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Though Roy Scheider might not be as much of a household name as other American actors who rose to prominence during the 1970s (like Al Pacino or Robert De Niro), he nevertheless deserves to be considered one of his generation’s greats. Most of his best films came out in the 1970s, though he continued to work beyond then, remaining active as an actor until 2008, when he passed away at the age of 75.
Scheider was particularly effective in gritty and intense thrillers, but by no means was limited to shining in such films. What follows is a rundown of his very best movies, starting with a handful that are a little overlooked, and ending with some all-time classics; indeed, it’s no exaggeration to say that Roy Scheider appeared in a few films that are considered among the best of all time.
10 '52 Pick-Up' (1986)
Directed by John Frankenheimer
Image via Cannon Group
Given that 52 Pick-Up is an adaptation of an Elmore Leonard story, you can rest assured that it’s at least going to be pretty good… and pretty good it is! Principally, it involves a wealthy man becoming the target of some blackmailers, and follows the drastic ways he attempts to track them down and not pay the money they're demanding, all the while keeping his secrets from being revealed.
It’s a film that gets pretty sleazy, gritty, and over-the-top (at least at a point), but anyone after something pulpy and violent will get that in spades here. 52 Pick-Up is also a good indication that Roy Scheider still had what it took to be a leading man after the 1970s were over, though most of his notable post-1980s roles were of the supporting/minor variety.
52 Pick-Up
Release Date November 7, 1986
Director John Frankenheimer
Runtime 110 minutes
Directed by Peter Hyams
Image via MGM/UA Entertainment Co.
Was a sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey necessary? Maybe not, but as long as one accepts that this one’s not going to be as good, there are indeed things to like about 2010: The Year We Make Contact. You lose Stanley Kubrick as director, sure, but Roy Scheider’s not the worst of substitutes, as far as trade-offs go, right?
The rest of the cast’s not bad, too, with John Lithgow and Helen Mirren being part of the supporting cast, and 2001: A Space Odyssey’s Keir Dullea and Douglas Rain (the latter as the voice of HAL 9000) returning, too. It’s a technically well-made science fiction movie and explores some interesting topics; certainly not essential, as mentioned before, but still better than you might expect a 2001: A Space Odyssey sequel to be.
8 'Naked Lunch' (1991)
Directed by David Cronenberg
Image via Alliance Releasing
Naked Lunch is one of the strangest films David Cronenberg has ever directed, and that’s saying something. It makes his body horror-focused stuff seem tame in comparison, because this is a more hallucinatory affair that’s kind of a crime film… well, it involves a murder, and then a surreal series of events following it that can’t really be explained. It’s pretty much impenetrable.
But perhaps impenetrable is just what an adaptation of a William S. Burroughs novel should be, though even then, Naked Lunch is really only a partial adaptation; probably saying it was somewhat inspired by the original text would be more accurate. For present purposes, it should be stated that, yes, Roy Scheider is in it, but explaining his character’s role within the “plot,” if it can be called a plot, is difficult. Watch this one if you want to feel baffled.
Release Date December 27, 1991
Runtime 115 Minutes
7 'The Rainmaker' (1997)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Image via Paramount Pictures
Like Roy Scheider, Francis Ford Coppola is best known for his 1970s work, though the pair ended up collaborating in the 1990s, with The Rainmaker. This is a legal thriller with an absolutely stacked cast that Roy Scheider is only a small part of, with the likes of Matt Damon, Claire Danes, Danny DeVito, Jon Voight, and Mickey Rourke also appearing here.
Narratively, The Rainmaker is about a very young attorney nobly taking on a case that’s way out of his league, the film thereby becoming both an underdog story and a courtroom drama at once, hitting all the expected beats along the way. It’s not the most remarkable film within any involved individual’s respective body of work, but it gets the job done and moves pretty well, considering its runtime exceeds two hours.
The Rainmaker
Release Date November 21, 1997
Director Francis Ford Coppola
Runtime 135 Minutes
6 'Klute' (1971)
Directed by Alan J. Pakula
Image via Warner Bros.
Klute is a dark and morally complex film; the kind that seemed to thrive in the 1970s, at least in America. It was also one of the first big films Roy Scheider appeared in, playing Frank Ligourin, the former pimp of Jane Fonda’s character, Bree Daniels, with Donald Sutherland playing the film’s titular character, a detective named John Klute.
