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"A head like a barrel, so heavy and so round, a voice like Bronson, in Cinemascope. Otherwise like a bison, but lonely as death... In the pitch-black night he would sneak out of the house, hides cleverly and is quiet as a mouse. When people go by, he would yell 'Hello'. They think it's Bronson and run as fast as they could go - Ein Kopf wie ein Fassl, so schwer und so rund, eine Stimme wie der Bronson, in Cinemascope. Sonst wie ein Bueffel, aber einsam wie der Tod... In stockdunkler Nacht schleicht er oft aus dem Haus, versteckt er sich geschickt und ist still wie eine Maus. Kommen welche vorbei, dann ruft er 'Helloh'. Die glauben es war der Bronson und rennen davon."
(Ludwig Hirsch, 1978, Der Zwerg - The Dwarf)

Seeing red once in a while?

A face like a book! Not many people got that, Lee van Cleef is one of them, who had teamed up with Clint Eastwood in "For A Few Dollars More" and "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." And then especially Charles Bronson, who had followed in "Once Upon a Time in the West." Its final showdown would climax in a breathtaking close-up of the eyes of the quiet man with the harmonica, played by Bronson. Charles Bronson's fame even found its way into Austrian pop music. In his dark-grey songs, Ludwig Hirsch would characterize his friend, "The Dwarf" with a scary voice like Bronson, and on an album called "Men's Business" Rainhard Fendrich recalled that an early love interest "Frieda" had asked him out to a Bronson movie. For sure, Bronson would have been flattered!

Asian Roots. Some remember Bronson from the Western "Vera Cruz" back in 1954, when he still called himself Charles Buchinsky, famous for his rugged, slightly Asian look, which he inherited from Lithuanian Tartar ancestry, and already played the harmonica as in "Once Upon a Time in the West (Spiel mir das Lied vom Tod - Play me the Song of Death, 1968)." In "Vera Cruz," just as in "The Magnificent Seven," a group of American mercenaries finds itself south of the border, in the middle of a Mexican revolution. Unlike the noble hero in the classical Western, the professional "hero for hire" shown in those films is not motivated by claims of justice, but rather by the promise for money - "doing it for the doe."

Polish Name. Bronson worked his way up from coal mines to movie heaven. In Italy he would be called "il brutto - the ugly one," and that was not meant as an insult. In fact, Spaghetti Western director legend Serigo Leone originally had tried to cast Bronson for the stranger with no name in "A Fistful of Dollars," a role that was to become Eastwood's breakthrough, as well as for "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," to play the latter instead of Eli Wallach. He changed this Polish last name "Buchinski", which sounded too Russian for the McCarthy era, after a nearby street name into "Bronson". His new surname was of Middle English origin, actually meaning "Brown's son". And so among streets names after movie stars, in case of Bronson Avenue in Hollywood, which leads up to the Bronson Gate at Paramount Studios, it's a switch. This street wasn't named after the actor, in fact the actor was named after the street! The same street, by chance, gave name to nearby Bronson Canyon, a section of Griffith Park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains and filming location of the Bronson-film "The White Buffalo". But at first Charles Bronson had some great roles in all-star movies, among others playing Bernardo in "The Magnificent Seven (Die Glorreichen Sieben, 1960)," where he became the favourite gunmen of Mexican kids, who even promised to decorate his grave with flowers.

One out of a Dirty Dozen

Pennsylvanian Coal Miner. He was Danny, the tunnel king, who since childhood feared small dark rooms and still kept on digging in "The Great Escape (Gesprengte Ketten - Burst Chains, 1963)." As a teenager, Bronson himself had been working in a coal mine near Pittsburgh, PA, and supposedly suffered from claustrophobia since he had been trapped under day after a cave-in. The film was based on real life events from March 1944 in a German prison camp in Saxonia (today's Poland).

Indian On Demand. And he was part of "The Dirty Dozen (1967)," considered a cult movie by some. On his way to top billing, he appeared on the screen with Burt Lancaster ("Apache," "Vera Cruz"), Steve McQueen ("The Magnificent Seven," "The Great Escape"), Frank Sinatra ("Never So Few," "4 for Texas"), Elvis Presley ("Kid Galahad") and Alain Delon ("Adieu l'ami," "Soleil rouge"). The latter team-up included one of Bronson's personal favourites, the Western "Red Sun (1971)" with Japanese actor Toshiro "Shogun" Mifune. "There is no longer any reason for us to fight. There are no longer any armies, only rags of various colours that were once uniforms." These wise words he spoke in his role as one of "Two" nuclear holocaust survivors, lonely people who found each other in the " Twilight Zone (1961)." In the 6th season of "Bonanza (1964)" he had a guest role as half breed "Underdog" and logical horse thief suspect. In "Apache (1954)" he had been the collaborating Indian scout Hondo next to blue-eyed Burt Lancaster, "the last real Apache in all the world." Many years later he would be playing the hunted down Indian himself in "Chato's Land (1972)."

