Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 3, 1990 TAG: 9003033037
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Cox News Service
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
It's a face that makes people either want to laugh or cry, depending on the words that are coming out of his mouth. He played gangsters and other assorted heavies in the first two decades of his career. Then he starred in a string of plays and movies that established him as a funny guy, a master of deadpan cynicism.
Sunday on CBS, Matthau returns to drama in his first made-for-television movie, "The Incident," a suspenseful story about an unusual murder trial involving German prisoners of war in a small Colorado town during World War II.
He stars as Harmon Cobb, a down-and-out lawyer forced to defend a German prisoner suspected of murdering the town's beloved doctor. Cobb becomes an outcast among his friends, who taunt him for allying himself with a Nazi. As the story unfolds, the town is shocked by courtroom revelations about some of the inmates and about some of the American soldiers in charge.
Matthau liked the script the minute he read it and eagerly agreed to star in the movie.
"It's a story of personal integrity over personal prejudice, and I thought that story should be told," he told a group of television critics in Los Angeles recently. "And it was a non-comedic role, which appealed to me. The first 20 years I did nothing but drama, then someone saw me with a cigar and said, `Do you do comedy?' and that's all I did for a while."
Matthau said he receives dozens of television scripts each year and used to reject them out of hand because he prefers feature films. But he said that preference may be changing.
"I used to stick to features because they were usually better scripts," he said. "Now it's sort of turned around. Most of the good stuff about interpersonal relations is on television. I'm not offered many of the good features anyway. A new generation is moving in, so probably there are better people for the part. Or maybe I have a terrible agent. Who knows?"
"The Incident" was written by Michael and James Norell and directed by Joseph Sargent, with whom Matthau worked in 1974 on the thriller "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three." It also stars Harry Morgan, Barnard Hughes, Susan Blakely and Robert Carradine. Matthau's 26-year-old son Charlie served as associate producer.
"It's not specifically a true story," Matthau said. "There were German POW camps in America, and this kind of thing did go on."
The son of Russian immigrants, Matthau lost many members of his family during World War II when Germany invaded Lithuania and the Soviet Union. He served in the Army Air Corps during the war and came home with six combat stars.
"I find everything to do with World War II fascinating," he said.
Would Matthau himself have balked at defending a German prisoner during World War II?
"Absolutely," he said. "I like to think I would've, though, because I like to think that's what America is all about. Everyone gets a fair shake. Everyone is equal under the law."
Born in New York, Matthau studied journalism at Columbia University before deciding to become an actor. He made his Broadway debut in 1948 and worked steadily in theater for more than 20 years, winning Tonys for his two biggest successes - "A Shot in the Dark" and "The Odd Couple."
His film credits include "The Fortune Cookie" (for which he won an Academy Award in 1965), "Kotch," "Hello Dolly," "House Calls," "Plaza Suite," "The Odd Couple," "Cactus Flower," "Front Page," "The First Monday in October" and "The Sunshine Boys."
He has worked with all kinds of American actors, including Elvis Presley in "King Creole" in 1958. Based on Harold Robbins' novel and directed by Michael Curtiz, the movie was about a New Orleans busboy who becomes a singing sensation. It was Presley's only modest success with critics.
"Elvis was a quiet, unassuming kid," Matthau said. "He asked for help in the acting department. I told him he didn't need any help. His acting was superb. He was playing Elvis Presley, and nobody could do it better."
In the 1950s, during television's so-called Golden Age, Matthau also appeared frequently in dramatic anthology series such as "Studio One," "Playhouse 90" and "Kraft Theatre." He even had his own series for half a season in 1959. It was called "Tallahassee 7000," and Matthau said he "despised every minute of it."
How does Matthau choose his roles?
"If it's good drama, if it has something," Matthau mused. "If I don't have any money, I'll do it for money."
But he wouldn't do just anything for money. He does have some standards.
"If it's something that says Manuel Noriega is a good role model for children, then I might not do it for the money," he said.
At this point in his career, Matthau said his goal is to "stay alive as long as possible and keep healthy." To that end, he walks around his suburban Los Angeles neighborhood a lot, listens to Mozart and watches sports on television.
"I have no interest in returning to the stage," he said. "It's too much like work, too physically demanding. I'd like to take the path of least resistance. I have enough money now that I'm going to hold out as long as I can."
The temperamental actor who once terrified directors and colleagues with his explosive behavior on the set says his professional demeanor has mellowed over the years.
"I've done about 55 films," Matthau said. "The first 30 I was very easily irritated. The last 10 to 15 years, though, I've stopped that. Gone in the other direction, really. I think less about myself now. I guess you could say my ego has been tamed. I think I am fairly pleasant to work with - a wonderful human being and a credit to my race."
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