Victor Mature : Victor Mature 1915-1999

Victor Mature 1915-1999

Here's someone again who I can't believe doesn't have a post.

Victor Mature was a guy who probably took himself the least seriously of any
major star in Hollywood. Getting by on physique and heavy lidded good looks,
he was on occasion capable of delivering a good performance if the right
director coaxed it out of him. Sometime the right director was John Ford in
My Darling Clementine or Anthony Mann in The Last Frontier.

Of course his best known part was as Samson in Samson and Delilah. In every
DeMille film even the best actors like Gary Cooper, Fredric March, and Charlton
Heston get lost in the spectacle. And Samson and Delilah was certainly one
eye-filling spectacle. Acting honors in that one go to the sophisticated Mr.
George Sanders, but Mature to this day is everyone's conception of Samson.

When he stopped performing in the late 50s he figured he'd made enough money
and had enough romances with Hollywood beauties to last a lifetime. He occasionally came back like with Peter Sellers in After The Fox where he does
a very successful spoof of Victor Mature.

He made his last appearance in the made for TV movie Samson and Delilah where
he played Samson's father. Asked why he came back for this 1984 effort he
replied, "for the kind of money they were offering me, I'd have put a dress on
and played Samson's mother."

How can you dislike a guy like that who also said, "I'm no actor and I've got
63 pictures to prove it?"

Vic, I wish I had gotten to know you. You sound like the kind of guy it would
have been fun to hang out with. RIP.

Re: Victor Mature 1915-1999

I was surprised to find any postings here. Very pleased to find your note above. I always thought him a fine actor--occasionally a very fine actor. I thought his performance in The Robe far outstripped Burton's or Simmons'. I can't recall ever seeing him give a poor performance--even in a piece of junk like Betrayed, I thought his performance elevated the film from bad into the lower levels of mediocrity. It's amazing how few ever think of him today. I would list him along with Joseph Cotton, and Fredrich March as actors who have inexplicably, and sadly, fallen off the radar. Cheerio!

"I'm a lover of beauty--and a beauty of a lover!"--The Court Jester

Re: Victor Mature 1915-1999

Sadly Victor Mature maybe had too much physical beauty to be taken seriously.
Also he was the least pretentious of people.


Bureaucrats need love

Re: Victor Mature 1915-1999

Clearly, physical beauty, while a huge plus in most every respect, IS detrimental as far as garnering critical acclaim. Paul Newman would be one of the best examples. Though certainly some were cognizant of his theatrical chops early, his considerable acting abilities took a backseat to his looks, charisma, and personality until well into his career (and even today there are some who still fail to see him as the great actor that he is). Marilyn Monroe would be another famous case. Though not as talented as Newman as far as straight-up ability, she still had a gift that may still be underappreciated in some circles today--the gift of being able to appear natural and utterly spontaneous, even though she might have to redo a take 40 times (owing to her notorious trait of being ill-prepared and unable to concentrate). For me, I'd never really thought of Mature as being "beautiful" per se (and my being a guy has nothing to do with this, as I'm certainly capable of recognizing masculine pulchritude in the likes of an Errol Flynn, a Cary Grant, or Newman), but I always thought of him 2000 as having a GREAT face, nonetheless--unique and arresting. Of course, one cannot discount his commanding physique either. Few other leading men in his day (Burt Lancaster is the only other one that comes to mind) could be so imposing physically. Nonetheless, in spite of all his attributes, he has become nigh-on forgotten, as evidenced by the fact that the three threads now extant, have contributions from exactly three people. [Compare this to the offerings under Keanu Reeves]

Cheerio!

"Nothing in this world is more surprising than the attack without mercy!"--Little Big Man

Re: Victor Mature 1915-1999

Samson and Delilah offered him a renewed career, but I also think it made the
public take him less seriously. He was wonderful in some of those Fox pictures
post World War II, Cry of the City, Kiss of Death, My Darling Clementine are
three that should be memorable for him.


