This last weekend I spent the time watching several of Chuck's films, and thought it would be interesting to see how most people in here view him.  He has a long and impressive film career, having appeared in over 125 movies.  His roles have covered everything from Moses (and God) to Taylor, Julius Caesar to Wayne's World.

However, in recent years many people have commented more and more on his political involvement.  A supporter of President Reagan, he was until recently the President and Spokesman for the NRA.

The reason I am placing this in Politics is because of his often controversal stances and speeches.

Wait a minute, run that by me again, Charlton Heston is a left-wing radical?

I say he's a right-wing demagog, but he's an old man going around the bend a bit. I don't think he's a threat to anything.

huh, when was he ever left wing or in the middle?

huh, when was he ever left wing or in the middle?

He was in the middle of a Michael Moore movie!
8)

Chuck was actually one of the major forces in social change in Hollywood in the 1960's and 1970's.  It is just that it is rarely remembered, or looked at in it's proper perspective.

In 1956 he campaigned for  Adlai Stevenson, a Democrat.  He did so again in 1960, campaigning for JFK.  And long a civil rights advocate, he marched in Washington with Martin Luther King Jr.  In fact, in 1969 he was approached to run as a US Senator in California, as a Democrat.

In fact, some of his many film roles show his politics:

The Planet of The Apes:  Chuck was the driving force behind this movie being made.  He worked for over 5 years on this project.  He read the original book (which the author considered a throw-away sci-fi book), and turned it into something more.  By the time it was made, he changed it from cheezy sci-fi into a social commentary on racism.

The Omega Man: Yet another Heston driven movie.  Out of everybody he could have picked for a love interest, he himself choose Rosalind Cash, an African-American actress.  The movie was also given some racial commentary by the use of makeup.  All of the "Vampires" looked the same, black or white.  THis movie was banned in many areas of the South because of the romance sceens between Heston and Cash.

Soylent Green:  A strong commentary on over population, polution, and resource depletion.  And just like his first major role (The Greatest Show On Earth), had some commentary on Euthenasia.

It is interesting on how somebody can be seen as one war from one generation, and as totally different from another.  All 3 movies I listed above are somewhat unusual, in that Heston himself was the driving force behind their being made.  He picked the story, steered the screenwriters in how he wanted ot to end up, and urged the studios to make them.  2 of them have strong racial commentary imbedded in them, and the third deals with strong ecological issues.

In almost every other film he worked on, he was simply filling a role that was assigned to him.  But in his most personal films, he choose themes that went along with his political beliefs.

And do not confuse gun rights with political beliefs.  Nobody goes around calling John Kerry a Right Wing radical, yet he is also an avid gun owner and hunter.  And JFK had a private skeet range in his Mass. home.

one of the things that always struck me was how the movie heston's character watches over and over again in "omega man" is woodstock. that always struck me as weird given what i'd always heard about his politics.

so i'll go ahead and vote left wing radical, just so somebody votes for it. you can have my vote when you pry it from my cold dead hand!

OOohh, I'm glad somebody raised this point.

Heston is the perfect example (to me at least) of somebody moving progressively further and further toward the right as they age.

This is a trend in society and Chuck seems to be the personification of it.

(Kinda like all the 65+ Jews that voted for Buchanan  ;))

so i'll go ahead and vote left wing radical, just so somebody votes for it. you can have my vote when you pry it from my cold dead hand!



ROTFLMAO!!!!



Cat

The term opportunist comes to mind.

The term opportunist comes to mind.


Opportunist?  I really don't understand where that is comming from.

When Heston made those movies, he was at the height of his career.  He could have made movies about almost everything, why these subjects?  This was during a time-period that he was able to "write his own ticket".  Production companies would go out of their way to make a movie in a way that would make him happy, even if it made the movie less profitable.  In fact, other then Planet Of The Apes, the other movies in that era were only mildly successfull.  Both Omega Man and Soylent Green left an impression on people, but were not huge boxoffice successes.  Of the three movies I list, POTA was the most personal one for him.

I happen to be a big fan of those movies, and own all of the movies as well as the TV show and several doccumentaries.  Heston worked for almost 5 years to have this movie made the way he wanted it.  The original book was certainly not any kind of political satire on racism, and the script he rejected and had rewritten by Rod Sterling was changed because he thought that is what the story should really be about.

In fact, in the earliest makeup tests, Edward G. Robinson was originally to be Dr. Ziaus.  Even in 1966 the movie was hard to sell because of the obvious references to racism.  Heston himself put up a lot of his own money for rewrites and screen tests.

The same with Soylent Green and The Omega Man.  Both went out of their way away from source material to become political commentaries on society.  Soylent Green was based on a novel called "Make Room! Make Room!", which largely dealt with overcrowding.  There was no mention about a greenhouse effect, destruction of the environment, euthenasia, cannibalism, riots where the people arrested were turned into food, or that women were nothing more then "furniture".

And in The Omega Man's source I Am Legend (as well as the earlier movie The Last Man On Earth with Vincent Price), everybody involved was white.  All of the Vampires were white, and the female love interest was white.  Why would Heston insist that an unknown African-American actress get the part?

as a tangent, omega man totally sucks. i saw it for the first time recently and was really disappointed.

not to take anything away from soylent green.

Chuck was actually one of the major forces in social change in Hollywood in the 1960's and 1970's.  It is just that it is rarely remembered, or looked at in it's proper perspective.

