Dan Duryea: Heel with a Heart

by Mike Peros

Overview

Dan Duryea (1907-1968) made a vivid impression on moviegoers with his first major screen appearance as the conniving Leo Hubbard in 1941's classic melodrama The Little Foxes. His subsequent film and television career would span from 1941 until his death. Duryea remains best known for the nasty, scheming villains he portrayed in such noir masterpieces as Scarlet Street, Criss Cross, and The Woman in the Window. In each of these, he wielded a blend of menace, sleaze, confidence, and surface charm. This winning combination led him to stardom and garnered him the adoration of female fans, even though Duryea's onscreen brutality so often targeted female characters. Yet this biography's close examination of Duryea's oeuvre finds him excelling in various roles in many genres--war films, westerns, crime dramas, and even the occasional comedy.

Dan Duryea: Heel with a Heart is a full-scale, comprehensive biography that examines the tension between Duryea's villainous screen image and his Samaritan personal life. At home, he proved to be one of Hollywood's most honorable and decent men. Duryea remained married to the former Helen Bryan from 1931 until her death in 1967. A dedicated family man, he and Helen took an active role in raising their children and in the community.

In his career, Duryea knew villainous roles were what the public wanted--there would be a public backlash if fans read an article depicting what a decent guy he was. Frustrated that he couldn't completely shake his screen image and public persona, he wrestled with this restriction throughout his career. Producers and the public did not care to follow any new directions he hoped to pursue. This book, written with Duryea's surviving son Richard's cooperation, fully explores the life and legacy of a Hollywood icon ready for rediscovery.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781496830739
Publisher:	University Press of Mississippi
Publication date:	08/25/2020
Series:	Hollywood Legends Series
Pages:	254
Sales rank:	535,892
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.58(d)

About the Author

Mike Peros chairs the English Department at Bishop Loughlin High School in Brooklyn, New York. He is author of José Ferrer: Success and Survival, published by University Press of Mississippi, and also reviews films for NoHoartsdistrict.com.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 A Duryea Overview 3

Chapter 2 From White Plains To Broadway 9

Chapter 3 Studio to Studio, Finding His Fooling 20

Chapter 4 Lang and Duryea-Made for Each Other 30

Chapter 5 A Universal Man 43

Chapter 6 Happy in Hollywood, Happier Away 63

Chapter 7 Career Crisis, Then Television Calls with China Smith 78

Chapter 8 A Very Busy Year: Audie, Aid rich, Payne, and a Pool 95

Chapter 9 Snowbound with Cornel Wilde; Back to China; A Jape with Jack Benny 106

Chapter 10 Still Smiling … and Yearning to Be More than a Villain… 116

Chapter 11 Villainy and Valor in Film and TV 131

Chapter 12 On the Tube, in the West, and a (Short) Trip to Broadway 144

Chapter 13 Gunmen and Killers, Occasionally alongside Son Peter 157

Chapter 14 Reunion with Aldrich; Duryea Does the Italian West; A Sad Parting 172

Chapter 15 Twilight; Not Going Gentle into That Good Night 184

Acknowledgments 196

Filmography 200

Television Credits 203

Notes 206

Bibliography 211

Index 214

Editorial Reviews

Dan Duryea may be a 'forgotten' actor, but he still looms large--vivid and vastly entertaining--for fans of films noir and westerns. Few actors created such a distinctive niche: smooth, snaky villain with the lilting voice and lethal backhand. Fans who have always cherished the squirmy menace he exuded can now finally appreciate the man himself--which will make them marvel even more at the persona he perfected.--Eddie Muller, author most recently of The Art of Noir: The Posters and Graphics from the Classic Era of Film Noir and coauthor of Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star

Mike Peros's Dan Duryea: Heel with a Heart is an extensively researched career biography of the talented and memorable actor who has, until now, received only minimal critical attention. The book clearly represents a labor of love for its author. . . . It provides useful dates and background information for Duryea's many roles and charts a clear career trajectory.--William Luhr, author of Film Noir, professor of English and film at Saint Peter's University, and co-chair of the faculty-level Columbia University Seminar on Cinema and Interdisciplinary Interpretation

