[Fightin Whitey]

Was Brando dumb or just a bit crazy?

I watch him even in a minor work like Missouri Breaks, through which he seems to improvise the whole way, and he is unsettled and unsettling...but he never seems dumb.

I have read that even in his middle-aged years he was impulsive and extremely difficult to work with, to the point of imbalance.

[miss marmelstein]

He might have been bi-polar. Many, many great actors are. But you can still be stupid and be crazy. If you can ever find it, Truman Capote’s essay “The Duke in his Domain” is a textbook on Brando and his stupidity. And I write as a real fan of Brando.

Just as an addition - Steyn neglects so many of his wonderful performances: Julius Caesar, Burn, The Fugitive Kind, Reflections in a Golden Eye, Last Tango, The Nightcomers, Apocalypse Now, Godfather. I mean, it’s a long list!

[miss marmelstein]

I wanted to clarify something - hope you don't mind. Maybe I jumped the gun in just blatantly calling Brando “dumb.” Certainly, he made many dumb decisions in his life and his last, horrifying interview with Larry King kind of solidified my impression. But I never knew the man. All I really know is that he was a brilliant film actor despite throwing it all under the bus at some point in his life.

RIP, Bud!