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Steve Cochran
1917-1965
Updated 8/27/2008 with more films available on DVD!
biography
B-movie bad boy Steve Cochran was born Robert Alexander Cochran in California in May 1917. His father, a lumberjack, moved the family to Wyoming in the 1920s, where Cochran grew up. After graduating from the University of Wyoming in 1939, Cochran began working in regional theatre and summer stock. By the time he signed to make films with the Samuel Goldwyn Company in 1945, Cochran had been starring on Broadway. His film debut came in the 1945 Danny Kaye film Wonder Man, produced by Goldwyn and released by RKO. His work for Goldwyn consisted of mostly supporting roles, often playing boxers and gangsters. Upon being released from his contract with Goldwyn in 1948, Cochran went back to Broadway; after doing a couple of plays with Mae West, he signed with Warner Bros. in 1949 and returned to Hollywood. His film career fared better at the new studio, with Cochran landing leading roles in such film noir classics as The Damned Don't Cry (1950; with Joan Crawford), Highway 301 (1950; with Virginia Grey), and Tomorrow Is Another Day (1951; with Ruth Roman). Warners also cast him as the heavy in a number of solid westerns, including Dallas (1950; with Gary Cooper, Ruth Roman, and Barbara Payton) and Back to God's Country (1953; with Rock Hudson and Hugh O'Brian).
Various shots of Steve Cochran
With the end of his Warner Brothers contract in 1953, Cochran started his own production company, Robert Alexander Productions. He freelanced for other studios and began taking television roles. Cochran starred in a string of B movies throughout the later 1950s, including Carnival Story (1954; with George Nader); The Outcry (1957; produced by Robert Alexander Productions); and The Beat Generation (1959; with Mamie Van Doren and Fay Spain). Cochran's film career began to cool in the early 1960s.
the films of steve cochran
The Kid From Brooklyn (1946)
With Virginia Mayo, Danny Kaye, and Vera-Ellen in The Kid From Brooklyn, one of Cochran's few comedies
White Heat (1949)
With frequent co-star Virginia Mayo in the film noir thriller White Heat
Highway 301 (1950)
From the Warner Bros. film noir thriller Highway 301 with Virginia Grey and Gaby Andre
Back to God's Country (1953)
Cochran was at his best playing villains. In Back to God's Country, he's after Peter Keith's (Rock Hudson) wife, Dolores (Marcia Henderson). LEFT: Promotional photo. CENTER A, B, C: Cochran puts the moves on Marcia Henderson. CENTER D and RIGHT: Rock Hudson exacts revenge on Steve Cochran
The Beat Generation (1959)
From The Beat Generation, one of two films Cochran starred in for producer Albert Zugsmith. LEFT: Behind-the-scenes photo. RIGHT: With Jackie Coogan
The Big Operator (1959)
With Mamie Van Doren and Mel Torme in Albert Zugsmith's The Big Operator
Mozambique (1965)
Lobby card from Mozambique, Cochran's penultimate film
later years
In June 1965, Steve Cochran sailed to Guatemala with an all-girl crew to scout filming locations for his production company. Tragically, he developed a sudden acute lung infection and died three days into the trip, on June 15, 1965, at the age of 48. His final films, Mozambique and Tell Me in the Sunlight (a film in which he directed, wrote, produced, and acted), were released posthumously. Married several times, Cochran's best-known wife was actress Fay McKenzie, whom he married in 1946. The union ended two years later.
Unaired Pilots, Vol. 2: Dan'l Boone (1955)/Fremont The Trailblazer (1956) VHS
Another collection of TV shows that never got off the ground. In "Dan'l Boone," Bruce Bennett is the famous frontiersman who, along with Lon Chaney, Jr. as a Shawnee Chief, comes to the aid of a group of Indians who have been taken advantage of by crooked white men. Next, Steve Cochran stars as 19th-century explorer John Charles Fremont, joined on his Western odyssey by Kit Carson (James Gavin). 60 min.
The Chase [DVD](1946) DVD
A woman on the run from her husband flees to Cuba, but finds she cannot escape her past. Tense, emotional thriller in the ``noir'' vein stars Michele Morgan, Robert Cummings, and Peter Lorre. 84 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English mono. Plays All Regions.
The Best Years Of Our Lives [DVD](1946) DVD
Three WWII veterans returning home must fight their own personal battles for acceptance and adjustment in this Oscar-winning William Wyler drama. Fredric March, Dana Andrews and real-life amputee Harold Russell star, along with Hoagy Carmichael, Myrna Loy and Teresa Wright. 172 min. Standard; Soundtracks: English Dolby mono, Spanish mono; Subtitles: French, Spanish; theatrical trailer.
Copacabana [DVD](1947) DVD
Groucho Marx's first film without his brothers was this wild musical-comedy about a booking agent who gets his top (and only) client two singing jobs at the same nightclub. Carmen Miranda plays her familiar Latin role and doubles as a French chanteuse. With Andy Russell, Gloria Jean. Songs include "Tico, Tico." 91 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital 2.0; interactive menus; scene access.
