw who is softened by the changes in the old West. Expectations were high for the teaming of the two giants of acting, but audiences were disappointed that the two stars shared little screen time together. The Missouri Breaks bombed, and Arthur Penn’s peculiar Western became one of the most maligned films of the ’70s.
• The Pledge (2001). Just as Nicholson retires from the police force the body of a murdered young girl is discovered. He makes a pledge to the girl’s parents to find the killer, and it becomes his lifelong obsession. Nicholson continues his quest in his new life, and it slowly affects his mental state. The Pledge is more about the character than the crime, and Nicholson gives one of his greatest performances as a man losing touch with reality. The great actor Sean Penn proves that he is also a great director. The Pledge is a dark and disturbing film.
This article appears in Dec 18-24, 2003.