Fighting His Way Up. At the 1972 Golden Globe ceremony he was presented the award for "World Film Favorite - Male," which Clint Eastwood had received in the previous year. At the peak of his popularity in the mid-seventies, no other actor had as high salaries for his movies. How he must have felt? As a teenager working in coal mines, even losing his father to the dust lung from working under day, then becoming "the" top grossing movie star! In a way his movie "Hard Times (Ein Stahlharter Mann, 1975)" dealt with a similar situation, a street fighter, a poor guy who has got nothing but his muscles to bring him further up the ladder.

Bronson, a rugged face somewhere in between that worn out soldier in the Twilight Zone and the betrayed cowboy under the Red Sun, one of his own favourites.

A Bronson cameo as a face in the crowd in the story arc "Death of Jean DeWolff" typically connects him with vigilantism.

Life Wish under a Red Sun

Wrong Wish. Classic heroism, usually embodied by John Wayne standing up for what was good and right, started to slip in the 1970's. Along came heroes in grey moral areas, such as Eastwood’s Dirty Harry and Charles Bronson’s Paul Kersey, standing up against criminals, while operating by their own questionable code. "Death Wish" both made Charles Bronson a star and typecast in avenger roles, just as "Dirty Harry" had three years before redefined Clint Eastwood as an urban cowboy. Brian Garfield's novel paints a frightening picture of a place, where "even guide dogs for the blind have nervous breakdowns from the stress of living in this city", and where "officers are assaulted in their police station". After his family has become victim of a crime, the main character doubts himself: "The only rational decision is to move away from the city... But it is wrong to give up. I do not run. I stay and fight!" The papers would characterize the self-appointed vigilante as a man who "spent his life as a liberal with a clear conscience... and has learned that tolerance is not always a virtue - tolerance, the endurance of evil, can be something bad itself. He feels at war, and as Edmund Burke put it: Wars are just to those to whom they are necessary!"

Safer City Dream. Paul Talbot's book "Bronson's Loose!" quotes British filmmaker Michael Winner recalling when he told Bronson about the "Death Wish" vigilante character: "This is a wonderful script." Bronson: "I'd like to do that." The director: "The film?" Charlie: "No, shoot muggers!" Despite all its brutality, the series managed to capture a sense of paranoia and helplessness in those days. As Bronson put it: "I think they provide satisfaction for people, who are victimized by crime and look in vain for authorities to protect them. But I don't think people try to imitate that kind of thing." Harry Callahan and Paul Kersey were rivals, selling similar roles to a common audience, some concerned, struck by what they were about to see, others willing to cheer with their acts of justice or vengeance, depending on the viewing perspective. Confronted with a destabilized environment, a pre-stage of anarchy, the end seemingly justifies the means, does it? A suspended policeman, a vigilante, like a punisher taking justice into the own hands. That all sounds very nice in theory, while the question remains, where their limits are and who should stop them? Can they be let loose like some kind of anonymous superhero, should they first register to obtain a license to persecute criminals on their own? Dreams over dreams, while channeling one thing: Dissatisfaction with development towards insecurity on the streets and in our homes. And the strong wish to improve that situation, or never let it come as far as we see in some overstated example from far away, acted out on the silver screen.

Cheering Supporters. When the original "Death Wish (Ein Mann sieht rot - A man sees red)" movie played back in 1974, there was an amazing reaction. The audience got up and cheered at the first shooting. When the film came out, there was awareness of how American cities were collapsing, of crime in the streets, urban decay and riots. In a way it was a strong political film that even manipulated a very liberal audience into siding with the guy taking the law into his own hands. Nevertheless, there were a few copycats. Not only in later revenge movies such as "The Punisher," showing what happens when men are pushed over the edge. In Chicago a bus driver blew away an unarmed robber and, as by the police report, stated that he got the idea from the "Death Wish" movie. In a way like Sondra Locke co-starred in 6 Eastwood movies between 1976 and 1983, Bronson's wife Jill Ireland was part in no less than 16 Bronson films between 1968 and 1987, the permanent partner on the side of the hero both privately and professionally. In 1982, she had played in "Death Wish II," the long awaited sequel with memorable dialogue such as: "Do you believe in Jesus?" "Yes, I do." "Well, you're gonna meet him." BLAM!

