Chapter 7 - Man, beast, machine

Summary

From the 1950s, Brynner's star image was associated with authoritarian masculine roles to the point of him having ‘virtually shaped the contemporary macho persona in his own brooding image.’ Even when his roles were not action-packed, popular imagination surrounding his figure established the actor, with little (if any) evidence, as a martial arts expert: ‘Everybody knows that Yul Brynner speaks eleven languages. That he is an expert chef. That he is a world traveller. But what most fans don't know is that he's also a ju-jitsu champion!’ Starting with this declaration in 1957, the fan magazine Modern Screen went on to narrate a lesson that Brynner allegedly gave to ‘a wise-guy’ Marine for doubting his authentic Oriental origins (as marked by martial arts prowess): the setting of the story was that of a party around the time of Brynner's immigration to the United States. Challenged by the Marine to a ju-jitsu session, it was said that Brynner held the man ‘in an excruciatingly painful arm-lock,’ then threw and slammed him down on the mat hard enough to break the man's wrist. In the punchline, Brynner revealed that his forte was actually judo. This fabricated piece supported Brynner's enigmatic Oriental alpha male persona, even though it was not until later that his film roles expanded towards action.

A current of more or less pronounced violence runs through Brynner's film work, from the murderous Paul Vicola of Port of New York to the whip-waving King Mongkut wishing to flagellate an escapee slave, perhaps to death, to the tyrannical Rameses and many characters since – hired guns, military men, and freedom fighters included. Even in his more subdued role as Jason Compson in The Sound and the Fury, ‘Mr. Brynner as a rasping tyrant spends a great deal of valuable time merely shouting and slapping at Joanne Woodward,’ losing ‘none of his characteristic menace.’

As the Hollywood studio era came to a close, as Brynner's stardom began to fade, and as his roles grew less flamboyant in their ethnic displays, sets, and scale, he remained cast in masculine roles – some more playful than others – that were increasingly rife with violence.