MovieChat Forums > Cross of Iron (1977) Discussion > James Coburn's performance

James Coburn's performance

posted 13 years ago by I_hatenazis
14 replies | jump to latest

Overall I would rank it as outstanding even though I do acknowledge that there were some flaws. I give it a very high mark because the one thing that he had to do to make the movie work well he did perfectly. Namely he convincingly portrayed a very competent, grizzled non-commissioned officer who desperately wanted his squad to survive the war more then anything else. A good example of this is when Pvt. Dietz introduced himself, Coburn's Steiner spoke some very harsh words to him but his eyes betrayed a very great concern for Dietz's survival. This emotional portrayal of Steiner really complemented Peckinpah's ability to portray violence. While Peckinpah was a genius in the brutal scene 'demarcation' Coburn's character helped humanize the squad to make you care about what is happening and it gave great weight to the final stand off with Lt Triebig.

On the negative side, his final confrontation w/Stansky fell flat, I believe that the poster bstephens21 hit the nail on the head by suggesting that Steiner was going to lead Stransky into a suicidal conflict with the Russians and did not intend to survive it. However, Coburn's delivery of the line made it look like what we, in the U.S., call a 'buddy cop'. It's as if Coburn in real life is too nice of a guy to somehow give us a hint of Steiner's more sinister motive. Likewise, his total disdain for ALL officers including Col. Brandt was baffling and unconvincing.

Despite these flaws, Coburn gave a brilliant performance for the reason I stated earlier.
(comments are welcome of course)

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] I_hatenazis 13 years ago

True, but I attribute it to an acting flaw and not an intentional part of the movie. Another poster pointed out that Steiner was really intending to lead Stransky into a suicidal attack on the Russians; this way Stansky would meet his end in a well deserved manner with Russian bullets. This interpretation looks very plausible to me based on Steiner's last conversation with 'the foul smelling one' where he said that Kruger was the new platoon leader but then denied that he was going to become a deserter. This sounds like he is planning to die.

Colburn was great at portraying the tough but caring soldier but he seemed to have a hard time in the areas that demanded that his character be genuinely mean. The fact that this ending is so often discussed proves to me that Colburn missed the mark here in his portrayal of Steiner. He should have delivered the line ..'and I'll show you where the Iron crosses grow' in a more menacing manner.

Overall, I still love his performance but I do acknowledge his failure here.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] bjorn5 13 years ago

It has been argued that _Coburn_ (no "l" in there) at 48 was too old to play the role of an NCO, especially considering that the man said to be the basis for his character, Knight's Cross winner Johann Schwerdfeger, was 30 years old at about the same time, but I think that the choice to have Coburn was a good one. His grizzled looks (hell, he was just a year older than me when the movie was shot, but he looks ten years my senior) conveys the feel of an "old hare" (German army slang for veteran). A younger actor might have had it harder to pull off that stunt.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] I_hatenazis 13 years ago

Bjorn, I agree with you that Colburn's age was not a problem at all and I believe it added to his immensely successful portrayal of the tough, competent yet deeply caring and devoted to his platoon, almost like a father. There are many scenes where it is clear that Colburn's Steiner was the adult in the room and this played off well with Pvt Kern's performance sometimes child like behavior.

Colburn's combat scenes were very convincing, while he was gray haired, he portrayed both wit and cunning and his leanness complemented his agile movements. He did not look to struggle at all carrying a wounded soldier on his back. I give Colburn a A+++ for his overall performance.

I apologize for repeating myself but it seems that people mis-understand my posts, so I'll say again, his ONLY acting flaw was that he seemed to struggle when he had to portray a cynical, totally insubordinate, officer hating soldier who was about to lead Capt. Stransky to his death.

I love this movie, the more I study it the more I appreciate its richness.

[–] Ehrgeiz 13 years ago

I think, in terms of actorship, James Coburn delivered a great performance. But he was kind of miscast. I can live with the age, but there are two points - he just looks not very german (dont mean, he must be blond and blue eyed, but he lacks the look to much). Same problem a bit with James Mason, who also did an outstandig performance. Second problem is how the role plays out - it seems like Peckinpah transformed one of his western guys in the movie.

[–] kmontkau 12 years ago

What's with "Colburn" in all your posts? The guy's name is "Coburn", not "Colburn". Lose the l, please, it is highly irritating. Thanks.

[–] I_hatenazis 12 years ago

Thanks, got it. This reminds me of Sondra Locke where I and others insist on making it Sandra locke, for some reason my brain wants to hear it that way but this is a detail I should be able to get right. :-)

[–] ridge-m-1 10 years ago

Cross of Iron is one of my very favorite anti-war movies. It was Orson Welle's favorite anti-war picture of all time. However, James C. does deliver his lines in a rather strange accent.

[–] stevekaczynski 9 years ago

I think Coburn was one of these people who are naturally grey-haired from their 20s onward. I don't think he was too old in this, whereas I thought Lee Marvin was in The Big Red One. I think Coburn nailed the "haggard, all-too-experienced NCO" aspect of Steiner.

"Chicken soup - with a *beep* straw."

[–] stevekaczynski 9 years ago

I think there was a touch of the Marxist about his character's world view. His argument with Stransky in one scene underlines the fact that they belong to different classes - Stransky is a Prussian aristocrat, Steiner a commoner. Steiner's hatred of officers would also fit into that, although I don't think he hated the platoon lieutenant who was killed during the Russian dawn raid. Perhaps he respected him as a combat soldier who may well have been promoted from the ranks.

"Chicken soup - with a *beep* straw."

[–] Cognoscente (2778) 4 years ago

The way that he reacted to that kid's death was awkward.

[–] Wuchak (8855) a year ago

his total disdain for ALL officers including Col. Brandt was baffling and unconvincing.

Yeah, what's he expect -- that there be no one in charge in strategic military operations? If someone respects & supports you, like Col. Brandt does with Steiner, you should appreciate it.

I think it comes down to how battle-weary Steiner was, not to mention he didn't even believe in the Nazi-led cause of Germany. I also believe it's a matter of Steiner being a sigma male while officers are typically alpha males, which is briefly explained here for anyone interested: https://www.wikihow.com/Sigma-Male-vs-Alpha-Male