Bureaucrats need love

Re: Victor Mature 1915-1999

And speaking of movies in which he excelled, I started a new thread, "Favorite Victor Mature Films," where, for starters, I ramble on about My Darling Clementine, which is almost certainly his best film (it would be virtually anyone's best film--perhaps Fonda's as well, though he certainly has other contenders for that distinction: Grapes of Wrath, The Lady Eve, etc.). Cheerio!

"Nothing in this world is more surprising than the attack without mercy!"--Little Big Man

Re: Victor Mature 1915-1999

I'm glad we've remedied the lack of posts for Victor Mature. After the Fox is on cable at this moment and it prompted me to check out his IMDB listing. I'm glad that there are those of us who remember him and have taken the time to give him his due. And Mature does sound like someone who would have been fun to know. RIP, Victor Mature.

Re: Victor Mature 1915-1999

I remember seeing Every Little Crook and Nanny when it was out in theaters.
Even in a piece of fluff like that Victor Mature is memorable.


Bureaucrats need love

Re: Victor Mature 1915-1999

Hi you guys. I do believe Victor was German/Italian. He did "retire"
from Hollywood to the Rancho Santa Fe area of San Diego. And I don't doubt
they blacklisted him for some stupid reason. I grew up in San Diego. My Mom
managed a few restaurants while I was growing up. In the late 60's she ran
a high end restaurant called "The Steak House" in Del Mar, near the beach and
right by the Del Mar Race Track. All the Jockeys used to come in and also many
local celebrities. Victor was a regular. My Mom and he were pals.
On my 14th birthday (5 days after his, in 1969) I was headed in the outside
marquee as the "Guest Chef" of the night. I usually bussed tables on weekends, but got to hang out and just goof around with the customers that evening.
Well, to my luck, my favorite, handsome, bigger than life actor, Victor Mature,
came in for dinner and asked me to join him! So, I got to sit next to him in a
booth for about 2 hours having dinner! He was an incredibly handsome, kind, interesting, gentleman of impeccable manners. And he was actually interested in
ME! I have never been a person of few words, but that night I was!I was in a dream!
When it was time to leave he slipped me something under the table wrapped in
a cellophane cigarette wrapper. He whispered to me "Happy Birthday". I told him
I wasn't supposed to take anything from him for a gift and he said, "don't tell
anybody! Just put it in your pocket." I said I didn't have any pockets, and he
replied, "Well then put it in your bra!" So I did. :)
After he gave me a smooch on the cheek and said goodbye I lit out for the
kitchen to see what he had given me. I unwrapped the cellophane and pulled out
a piece of paper with a bit of a coffee cup wring on it and the words Hi Denise
XX Victor Mature, and a $20 dollar bill! Wow, that was a lot of money!!!
Well, I just had my 51st birthday two days ago. My Mom sent me a birthday
card and inside that card to my utter surprise was that coffee-wringed personal
note with two kisses and his autograph that he had given me that night.
I always wondered what had happened to that. Good old Mom.
So, I was here looking for a good picture to download and frame with his note.
Never really told anyone that story. First of all, who'd believe it. Second,
most people didn't really know who he was, unless they were like us. Older, old movie nuts.
Thanks for listening!
Denise

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This message has been deleted.

Re: Victor Mature 1915-1999

That's a fabulous story about one of the least pretentious men ever to become
a star. Vic along with Robert Mitchum vie for that honor.


Bureaucrats need love

Re: Victor Mature 1915-1999


When was he born? Some sources say 1913, others say 1915. Which date is the correct?

Re: Victor Mature 1915-1999

I remember the obituaries saying he was 86 when he passed on so it must be
1913.

Pitters Go Into Your Dance

Re: Victor Mature 1915-1999

Thanks for sharing that wonderful story. I always thought Victor Mature was underrated and an actor who could care less about Hollywood politics.

Re: Victor Mature 1915-1999

I don't know why Victor Mature wasn't taken seriously. He didn't always star in sword and sandal epics. He also starred in film noir, westerns, musicals, comedies and action roles. Mature was no different than most leading men of his time.

As for this "blacklisted" nonsense, Mature left movies because he wanted to. I've already heard of Republican conspiracies that he was pushed out because he was a Republican, but that's nonsense. Republicans were different in Mature's day, but they are a bunch of whiners today.
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