Life Wish. In her comeback film "Assassination", Jill Ireland portrayed the First Lady, who is occasionally called "One Mom" by her protector and real-life husband. Shortly after, her personal story of overcoming breast cancer was published in a book called "Life Wish (1987)", three years before she would pass away. Besides surgery and chemotherapy, the philosophy of holistic healing from within had helped her cope with the illness. Meditating with images of health and power, she learned to listen to her body and discovered new quality of life by slowing down her busy everyday life. In the same book, she would descibe her husband as a loner: "Although motion pictures have provided a fine living, it is nevertheless a strange occupation for Charles Bronson. He doesn't enjoy being photographed. In fact, I tell him that he's like the Indian who, when his photograph is taken, thought a piece of his soul has been stolen... Charlie is a man of few words, a man who can sit in comfortable silence while people around him chatter, trying to know him. Charlie never seeks company. He has little patience with the rounds of social engagement and attendant publicity. It is out of character. He is a true loner, a male animal in every sense of the word. He is, though, a family man. His friends are his children."

Samurai-Western. In 1975, stating his personal favourites from a long list of films, he had participated in, Bronson mentioned two pictures, which distinguished themselves through originality. In a way, both of them were exceptional among his work, while they were not among the best known and most prestigious parts: "Red Sun - Soleil rouge" from the year 1971 and the two years older "Rider on the Rain - Le Passager de la pluie." Directed by Terence Young, "Red Sun" was one of the most unusual Western movies of its time for the integrating Samurai film elements. "Rider on the Rain" could convince as a thriller through dense atmosphere and dusky ambience and paved Bronson the way for the European cinema. He regarded it as his personal breakthrough for being the first picture, in which he took over the role of the star without restriction of any kind.


It's a Man's World...

Always The Man. Following the success of the first instalment of the "Death Wish" franchise, which was presented in German speaking countries as "A Man sees red", an increasing number of other films was released with similar German titles, always depicting Charles Bronson as "the man". Even in the year before, he had already starred as a cop playing dirty in "A Man goes over dead bodies (The Stone Killer)". In the following ten years he would be presented as "A Man without Nerves (Breakout)", "A Man strong as Steel (Hard Times)", "A Man cleans up (Love and Bullets)", "A Man becomes a Beast (Death Hunt)", "The Man without Mercy (Death Wish 2)", "A Man like Dynamite (Ten to Midnight)" and in a forgettable video release as "The Meanest Man in the West", consisting of two re-cut episodes from the TV show "The Virginian (The Folks of the Shiloh Ranch)". After the release of "Death Hunt (Yukon)", right before making "Death Wish II", in 1981 Bronson would admit his tendency to play similar roles: "I feel that we have public that sets our characters. They like us for something that they have seen us do, they like to see more of the same. If you change, usually you lose them, you lose your public. It's inhibitive, especially if you are a strong character, in whatever is you do."

Directed for Action. Bronson's choice is both valid and symptomatic for his preferences, even if it ignores acclaimed movie classics such as "The Magnificent Seven," "The Great Escape," directed by John Sturges, or Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West." Other Directors, he worked with, in the early days include Robert Aldrich (Apache, Vera Cruz, Four for Texas, The Dirty Dozen), at the height of his career especially Michael Winner (Chato's Land, The Mechanic, Death Wish) and towards the end John Lee Thomposon (St. Ives, Casablanca-rip-off Caboblanco, Murphy's Law).

Title Confusion. One of the better TV appearances and a good example for varying distribution titles is "Donato and Daughter (1993)" with then 71-year old Bronson and "Desperate Housewife" Dana Delany. Going by the alternative film title "Under Threat" in the UK, on German TV it aired as "Mord ist Rache (Murder is Revenge)," was distributed on video as "Punishment - Spur der Gewalt (Trace of Violence)" and later went by "Dead To Rights - Spur der Gewalt" on DVD. As so often, toughness is already part of the movie title, although brutality depicted in scenes recorded in the 1970's and early 1980's may seem harmless compared to today's standards.

Another look-alike - drawn by Erik Larsen - is named "Colonel Buchinsky", as by the writing on his door.

Click above for a Listing of Charles Bronson Films without seeing red (although he would occasionally wish for it). Among them Italian, French and American productions, including Once Upon a Time in the West, Rider on the Rain, Death Wish, Red Sun, Murphy's Law, Caboblanco, The Evil That Men Do. Goodies with an often underrated actor, who was too easily typecast as "the man", a phrase often appearing in his film titles in German translation.

