Jack Palance

Actors

Jack Palance (born Volodymyr Palahniuk (Ukrainian: Володимир Палагню́к); February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006) was an American actor of Ukrainian descent. Known for playing tough guys and villains, he made his film debut in Elia Kazan‘s Panic in the Streets (1950), with Richard Widmark, Paul Douglas. Barbara Bel Geddes, and Zero Mostel. His next role was in Lewis Milestone’s Halls of Montezuma (1951), with, Widmark, Richard Boone, Jack Webb, Martin Milner, Neville Brand, Reginald Gardiner, Robert Wagner, and Karl Malden.

Palance was nominated for three Academy Awards, all for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, receiving nominations for his roles in David Miller’s Sudden Fear (1952), with Joan Crawford; and George Stevens’ Shane (1953), with Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Brandon deWilde, Emile Meyer, Elisha Cook Jr., and Ben Johnson; and winning the Oscar almost 40 years later for his role in Ron Underwood’s City Slickers (1991), with Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, Bruno Kirby, Patricia Wettig, Helen Slater, and Noble Willingham. He also won a Primetime Emmy Award for Best Single Performance by an Actor for the playhouse 90 episode Requiem for a Heavyweight (1957), with Keenan Wynn, Kim Hunter, and Ed Wynn.

Other notable films include Rudolph Maté’s Second Chance (1953), with Robert Mitchum and Linda Darnell; Flight to Tangier (1953), with Joan Fontaine and Corinne Calvet; Victor Saville’s The Silver Chalice (1954), with Virginia Mayo, Pier Angeli, and Paul Newman; Douglas Sirk‘s Sign of the Pagan (1954), with Jeff Chandler, Ludmilla Tchérina, and Rita Gam; I Died a Thousand Times (1955), with Shelley Winters, Lee Marvin, Earl Holliman, Perry Lopez, Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, and Lon Chaney Jr.; Robert Aldrich‘s The Big Knife (1955), with Ida Lupino, Wendell Corey, Jean Hagen, Rod Steiger, Shelley Winters, Ilka Chase, and Everett Sloane; The Lonely Man (1957), with Anthony Perkins, Neville Brand, Robert Middleton, Elisha Cook Jr., Claude Akins, and Lee Van Cleef; The Man Inside (1958), with Anita Ekberg, Nigel Patrick, Anthony Newley, Bonar Colleano; and Beyond All Limits (1959), with María Félix.

Films in the 1960s include Austerlitz (1960), with Pierre Mondy, Jean Marais, Rossano Brazzi, Martine Carol, Claudia Cardinale, Vittorio De Sica, Orson Welles, Leslie Caron, and Jean-Louis Trintignant; De Sica’s The Last Judgment (1961), with Ernest Borgnine, Melina Mercouri, Fernandel, Anouk Aimée, Lino Ventura; Richard Fleischer’s Barabbas (1961), with Anthony Quinn, Silvana Mangano, Katy Jurado, Arthur Kennedy, Harry Andrews, Borgnine, Vittorio Gassman; Jean-Luc Godard‘s Contempt (1963), with Brigitte Bardot, Michel Piccoli, and Giorgia Moll; Ralph Nelson’s Once a Thief (1965), with Alain Delon, Ann-Margret, and Heflin.

Films in the mid to late 1960s include Richard Brooks‘ The Professionals (1966), with Burt Lancaster, Marvin, Robert Ryan, Cardinale, Ralph Bellamy, and Woody Strode; Torture Garden (1967), with Burgess Meredith, Michael Ripper, Beverly Adams, Peter Cushing, Maurice Denham, Ursula Howells, Michael Bryant, and Barbara Ewing; They Came to Rob Las Vegas (1968), with Gary Lockwood, Elke Sommer, and Lee J. Cobb; Sergio Corbucci’s The Mercenary (1968), with Franco Nero, Tony Musante, Eduardo Fajardo, and Giovanna Ralli; Henry Levine’s The Desperados (1969), with Vince Edwards; Jesús Franco’s Marquis de Sade: Justine (1969), with Klaus Kinski, Romina Power, and Maria Rohm; and Che! (1969), with Omar Sharif, Robert Loggia, and Barbara Luna.

