TCM Pick O’ The Day: Thursday, January 29th

1:00am PST - Clock, The (1945) - A G.I. en route to Europe falls in love during a whirlwind two-day leave in New York City. Cast: Judy Garland, Robert Walker, James Gleason, Keenan Wynn Dir: Vincente Minnelli BW-90 mins, TV-PG

There are few actors more interesting than Robert Walker. A double feature of today’s pick and “Strangers on a Train” will reveal just what an extraordinarily talented and intriguing screen presence he was. In both roles, Walker’s about a half-measure off the rest of the world and quite capable of aw-shucks charm. From there they separate into the boy next door and a cold, psychotic killer. Which leads me to a larger point…

When it comes to acting, “range” is overrated. “Depth” is what matters. Accents and affectations are not acting. I’ve seen high school productions with actors more convincing than anything Meryl Streep’s done in years. Great actors and movie stars, like Walker, plumb the depths of their screen personas. Great performances comes from inside not outside, and, as we’ve seen from deteriorating talents like Julia Roberts, Streep and De Niro, that inside place can become less and less accessible to those who fall for their own celebrity.

You can say Cary Grant, James Garner, John Wayne, Joan Crawford, Lana Turner, Edward G. Robinson, and the like, all played the same person in movie after movie, but it’s what they found within that person that made them giants.

Robert Walker was interesting. You couldn’t take your eyes off him. In one film he’s digging his toe in the dirt, in the next strangling a woman he’s never met – but in both he’s absolutely convincing.

Not to take anything away from either Gene Wilder or Johnny Depp, but can you imagine what a great Willy Wonka Robert Walker would’ve created.