Film Rarities. And then, obviously, there was Jill Ireland's favourite, the Western "From Noon till Three (1976)" in which she sang "their song": "Some have a lifetime, some just a day. Love isn't something you measure that way. Nothing's ever forever, forever's a lie. All we have is between hello and goodbye." It is the lighthearted story of the unusual attraction between an outlaw without horse but with an interest in banking and a rich window, who toasts "to these few hours which have redeemed my life." Director Don Siegel's Cold War era actioneer "Telefon (1977)" had Charles Bronson as KGB agent dealing with telephone-call-awakened Russian sleeper agents. The movie plot resembles director Phillip Noyce's espionage melodrama "(Evelyn) Salt (2010)", where Angelina Jolie plays one of the sleeper agents... "(Raymond) St.Ives (1976)" completes the list of the hard-to-get-to Bronson films. An intelligent cat-and-mouse-game around stolen incriminating ledgers and a crime journalist, who is set up on crime scenes. Bronson only fires one sole shot throughout the whole movie, a perfect hit though. Being the first of nine Bronson films with director J. Lee Thompson, the film set the tone for most of the other both his movie persona and story content for most of the following Cannon productions.


The Stranger Within

Liberal Gun Laws. Back to real life: Following the Virginia massacre in April 2007, causing the deaths of no less than 32 students, the US President would defend the liberal arms legislation. Bearing firearms as a constitutional right, supported by inconsistent local gun laws, some totally lacking gun control. Being still evident in American psyche, the glorified Wild West is connected to the necessity of self-protection and the right of self defense. True to the motto: "Civil defense is what we lack, to win respect for the citizen back!" But just as opportunity makes the thief, it makes the murderer. Also the Virginia shooter had a valid concealed handgun permit, while firearm registration itself in the US falls far behind "modern Western standards." As an uncle of mine would put it, probably next John Wayne will be exhumed to shoot back. Sick humour with a sad-but-true background. Or as Samuel L. Jackson says it in "Patriot Games (Die Stunde der Patrioten, 1992)," where Harrison Ford gave Agent Jack Ryan for the first time: "So you just waded on in like John Wayne!"

Die Hard-Followers. Followers were plenty, such as Bruce Willis, whose "Die Hard"-franchise series had its jump start in 1988. NYPD Officer John McClane, who always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and - following blood, sweat, tears and several explosions - spoils a number of kidnappings on his very own. In those action movies progress usually shows in form of a further increase of both special effects and brutality. Regarding bad language, the German synchronization "Yippee-ya-yay Schweinebacke (pork cheek)" is a refreshingly harmless replacement of the f-word used in the original movie. A true follower of Wayne, Eastwood and Bronson, even if they had had thicker hair. In the first part Willis is even called: "Just another American who saw too many movies as a child? Another orphan of a bankrupt culture who thinks he's John Wayne? Rambo? Marshal Dillon (from 'Gunsmoke')?"

Woman Sees Red. "The Brave One (Die Fremde in Dir - The Stranger inside Yourself, 2007)" is the title of another movie with a stirring plot, slightly overstated, which I watched during a stay in Malaysia (in English with Malay and Chinese subtitles). It was the story a victim of street violence, played by Jodie Foster. Bravely overcoming her fear (rather than silencing like a lamb), she would let her anger out after a brutal attack, which killed her fiance in Central Park, not quite known as the safest place on earth. Appropriately the incident happened near Strangers' Gate at the intersection of West 106th Street and Central Park West. A tough NYC girl, a really strong one so to say, she wishes the scumbags (as Sledge Hammer would have put it) no less than death (in the ol' Charles Bronson manner) as she is discovering the stranger inside her. Don't we all surprise ourselves once in a while..? When you do something bad, people tend to ask, whether you have a death wish, a desire for self-destruction as opposed to the natural survival instinct, in China called "zhao si - looking for death." But in extreme circumstances that "Todeswunsch" can be also projected onto others, who have done unspeakable harm to you or your family. That's when it becomes important to get yourself together again and not get into destructive behavior, which you regret later on. That's when we got to fight the stranger in us all.

"Suddenly she approaches me and asks: 'What are your plans for Saturday? The civic cinema is groovy, there it's playing the new Bronson movie!'
Auf einmal kommt sie auch mich zu und fragt: 'Was machst du denn am Samstag? Im Buergerkino drueb'n, da spielt's den neuen Bronson-Film!'"
(Rainhard Fendrich, 2001, Frieda)


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