A Living Paradox
But Gerald Mohr - tall, lean, elegant, with sensitive artist's hands and a face that strongly resembles that of his good friend Humphrey Bogart - has not been driven to become a Western hero out of personal necessity. He is, in fact, a living paradox: as an actor, he has played countless Western heroes, gangsters, Mexicans, swarthy murderers, Spaniards and Sheiks - privately, he is a man with strong roots in European culture, a noted book collector (with, for example, Anatole France's works in first editions signed by the great author), a book and art lover, an expert on French literature, a good pianist; a humorous gentleman who speaks four languages, he is forever searching for the good things in life.
The Problems with Typecasting
The concept of "typecasting" - unknown in England but more common in USA and Sweden - has to some degree become Gerald Mohr's destiny. Almost all of his colleagues in Hollywood have experienced the same problem. Cary Grant, for example, who, after having portrayed a number of charming he-men during the 30s and 40s, tried hard to escape typecasting by portraying a tragic Cockney in "The Lonely Heart". There was nothing wrong with Grant's presentation (after all, he is an excellent actor), but the audience were laughing hysterically and did not take him seriously. Here (in Sweden) "typecasting" can be illustrated by mentioning Sigge Fürst. Starting as a charming revue performer, he broadened his repertoire by portraying both jovial gentlemen and treacherous villains. He is today a respected character actor at Dramatiska teatren (the most prestigious theatre in Stockholm). But only he can fully appreciate how hard the struggle was before he reached that goal.
Friend of Orson Welles
In comparison, Gerald Mohr's attempt at breaking out from typecasting has been more successful. In Sweden he is remembered from several sympathetic roles, among others playing opposite Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford in "Gilda", as a Major with integrity playing opposite Märtha Torén in "Sirocco" and playing opposite Barbara Stanwyck in "Lady of Burlesque", one of Gerry Mohr's first major roles. As the modest man Gerald Mohr is, he mentions that he was not the first actor to be chosen for his breakthrough role in the latter movie. It was his good friend Orson Welles who convinced the producer to give Gerald the role, and it took him 4 hours to do so! Orson Welles (currently of interest through "Processen" after Franz Kafka's novel) is not only a square peg in a round hole in the American movie world, but he is also the salt of the earth. Gerald Mohr knows what he is talking about - he belonged to Welles' well-known Mercury group which, among other performances, gave a radio version of H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds" so realistically that the audience thought that Martians really had landed on Earth, and evacuation started in many American cities.
Salt of the Earth
To illustrate the character or Orson Welles, Mohr tells the following story: A director was engaged for one of his films who was also well-known for his alcohol abuse. He got the job after having promised producer Welles complete abstinence while working. In spite of his promise, the director one afternoon appeared on set completely stoned and fell asleep in a