Films in the 1970s include The McMasters (1970), with Burl Ives, Brock Peters, David Carradine, and Nancy Kwan; Chato’s Land (1972), with Charles Bronson; Stanley Kramer‘s Oklahoma Crude (1973), with George C. Scott, Faye Dunaway, and John Mills; Craze (1974), with Dina Dors and Julie Ege; The Four Deuces (1975), with Carol Lynley, Warren Berlinger, Adam Roarke, Gianni Russo, and Hard Boiled Haggerty; and Africa Express (1975), with Ursula Andress and Giuliano Gemma.

Films in the mid to late 1970s include God’s Gun (1976), with Van Cleef, Leif Garrett, and Sybil Danning; Blood and Bullets (1976), with George Eastman and Jenny Tamburi; Welcome to Blood City (1977), with Keir Dullea and Samantha Eggar; The Shape of Things to Come (1979), with Barry Morse, Nicholas Campbell, Anne-Marie Martin, Carol Lynley, and John Ireland; Portrait of a Hitman (1979), with Rod Steiger and Bo Svenson; and Cocaine Cowboys (1979), with Andy Warhol.

Films in the 1980s include Without Warning (1980), with Martin Landau, Neville Brand, Cameron Mitchell, and David Caruso; Alone in the Dark (1982), with Landau, Donald Pleasence, Dwight Schultz, and Erland Van Lidth; Gor (1987), with Urbano Barberini, Rebecca Ferratti, Oliver Reed, and Paul Smith; Percy Adlon’s Bagdad Cafe (1987), with Marianne Sägebrecht and CCH Pounder; Young Guns (1988), with Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Charlie Sheen, Dermot Mulroney, Casey Siemaszko, Terence Stamp, Terry O’Quinn, and Brian Keith; Tim Burton‘s Batman (1989), with Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Pat Hingle, Billy Dee Williams, and Michael Gough; and Tango & Cash (1989), with Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell, Teri Hatcher, Brion James, Geoffrey Lewis, James Hong, Michael J. Pollard, Michael Jeter, and Robert Z’Dar.

Films in the 1990s include Solar Crisis (1990), with Tim Matheson, Charlton Heston, and Peter Boyle; TV movie Keep the Changs (1992), with William Peterson, Lolita Davidovich, Rachel Ticotin, and Buck Henry; Cyborg 2 (1993), with Angelina Jolie, Elias Koteas, Billy Drago, Karen Sheperd, Allen Garfield, and Renee Griffin; Michael Ritchie’s Cops & Robbersons (1994), with Chevy Chase, Dianne Wiest, and Robert Davi; City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold (1994), with Crystal, Stern, and Jon Lovitz; and the miniseries Buffalo Girls (1995), with Anjelica Huston, Melanie Griffith, Gabriel Byrne, and Peter Coyote.

His last films were the TV movies Ebenezer (1998), with Ricky Schroder, Amy Locane, and Albert Schultz; Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter’s End (1999), with Glenn Close and Christopher Walken; Stephen Gyllenhaal’s Living with the Dead (2001), with Ted Danson, Diane Ladd, Queen Latifah, and Mary Steenburgen; and Back When We Were Grownups (2004), with Blythe Danner, Peter Fonda, Dunaway, Peter Riegert, Ione Skye, and Anjul Nigam.

Each review will be linked to the title below.