White Heat [DVD](1949) DVD
The quintessential gangster film features James Cagney in his most frightening role, that of Cody Jarrett, a psychotic, mother-obsessed gunman who plans to escape from prison with fellow inmate Vic Pardo (Edmond O'Brien) and reunite his old crew for an armored car job. But when Pardo turns out to be a federal agent sent to infiltrate the gang, Jarrett engages in a violent shoot-out with the cops that culminates in a fiery finale. Raoul Walsh's riveting crime-drama co-stars Virginia Mayo, and Margaret Wycherly as Ma Jarrett. 113 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, French, Spanish; newsreel footage; bonus shorts "So You Think You're Not Guilty" (1949); "Homeless Hare" (1950); featurette; audio commentar
Gary Cooper: The Signature Collection [DVD] DVD
Former Confederate officer Gary Cooper poses as a U.S. marshal to bring down some outlaw brothers in the rough-and-tumble Texas town of "Dallas" (1950). Ruth Roman, Steve Cochran co-star. Coop is a disgraced Union officer who joins up with a band of horse rustlers working for the Confederacy, but whose side is he really on, in "Springfield Rifle" (1952). With Phyllis Thaxter, Lon Chaney, Jr. Charlton Heston co-stars with Cooper in "The Wreck of the Mary Deare" (1959), the story of a ship salvager who helps the lone remaining crew member of a grounded boat who is accused of destroying the vessel. This five-disc set also includes "Sergeant York" and "The Fountainhead." 9 hrs. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono.
The Joan Crawford Collection [DVD] DVD
Five-disc set includes "The Women," "Mildred Pierce," "Humoresque," "Possessed" (1947), and "The Damned Don't Cry."
The Damned Don't Cry [DVD](1950) DVD
Joan Crawford stars in this riveting character study about a woman who will stop at nothing to escape her impoverished lifestyle. Told in flashback, the story sees Crawford leaving the small factory town where she grew up and getting involved with a succession of men, eventually winding up in the middle of a deadly confrontation between her gangster boyfriend and his arch-rival. David Brian, Steve Cochran, Kent Smith co-star. 103 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono, French Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, French, Spanish; audio commentary; featurette; theatrical trailer.
Burt Lancaster: Signature Collection [DVD] DVD
Five-disc set includes "The Flame and the Arrow," "Jim Thorpe--All-American," "His Majesty O'Keefe," "South Sea Woman," and "Executive Action."
Ronald Reagan: The Signature Collection [DVD] DVD
"Knute Rockne All American" (1940) stars Pat O'Brien as the legendary Notre Dame football coach who revolutionized the game. With Gale Page, Donald Crisp, and Ronald Reagan as "the Gipper." "Kings Row" (1942) is a grand soap opera with Reagan, Robert Cummings, Ann Sheridan, Betty Field, and Claude Rains as a group of people involved in friendship, romance and tragedy in a small American town at the turn of the century. An egocentric Scottish soldier (Richard Todd) is unknowingly dying of a terminal disease while recuperating from a war injury in a Burmese hospital, in the WWII drama "The Hasty Heart" (1949). Reagan co-stars as the American G.I. who tries to befriend him. Ginger Rogers is a model who sees a KKK member commit a murder in a Southern town and agrees to help D.A. Reagan with the case, in "Storm Warning" (1951). With Doris Day, Steve Cochran. And Reagan and Day reteam for the powerful biodrama "The Winning Team" (1952), which follows Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander and his struggles with alcoholism and epilepsy. 8 1/2 hrs. total on five discs. Standard; Soundtrack: English.
Carnival Story [DVD](1954) DVD
An American carnival on tour in Europe is the setting for this high-flying drama starring Anne Baxter as a German pickpocket who joins the show and is soon fought over by two workers. With Steve Cochran, Lyle Bettger. 95 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital stereo.
Il Grido [DVD](1957) DVD
Michelangelo Antonioni's warm-up for his classic "L'Avventura" details the saga of an American working in a Po Valley sugar refinery who attempts to win the hand of a recent widow. Steve Cochran, Alida Valli and Betsy Blair star. AKA: "The Outcry." 115 min. Standard; Soundtrack: Italian Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English; scene access.
I, Mobster [DVD](1959) DVD
A gang leader, called to testify before a Senate committee, recounts a sordid life that stretches from crime-filled slum alleys to opulent vice palaces in this bullet-riddled thriller from director Roger Corman. Steve Cochran, Lita Milan, Robert Strauss star, with an appearance by legendary stripper Lili St. Cyr. 80 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English.
The Deadly Companions [DVD](1961) DVD
Excellent Western adventure concerning an ex-soldier/gunslinger who makes amends to the family of the man he accidentally killed by guiding the funeral party through Apache country. Maureen O'Hara, Brian Keith, Steve Cochran, Chill Wills star; Sam Peckinpah's directorial debut. 90 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital 5.1; scene access.
