Classic Hollywood actor Steve McQueen has been one of my favorites ever since the first time I saw “The Blob” (1958).  That was probably back when I was in high school or earlier.  It was a while before seeing him in anything else, but I thought he was great in the role as he led his friends in an effort to warn locals of danger.  I thought he was a handsome actor and there was something I liked right away about his onscreen demeanor.

As much as I love the sci-fi movie, I wasn’t at first aware of the annual Blobfest held in Phoenixville, Pa.  But last year, I finally made it out to the event celebrating the town’s ties to “The Blob.”  Check out my Blobfest photos on Flickr.  I bought a copy of this documentary about McQueen just outside of the Colonial Theatre.

Steve McQueen DVD

Over the years, I eventually started to catch other movies starring McQueen whenever they would air on the Turner Classic Movies channel.  There were a lot of McQueen movies being featured on TCM throughout the day on Friday, Aug. 9.  Before that line-up, I had also seen him in:

    • “The Magnificent Seven”
    • “The Reivers”
    • “Bullitt”
    • “The Towering Inferno”
    • “The Great Escape”

There were a number of McQueen’s movies included in the line-up that I hadn’t seen before.  So, I decided to watch what I could; now, I can add the following movies to the above list and they are all so well-acted by McQueen and his co-stars:

    • “Somebody Up There Likes Me” (he didn’t play the main character)
    • “Le Mans”
    • “The Cincinnati Kid”
    • “Papillon”
    • “Soldier in the Rain”

Although I have “Papillon” on DVD, I still haven’t been able to watch it that way due to my laptop DVD drive still needing repairs.  On the desktop computer, the speakers aren’t working.  So, I’m glad that TCM included “Papillon” in their McQueen movies because his role in it was stunning.  I would describe it as one of those roles in which you see an actor like you’ve never seen him before.

I feel the same way about McQueen’s role in the movie that followed, “Soldier in the Rain,” with Jackie Gleason.  Only in this case, it was for the comedic style.  There were some moments of drama mixed in among the many hilarious ones as well.  I hadn’t heard of this movie before, but now I am planning to add it to my DVD collection; I just loved it!

I’m looking forward to seeing more of the movies in which McQueen starred.  What’s your favorite of his movies and roles?