Farley Granger.
July 1, 1925 - March 27, 2011
I've always liked Farley Granger. He was such an interesting actor. He could play wild, and he could play REALLY wild, and he could also play completely normal "heroes."
Two of my favorite roles of his are The Girl on the Red Velvet Swing, where he is seriously terrible, and Strangers On a Train, where he is the all-American tennis star.
Hitchcock often had a habit of making his heroes boring and his villains fascinating. Strangers On a Train was supposed to be like that and Robert Walker definitely gives us one of Hitchcock's most gleefully awesome villains. But, even though Farley's role is boring-- his performance is not. In Hitchcock movies I OFTEN root for the villain over the hero. (Robert Cummings over Ray Milland?! NEVER.) But in Strangers, I find myself unable to completely do that.
This is because of Farley Granger.
I guess what I'm trying to say, is that Farley Granger was a very interesting and talented actor. He could take small or boring roles and give stellar, classic performances. He was just cool.
He will be definitely missed.
-Meg
originally published on ClassicForever on March 28, 2011