Dan Duryea: Heel with a Heart is a gracefully written, much-needed accounting of the actor's life and career, providing a granular look at his prolific output covering more than 100 credits--westerns and comedies besides film noir--spread over nearly 35 years.--Joe Morella and Frank Segers "Classic Movie Chat, February 2017"

As a result, this biography is a fascinating read and well worth enjoying in terms of learning about the balance of a personal and professional life as a villainous on-screen persona. I definitely recommend this biography to fans of film noir and fans of the "bad boys and girls" of the screen. There are many film characters we love to hate, but learning more about the real lives of the individuals who brought these characters to the screen is well worth the read.-- "Hometowns to Hollywood"

If you're looking for a guided chronological tour of Duryea's career from the moment of his onstage breakthrough . . . complete with a comprehensive overview of his television work, this is an awfully handy piece of work.--Nick Pinkerton "Film Comment"

Mr. Peros fills the pages of Dan Duryea: Heel with a Heart with detailed synopses of his subject's more than sixty films and several dozen television appearances--a yeoman's chronicle that brings welcome attention to some lesser-known Duryea items (such as the recently restored 1949 noir Too Late for Tears).--Tom Nolan "Wall Street Journal"

Peros focuses mainly on Duryea's artistic output, moving the reader through each credit from the actor's Hollywood debut, The Little Foxes, through his final major role, on the prime-time soap Peyton Place. Peros writes with the informal enthusiasm of a fan, gifting the reader an exhaustive review of the complete works of Duryea--including true Hollywood classics (Ball of Fire, The Pride of the Yankees), forgotten flops (Chicago Calling), and guest spots on early television shows (December Bride, Wagon Train).-- "Publishers Weekly"

What Peros's biography lacks in raunchy revelations it makes up for in sheer thoroughness. . . . This book is a tribute to a fine actor and a thoroughly likable man.--Philip Kemp "Sight and Sound"

With thorough research and the assistance of Duryea's son Richard, Peros crafts a well-intentioned biography best suited to film noir completists.-- "Library Journal"

From the Publisher

10/24/2016
Dan Duryea (1907–1968), yeoman character actor of classic-era Hollywood, receives his first book-length biographical treatment from debut author Peros. Peros focuses mainly on Duryea's artistic output, moving the reader through each credit from the actor's Hollywood debut, The Little Foxes, through his final major role, on the prime-time soap Peyton Place. Peros writes with the informal enthusiasm of a fan, gifting the reader an exhaustive review of the complete works of Duryea—including true Hollywood classics (Ball of Fire, The Pride of the Yankees), forgotten flops (Chicago Calling), and guest spots on early television shows (December Bride, Wagon Train). The downside of this approach is that Peros inflates Duryea's accomplishments with statements such as "no one could play it so entertainingly nasty as Duryea," which will feel overblown to readers conversant with the breadth of Hollywood history. The book dwells on extensive plot synopses of Duryea's work, with too little analysis of his professional choices and private life. This affectionate look at a longtime favorite of classic film fans would be strengthened by a greater sense of the context in which Duryea lived and worked. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

10/15/2016
Many actors see their legacies defined by the parts they played, rather than the lives they actually lived. Case in point: Dan Duryea (1907–68). Duryea was a classic villain type, playing supporting—but often key—roles in over 70 films and television shows from the 1940s through the 1960s, including The Little Foxes, Scarlet Street, and Winchester '73. Yet what Duryea truly sought, and never found, was the chance to play characters closer to his own true nature. The dichotomy of his life, and the thrust of teacher and film blogger Peros's biography, was that he was a loving and considerate family man who reveled in the simple joys of home life, while portraying dark, often misogynistic figures on screen. He had considerable success both personally and professionally, but his desire and his talent was seemingly not enough to overcome the kind of typecasting so common in his day. VERDICT With thorough research and the assistance of Duryea's son Richard, Peros crafts a well-intentioned biography best suited to film noir completists.—Peter Thornell, Hingham P.L., MA

Library Journal