McCrea, Joel (1905-1990)

Although he liked doing Westerns best, Joel McCrea also appeared in some of the best comedy films of the early 1940s, such as The Palm Beach Story (1942), Sullivan's Travels (1941), and The More the Merrier (1943). A versatile actor, he also excelled in dramas and thrillers, including These Three (1936), Dead End (1937), and Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent (1940). Not a flashy actor, he was a tall, attractive, somewhat self-effacing man who conveyed a sort of rough hewn honesty and patience that served him well in both serious and comedy roles.

Born in Pasadena, California, at the age of nine McCrea moved with his family to Hollywood when it was still "all open country"—he and the movie business grew up together. He started doing extra work in silent films in the early 1920s, initially because he was an excellent horseman. By the early 1930s, he was starring in talkies like Bird of Paradise (1930), The Lost Squadron (1932), and The Most Dangerous Game (1932). McCrea switched almost exclusively to Westerns in the mid-1940s, appearing in Ramrod (1947), Four Faces West (1948), and Colorado Territory (1949), along with nearly two dozen others. Joel McCrea's final major Western was Sam Peckinpah's Ride the High Country, which has been considered a classic since its release in 1962.

—Ron Goulart

Further Reading:

Katz, Ephraim. The Film Encyclopedia. New York, Perigee Books, 1982.

Kobol, John. People Will Talk. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1985.