(*seen originally in theaters)

(**seen rereleased in theaters)

• Panic in the Streets (1950) – directed by Elia Kazan
• Halls of Montezuma (1951) – directed by Lewis Milestone
• Sudden Fear (1952) – directed by David Miller
• Shane (1953) – directed by George Stevens
• Second Chance (1953) – directed by Rudolph Maté
• Arrowhead (1953) – directed by Charles Marquis Warren
• Flight to Tangier (1953) – Charles Marquis Warren
• Man in the Attic (1953) – directed by Hugo Fregonese
• Sign of the Pagan (1954) – directed by Douglas Sirk
• The Silver Chalice (1954) – directed by Victor Saville
• The Big Knife (1955) – directed by Robert Aldrich

• Kiss of Fire (1955) – directed by Joseph M. Newman
• I Died a Thousand Times (1955) – directed by Stuart Heisler
• Attack (1956) – directed by Robert Aldrich
• Requiem for a Heavyweight (1956) – directed by Ralph Nelson – TV movie
• The Last Tycoon (1957) – directed by John Frankenheimer – TV movie
• The Lonely Man (1957) – directed by Henry Levin
• The House of Numbers (1957) – directed by Russell Rouse
• The Death of Manolete (1957) – directed by John Frankenheimer – TV movie
• The Man Inside (1958) – directed by John Gilling
• Ten Seconds to Hell (1959) – directed by Robert Aldrich aka The Phoenix
• Beyond All Limits (1959) – directed by Roberto Gavaldón
• Austerlitz (1960) – directed by Abel Gance – aka The Battle of Austerlitz
• Revak the Rebel (1960) – directed by Rudolph Maté – aka The Barbarians & Rivak the Barbarian
• Sword of the Conquerer (1961) – directed by Carlo Campogalliani
• The Mongols (1961) – directed by Andre DeToth
• The Last Judgment (1961) – directed by Vittorio De Sica
• Barabbas (1961) – directed by Richard Fleischer
• Warriors Five (1962) – directed by Leopoldo Savona
• Night Train to Milan (1962) – directed by Marcello Baldi
• Contempt (1963) – directed by Jean-Luc Godard
• Paparazzi (1964) – directed by Jacques Rozier – uncredited – short
• Once a Thief (1965) – directed by Ralph Nelson
• The Professionals (1966) – directed by Richard Brooks
• Alice Through the Looking Glass (1966) – directed by Alan Handley – TV movie
• Torture Garden (1967) – directed by Freddie Francis – anthology
• Kill a Dragon (1967) – directed by Michael D. Moore
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1968) – directed by Charles Jarrott – TV movie
• Madigan’s Millions (1968) – directed by Stanley Prager – English dub (uncredited)
• They Came to Rob Las Vegas (1968) – directed by Antonio Isasi-Isasmendi
• The Mercenary (1968) – directed by Sergio Corbucci – aka A Professional Gun
• The Desperados (1969) – directed by Henry Levin
• A Bullet for Rommel (1969) – directed by León Klimovsky
• Marquis de Sade: Justine (1969) – directed by Jesús Franco
• Che! (1969) – directed by Richard Fleischer
• Battle of the Commandos (1969) – directed by Umberto Lenzi – aka Legion of the Damned
• Trail of Tears (1970) – directed by Lane Slate – TV movie
• The McMasters (1970) – directed by Alf Kjellin
• Monte Walsh (1970) – directed by William A. Fraker
• Compañeros (1970) – directed by Sergio Corbucci
• The Horsemen (1971) – directed by John Frankenheimer
• It Can Be Done Amigo (1972) – directed by Maurizio Lucidi
• Chato’s Land (1972) – directed by Michael Winner
• Tedeum (1972) – directed by Enzo G. Castellari – aka Sting of the West, Father Jackleg, & Con Men
• And So Ends (1972) – directed by Robert Young
• Brothers Blue (1973) – directed by Luigi Bazzoni
• Oklahoma Crude (1973) – directed by Stanley Kramer
• Dracula (1974) – directed by Dan Curtis – TV movie
• Craze (1974) – directed by Freddie Francis
