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Russell Crowe = William Holden

Think about it, couldn't Crowe play Stalag 17, Born Yesterday, Sabrina, Bridge on The River Kwai, completely fit in in all those roles, and make everyone else in the picture look good too?

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I dunno. Could he play in Network, or The Christmas Tree? Or Sunset Boulevard.

Holden had some sophistication about him. He could be a scoundrel and wastrel, but my, what a polished and elegant one. It's a stretch to see him play truly downscale.

Crowe is a ruffian, and has to stretch to go upscale and play anything like a normal fellow or one with some sort of restraint and composure and familiarity with a comb and a razor and a haircut that doesn't look like one he did himself while black-out drunk. He's the kind of guy who could make even a fresh tux look less than top notch and even a Royal Navy officer look like a cabin boy caught playing dress-up.

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Crowe is young for his age and Holden was old for his, but I think that's in large part due to the times they live in. Like I said earlier, Fonda was always old, at least by our standards, but everyone back in those days was. The world revolved around old people back then, so you grew up and became old to become part of that world. Today, youth is served and you hang on to that as long as you can.

That said, yes, I do think that as Crowe can no longer get away with being young, he'll round off and be that sophisticated guy that was once a ruffian. But you're probably right, Holden will alweays have the edge of sophistication, like someone born to it, because that's who he really was. Crowe will have to learn it. So they're close, but not clones. Think of Crowe as the modern version of Holden.

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I more easily think of him as Sean Connery, before Terence Young taught him how to be James Bond, and maybe later, after he went back to being more like a working class Scott. Maybe, Anderson Tapes days. Similar incipient scowl and vaguely pissed, brook-no-bullsh*t, straight ahead intense stare.