Legendary actor James Caan passed away on Wednesday, July 6, at the age of 82. He was a prolific force, acting in films from the early 60s through today. His accolades are many. He was nominated for Golden Globes, Oscars, and Emmys. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His presence has been a part of some of the biggest movies ever made. He never failed to dominate the screen. Here are just some of James Caan’s best performances.
Alan Bourdillion Traherne, nicknamed "Mississippi" in El Dorado (1966)
One of his first breakout roles was in this Howard Hawks western, alongside John Wayne and Robert Mitchum. Caan plays a gunman out for revenge after his adopted father is murdered. He then joins up with Wayne’s character of Cole Thornton after Thornton saves Mississippi from being killed in retaliation. While it wasn’t the best showcase for Caan’s burgeoning acting ability, it put him next to three Hollywood heavyweights, and got everyone’s attention. Most of his scenes are shared with Wayne, who was the most famous actor in the world. You can’t beat that.
Brian Piccolo in Brian’s Song (1971)
This made-for-television film, first released as an ABC Movie of the Week, is the ultimate tearjerker. Based on the real life story about the friendship between Chicago Bears star running back Gale Sayers (Billy Dee Williams) and his teammate Brian Piccolo, audiences would fall in love with Caan’s heartbreaking performance of a man dying from cancer in the prime of life. It’s one of the most popular TV and sports films ever made, and the one that made men feel like it was okay to cry.
Sonny Corleone in The Godfather (1972)
Playing the son of Marlon Brando’s Vito Corleone and the brother of Al Pacino’s Michael, this is undoubtedly Caan’s biggest role. He would earn an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the angry and violent Sonny. While Pacino’s Michael is calm and under control, we get to watch Sonny come apart. It all leads to his undoing and one of the most memorable and gut wrenching death scenes when Sonny is shot dead by several mobsters in the most horrific fashion. Even though it may have been a fitting end for such a dastardly character, Caan’s acting made you wish he didn’t have to go.
John Baggs Jr. in Cinderella Liberty (1973)
This gritty love story starring Caan and Marsha Mason would be nominated for several Oscars and Golden Globes following its release. Here Caan plays a sailor on a “Cinderella liberty” pass which allows him to leave his base as long as he returns by midnight. While out he meets and befriends a prostitute at a bar. The woman has a young biracial son who is often left by himself. Baggs grows closer to him while slowly falling in love with his mother. This is not Pretty Woman. What we get here is a darker tale, but it’s a joy to watch Caan interact with and become a surrogate father to the young boy, leading to a hopeful ending for them both.
Axel Freed in The Gambler (1974)
Here Caan plays a New York City English professor and gambling addict who falls in with the wrong people. This is not a story about redemption, but a character study. We can only watch in horror as Freed’s addiction gets worse and he lands himself in more trouble. By the film’s end he is completely transformed. After being attacked and slashed with a knife by a prostitute, Freed simply stares at his wound and smiles. This is who he is now and he’ll never change. Robert DeNiro was the first choice to play Freed, but the director insisted on Caan. He chose right.
Jonathan E. in Rollerball (1975)
This sci-fi film would become a cult favorite. Here we are transported forty-three years in the future to an alternate 2018. Countries no longer matter, corporations are who we pledge allegiance to, and the extremely violent rollerball has become the most popular sport. Caan plays the captain of a rollerball team. His corporate bosses want him dead. Entrenched in hopelessness, the film is a satire that speaks to our bloodthirst and how corporations are taking over the world. The rollerball scenes are thrilling, with Caan’s Jonathan E. refusing to conform no matter the cost.
Billy Rose in Funny Lady (1975)
A musical sequel to 1968’s ever popular Funny Girl, Caan stars alongside Barbara Streisand as the second husband to her Fanny Brice. While the film was not the success that the original was, the final product being a bit of an overdone mess, Caan still shines, earning himself another Golden Globe nomination. He and Streisand make the film work and hold it together. Caan would beat out Robert Deniro again for the role along with his Godfather brother Al Pacino, showing that he was just as talented and in demand as these other legends in the making.
Staff Sergeant Eddie Dohun in A Bridge Too Far (1977)
Richard Attenborough directed this World War II epic that recounts the Allied forces invasion of Nazi controlled Netherlands. The film is packed with a mammoth ensemble cast with stars such as Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, and Robert Redford. Caan is their equal as an American Staff Sergeant. In a film with so many speaking parts, it would be easy to get lost in the shuffle, but decades later it’s Caan’s performances as Eddie Dohun that’s remembered most, such as the scene when he forces a doctor to operate on a wounded captain at gunpoint.
Frank in Thief (1981)
Michael Mann’s first film is one of Caan’s best. Here he plays a man named Frank, a professional safecracker who wants to leave his criminal ways behind. Following the “one last job before going straight” trope, everything of course goes wrong, but the film does not. It’s a brilliant crime thriller that established Mann and showed why Caan was one of the best actors in the business. That coolness he was always known for is on full display here, with Caan calling one long winded monologue and masterclass in acting the favorite moment of his career.
Paul Sheldon in Misery (1990)
Rob Reiner directed this suspense filled nightmare based on Stephen King’s novel about a crazed fan who kidnaps her favorite author. Kathy Bates took home the Oscar for Best Actress for her role as that crazed fan, but Caan as kidnapped author Paul Sheldon is her perfect foil. The movie comes across as a small play for most of its runtime, with Bates and Caan alone with each other to showcase a genius back and forth that sees Sheldon fighting for his life while also trying to calmly outsmart his captor. Caan’s screams will make you feel the infamous sledgehammer scene deep in your soul.
Walter Hobbs in Elf (2003)
Modern audiences remember Caan best for this modern Christmas classic that saw him playing the straight man to the wild Will Ferrell as the just found father of Buddy the Elf. Caan was famously annoyed by Ferrell’s antics on set and it shows on screen. The tension works, however, and Caan plays grumpy in only the great way that he does it. Viewers get to watch a man come to grips with realizing he is a father of a child he never knew existed. Take out the fact that said child happens to be an extremely odd elf from the North Pole, and you still have a story that tugs at the heartstrings as Walter learns to accept his son and love him for who he is.