Dan Duryea: Heel with a Heart

Hollywood Legends

by Mike Peros

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.

Genres: Biography, Media Tie In

254 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[SundayAtDusk · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I was growing up and watching unlimited television, I found I always tended to like "character actors" the best. Dan Duryea was never one I paid that much attention to, though. I can't even remember the Twilight Zone episode he was in--Mr. Denton On Doomsday--even though I can remember most of those episodes. Thus, I thought it would be interesting to read this book, and see if it motivated me to watch Mr. Duryea's movies and TV shows.

I'm afraid it left me with no such desire. Not that it's a badly written book or anything; it's just mostly for film buffs, in my opinion. About the actor's personal life, you learn he was a happily married family man and dedicated father, who mostly associated with those outside of the acting profession when not working. You also learn it rightfully bothered him that people often imagined he was truly like the slimeballs he so often played, when nothing could be further from the truth. It also bothered him that he got so many sick letters from female fans who liked that he often physically abused women in his films. He even once consulted a psychiatrist about that matter to help him understand why those women felt like they did.

Those topics are slightly mentioned, however. The vast majority of this book is author Mike Peros' views on Dan Duryea's roles in films and television. He tells what the stories were all about, who else was in the productions, and how Mr. Duryea handled each role. Mr. Peros is a huge fan of the actor, and there's not a thing wrong with that; but I personally could not get that interested in most of what he was writing about, since I'm no movie buff. Hence, I'd recommend this book strictly to old movie fans, Western TV show fans and, of course, Dan Duryea fans.

P.S. There were 64 really nice photos of Mr. Duryea in the Kindle ARC, both professional and family photos.

(Note: I received a free e-ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher or author.)

[Pam Koenig · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in return for a review. The book should be labeled The Works of Dan Duryea, because 9/10ths of the book is a trip down memory lane. Only about 1/10th is about his life, the rest is a very complete list of his movies and tv appearances. It is more like a synopsis of the stories. I remember watching many of the programs and it brought back memories of a time when the bad guys never won, but sometimes weren't all bad. I always like when Mr. Duryea was in a program, no matter the role, he always seemed to have a twinkle in his eye. I wish more of his life was told in this book. The copy I read, had no photos, but hopefully the finished product will.

[patrick Lorelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a very entertaining book about the life of film, stage, and television actor Dan Duryea. I first remember him in his roles as a tough guy in what they now call film noir. I remember in Ball of fire, Pride of the Yankees, a western titled Winchester 73, just to name a few. He was never the leading man. In the first two movies Gary Cooper was the star and in the Western Jimmy Stewart was the star. He was always in the back ground most of the time playing a villain, but whatever the role still to this day the movie is one I can still watch. He was married to the same woman from 1931 until her passing in 1967. Both he and his wife took an active role in raising their two boys going to PTA meetings and he would even coached little league when either one of his boys played. When he could the entire family would go to film on location, and he would do everything possible to make sure he was home at night for dinner. Definitely not like the characters that he was portraying on the big screen. I found this to be a very interesting book for me with information about the films he was in and then later the T.V. shows. Overall a good book. I got this book from Netgalley.com I gave it 4 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com