In 1956 he campaigned for  Adlai Stevenson, a Democrat.  He did so again in 1960, campaigning for JFK.  And long a civil rights advocate, he marched in Washington with Martin Luther King Jr.  In fact, in 1969 he was approached to run as a US Senator in California, as a Democrat.


These activities make him a "Left Wing radical," eh? YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT? ^

Ironically, If Stevenson's opponent, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, ran for President today, you know what he would be called?
A "Left Wing radical"!
For chrissakes, today's GOP would call Gen. Douglas MacArthur an "appeaser" because he opposed a "land war in Asia."
::)

These activities make him a "Left Wing radical," eh? YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT? ^

Ironically, If Stevenson's opponent, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, ran for President today, you know what he would be called?
A "Left Wing radical"!
they'd never even let him get through his military-industrial complex speech. he'd be booed off the podium. never mind the thing about how many elementary schools you can buy for the cost of one bomber.

they'd never even let him get through his military-industrial complex speech. he'd be booed off the podium. never mind the thing about how many elementary schools you can buy for the cost of one bomber.

How about the part about connecting the building of bombers with people who are hungry and not fed, and people who are naked and not clothed? That's why I refer to him now as "Ike the hippie"!

I can just imagine a present day GOP stump speech:
Yeah, Eisenhower, that commie pinko flowerchild, he doesn't believe in "personal responsibility," he doesn't think people should take responsibility for feeding and clothing themselves, he thinks the nanny state should take care of all those lazy kids, he wants to cut defense spending and make America weak. And what the H#ll does Eisenhower know about the military anyway? He didn't even...
Oh...wait a minute, who wrote this? David Frum, you're fired, go home and beat up your girlfriend some more!
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/12/grommit.gif

i kinda like ike. :-[

he was far from perfect, but i'd take him, an FDR or a JFK over any of these characters we've had lately.

wasn't much for his VP though.

Opportunist?  I really don't understand where that is comming from.





 

His star was on the wane, and his best days past when he became one of the darlings of the Reagan set.  He was able to parlay his Hollywood contact with Reagan to become a celebrity voice for the party, which seems to be acceptable only if you are a conservative.  Just as with Reagan the onset of Altzheimers was looked on by the right as good common sense.  ::)

His star was on the wane, and his best days past when he became one of the darlings of the Reagan set.  He was able to parlay his Hollywood contact with Reagan to become a celebrity voice for the party, which seems to be acceptable only if you are a conservative.  Just as with Reagan the onset of Altzheimers was looked on by the right as good common sense.   ::)


Every movie I listed was done in the late 1960's and early 1970's.  Ronald Reagan was a minor political figure during that time, and was not even in office when POTA was made (at the beginning of Pat Brown's second term).  And that period was at a high point in his career.  A few years before he had won an Oscar, and in 1962 he won a Golden Globe.  SAG gave him a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1972, and he won the Western Heritage award in 1968 for Will Penny.  A great many of his costars were nominated for Oscars, and several won Oscars for costaring with him (this was during the period where the Academy was hesitant to renominate an actor who had previously won).

Right before he signed on to do POTA, he had made "The Agony And The Ecstasy", what many consider to be one of his finest performances ever.  And right before filming started, he stared as Marc Anthony in "Julius Caeser".  During the same period he also made Earthquake, Skyjacked, The Three Muskeeters, The Four Muskateers, and Anthony & Cleopatra.  Every one of those movies was critically acclaimed.

During this time period, Ronald Reagan had long retired.  In fact, his last paying job ended in 1965 with the end of "Death Valley Days".  He became Governor of California in 1970, and was actually one of the most Liberal Governors in the nation at the time.

But I guess the only thing that matters is what he has done the last 10 years or so.  Anything he may have done in the past was meaningless.  And his work with the Kennedy family and Dr. King was also some kind of publicity stunt, along with this speaking up during the HUAC hearings.  Those were all smokescreens for his true beliefs I suppose.

But I must admit I don't care one whit about Charlton Heston.

http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/09/sleep.gif

in soylent green he sorta plays a slimy character who knocks women around quite a bit.

But I must admit I don't care one whit about Charlton Heston.

http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/09/sleep.gif



Totally agree with you there.




Cat

well he cares about you. :(

well he cares about you. :(



He does? I didn't think he even knows that I exist.




Cat

He does? I didn't think he even knows that I exist.




Cat


I would say at this point he doesn't know that he exists.

Right before he signed on to do POTA, he had made "The Agony And The Ecstasy", what many consider to be one of his finest performances ever.  And right before filming started, he stared as Marc Anthony in "Julius Caeser".  During the same period he also made Earthquake, Skyjacked, The Three Muskeeters, The Four Muskateers, and Anthony & Cleopatra.  Every one of those movies was critically acclaimed.



Personally, I like some of those movies, but was never a Heston fan and couldn't for the life of me understand why he was cast at all, for quite a while I kept getting him mixed up with Burt Lancaster, to whom I have a strange aversion.

well he cares about you. :(

Hey, enough the guilt-tripping me about Uncle Charlie already!

Hey, enough the guilt-tripping me about Uncle Charlie already!
even as we speak charlie is softly weeping. :\'(

I would say at this point he doesn't know that he exists.

Yeah, remember Reagan's second term? Heston is only the spokesman for the NRA, Reagan was supposed to be "the leader of the free world"!
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/13/icon_shaking.gif

But I must admit I don't care one whit about Charlton Heston.

http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/09/sleep.gif


All that keeps Charlton Heston alive is that we believe in him.