The Twilight Zone: The Definitive Edition: Season 1 [DVD](1959) DVD
All 36 episodes from the series's debut season--including "Where Is Everybody?," "One for the Angels," "Time Enough at Last," "The Hitch-Hiker," "The Fever," "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street," and "What You Need" with Steve Cochran--are featured in a six-disc set. 15 1/2 hrs. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; audio commentary; unaired pilot; blooper; interviews; promos; more.
filmography
FILM
Tell Me in the Sunlight (1967) written, directed, and produced by Steve Cochran
Mozambique (1965) with Hildegard Knef
Of Love and Desire (1963) with Merle Oberon, John Agar, and Steve Brodie
The Deadly Companions (1961) with Maureen O'Hara and Brian Keith
The Big Operator (1959) with Mamie Van Doren, Mickey Rooney, Ziva Rodann, Vampira, Mel Torme, Ray Danton, and Ray Anthony
The Beat Generation (1959) with Mamie Van Doren, Ray Danton, Ray Anthony, Fay Spain, Regina Carroll, Vampira, and Irish McCalla
I Mobster... The Life of a Gangster (1958) with Lita Milan, Yvette Vickers, and Lili St. Cyr
Quantrill's Raiders (1958) with Myron Healey and Glenn Strange
The Outcry (1957) aka Il Grido
The Weapon (1957) with Lizabeth Scott and Nicole Maurey
Slander (1956) with Van Johnson and Ann Blyth
Come Next Spring (1956) with Ann Sheridan and Sonny Tufts
Private Hell 36 (1954) with Ida Lupino, Howard Duff, and Dorothy Malone
Carnival Story (1954) with George Nader and Anne Baxter
Back to God's Country (1953) with Rock Hudson, Hugh O'Brian, and Marcia Henderson
The Desert Song (1953) with Kathryn Grayson, Gordon MacRae, and Raymond Massey
Shark River (1953) with Carole Mathews
She's Back on Broadway (1953) with Virginia Mayo and Gene Nelson
The Lion and the Horse (1952) with Bob Steele and Tom Tyler
Operation Secret (1952) with Cornel Wilde and Phyllis Thaxter
Tomorrow Is Another Day (1951) with Ruth Roman and Lurene Tuttle
The Tanks Are Coming (1951) with Philip Carey
Raton Pass (1951) with Dennis Morgan and Patricia Neal
Jim Thorpe -- All-American (1951) with Burt Lancaster and Phyllis Thaxter
Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison (1951) with David Brian and Philip Carey
Storm Warning (1951) with Ginger Rogers, Doris Day, and Ronald Reagan
Dallas (1950) with Gary Cooper, Ruth Roman, Raymond Massey, and Barbara Payton
Highway 301 (1950) with Virginia Grey and Richard Egan
The Damned Don't Cry (1950) with Joan Crawford, David Brian, and Richard Egan
White Heat (1949) with James Cagney and Virginia Mayo
A Song Is Born (1948) with Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, and Hugh Herbert
Copacabana (1947) with Groucho Marx and Carmen Miranda
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) with Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Virginia Mayo, Cathy O'Donnell, and Dana Andrews
The Chase (1946) with Robert Cummings and Peter Lorre
The Kid from Brooklyn (1946) with Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, Eve Arden, Vera-Ellen, and Fay Bainter
Boston Blackie Booked on Suspicion (1945) with Chester Morris
Boston Blackie's Rendezvous (1945) with Chester Morris and Nina Foch
The Gay Senorita (1945) with Jinx Falkenburg and Lita Baron
Wonder Man (1945) with Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, and Vera-Ellen
TELEVISION
Bonanza, episode The Trap, originally aired March 28, 1965
Burke's Law, episode Who Killed the Rest?, originally aired March 17, 1965
Burke's Law, episode Who Killed the Tall One in the Middle?, originally aired November 25, 1964
Mr. Broadway, episode Keep an Eye on Emily, originally aired September 26, 1964
Burke's Law, episode Who Killed Who IV?, originally aired April 3, 1964
Death Valley Days, episode The Westside of Heaven, originally aired March 1, 1964
Route 66, episode Shall Forfeit His Dog and Ten Shillings to the King, originally aired February 22, 1963
Stoney Burke, episode Death Rides a Pale Horse, originally aired January 14, 1963
The Virginian, episode West, originally aired November 28, 1962
The Untouchables, episode 90-Proof Dame, originally aired June 8, 1961
The Untouchables, episode The Purple Gang, originally aired December 1, 1960
Naked City, episode Debt of Honor, originally aired November 23, 1960
The Twilight Zone, episode What You Need, originally aired December 25, 1959
Zane Grey Theater, episode Debt of Gratitude, originally aired April 18, 1958
Studio One, episode A Most Contagious Game, originally aired October 17, 1955
Studio One, episode The Role of a Lover, originally aired February 22, 1954
Studio One, episode Letter of Love, originally aired October 19, 1953
NBC Presents, episode Tin Can Skipper, originally aired May 2, 1949
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This page premiered December 9, 2002.
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