• The Godchild (1974) – directed by John Badham – TV movie
• The Hatfields and the McCoys (1975) – directed by Clyde Ware – TV movie
• The Great Adventure (1975) – directed by Gianfranco Baldanello
• The Four Deuces (1975) – directed by William H. Bushnell
• Africa Express (1975) – directed by Michael Lupo
• The Sensuous Nurse (1975) – directed by Nello Rossati – aka I Will If You Will, The Nurse, & The Secrets of a Sensuous Nurse
• The Cop in Blue Jeans (1976) – directed by Bruno Corbucci
• Black Cobra Woman (1976) – directed by Joe D’Amato
• Safari Express (1976) – directed by Duccio Tessari
• Mister Scarface (1976) – directed by Fernando Di Leo – aka Rulers of the City
• Blood and Bullets (1976) – directed by Alfonso Brescia
• God’s Gun (1976) – directed by Gianfranco Parolini (credited as Frank Kramer)
• Welcome to Blood City (1977) – directed by Peter Sasdy
• The One Man Jury (1978) – directed by Charles Martin
• Portrait of a Hitman (1979) – directed by Allan A. Buckhantz
• Angels Brigade (1979) – directed by Greydon Clark – aka Angels Revenge & Seven from Heaven
• H.G. Wells’ The Shape of Things to Come (1979) – directed by George McCowan
• Cocaine Cowboys (1979) – directed by Ulli Lommel
• The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang (1979) – directed by Dan Curtis – TV movie
• The Ivory Ape (1980) – directed by Tsugunobu “Tom” Kotani – TV movie
• The Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story (1980) – directed by Richard C. Sarafian – TV movie
• Without Warning (1980) – directed by Greydon Clark
• Hawk the Slayer (1980) – directed by Terry Marcel
• Tales of the Haunted (1981) – directed by Gordon Hessler – TV movie
• Alone in the Dark (1982) – directed by Jack Sholder
• Gor (1987) – directed by Fritz Kiersch
• Bagdad Cafe (1987) – directed by Percy Adlon – aka Out of Rosenheim
• Young Guns (1988) – directed by Christopher Cain
• Gor II (1988) – directed by John “Bud” Cardos – aka Outlaw of Gor
• Batman (1989)** – directed by Tim Burton
• Tango & Cash (1989) – directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, Albert Magnoli (uncredited), & Peter MacDonald (uncredited)
• Solar Crisis (1990) – directed by Richard C. Sarafian (as Alan Smithee)
• City Slickers (1991) – directed by Ron Underwood
• Horror of the Hungry Humongous Hungan (1991) – directed by Randall Dininni
• Keep the Change (1992) – directed by Andy Tennant – TV movie
• Eli’s Lesson (1992) – directed by Peter D. Marshall
• Cyborg 2 (1993) – directed by Michael Schroeder
• Cops & Robbersons (1994) – directed by Michael Ritchie
• Twilight Zone: Rod Serling’s Lost Classics (1994) – directed by Robert Markowitz – TV movie
• City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold (1994) – directed by Paul Weiland
• The Swan Princess (1994) – directed by Richard Rich
• Buffalo Girls (1995) – directed by Rod Hardy – miniseries
• I’ll Be Home for Christmas (1997) – directed by Jerry London – TV movie
• Ebenezer (1998) – directed by Ken Jubenvill – TV movie
• The Incredible Adventures of Marco Polo (1998) – directed by George Erschbamer – TV movie
• Treasure Island (1999) – directed by Peter Rowe
• Sarah, Plain & Tall: Winter’s End (1999) – directed by Glenn Jordan – TV movie
• Prancer Returns (2001) – directed by Joshua Butler – direct to DVD
• Living with the Dead (2002) – directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal – TV movie
• Between Hitler and Stalin: Ukraine in World War II (2003) – directed by Slavko Nowytski – documentary – narrator
• Back When We Were Grownups (2004) – directed by Ron Underwood – TV movie