It’s all very carefully paced as far as thrillers go, but Klute thankfully never feels overly slow or anything. It’s got just the right amount of intrigue and quiet menace to stay interesting throughout, and all the key players here are perfectly cast (even if Scheider would later become better known for playing slightly more heroic characters… or at least individuals who could be considered anti-heroes).
Klute
Release Date June 23, 1971
Director Alan J. Pakula
5 'Sorcerer' (1977)
Directed by William Friedkin
Image via Paramount Pictures
Roy Scheider’s first collaboration with William Friedkin was the superior film (more on it in a bit), but the pair’s second, Sorcerer, was still pretty damn great. The movie has the same premise as The Wages of Fear, involving a perilous journey undertaken by a group of desperate men who are instructed to transport explosive material through exceedingly rough terrain.
Somehow, Sorcerer manages to be even darker – and arguably more intense – than The Wages of Fear, with some particularly stomach-churning sequences here proving very difficult to forget. If you don’t have a nail clipper on hand and need to get your nails down to a manageable length, Sorcerer might well help, because few films can be called nail-biters to quite the same extent as this one.
Release Date June 24, 1977
Runtime 121 Minutes
4 'Marathon Man' (1976)
Directed by John Schlesinger
Image via Paramount Pictures
Another Roy Scheider thriller filled with anxiety, Marathon Man does admittedly see the actor in more of a supporting role, but his character is key in getting the plot underway. He plays the brother of Dustin Hoffman’s character (nicknamed Babe), and ropes Babe into a very complex series of events that involves stolen diamonds and a sadistic Nazi war criminal.
Once Marathon Man gets going, it never really stops, feeling more like a breathless sprint of a thriller, in all honesty, rather than a more slow-burn marathon-esque affair. It all holds up remarkably well, and is more than capable of putting one on edge even when watched today, close to half a century on from when Marathon Man first came out. It’s all made so well that it’s easy to forgive the fact that Scheider pretty much exits the film surprisingly early.
Release Date October 8, 1976
Director John Schlesinger
Runtime 125 minutes
3 'The French Connection' (1971)
Directed by William Friedkin
Image via 20th Century-Fox
Before Sorcerer, there was The French Connection, which is right up there as one of William Friedkin’s very best movies (it’s this one or The Exorcist, really). The French Connection is about as good as crime thrillers from the 1970s get, and it also succeeds as an action movie, with some particularly memorable stunt work featured in an all-time great car chase sequence.
Gene Hackman is the star here, sure, and The French Connection is understandably well-recognized for being one of the actor’s best movies, but Roy Scheider is also excellent as the partner of Hackman’s Detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle. The pair are entirely believable as no-nonsense cops wrapped up in a desperate mission to bust a drug-smuggling operation, and the level of grit/realism found throughout The French Connection as a whole remains admirable.
Release Date October 7, 1971
Runtime 104 Minutes
2 'All That Jazz' (1979)
Directed by Bob Fosse
It can’t be easy, playing the stand-in for a director while the director himself is calling all the shots on a pretty much auto-biographical film, but that’s the position Roy Scheider found himself in during All That Jazz. The film was directed by Bob Fosse, and is basically about Bob Fosse and his chaotic life, to the point where the ending ultimately foreshadowed how Fosse would pass away in real life.
But before that point, All That Jazz works as a fast-paced, gripping, and visually bold drama that sometimes also feels like a musical. The director is the star here, in more ways than one, but it’s also possible to argue that All That Jazz would’ve fallen apart without a great lead actor achieving said director’s wild vision, and that’s just what Scheider managed to do here, in an essentially perfect way.
Release Date December 20, 1979
Runtime 123 Minutes
1 'Jaws' (1975)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Image via Universal Pictures
Hey, if a ranking is to have Jaws on it, then there’s a good chance Jaws is going to sit at the very top of whatever ranking that is. Call that inevitability boring if you want, but this is easily one of the greatest films of all time, regardless of genre, and it has Roy Scheider in the lead role, playing the chief of police in a small town that’s impacted by a series of shark attacks during the summer holiday season.
An instrumental film in Steven Spielberg’s body of work, too, Jaws is about as simple and as brutally effective as thrillers get. It’s consistently entertaining, perfectly paced, and cast exceptionally well, from its leads down to smaller characters who might only show up for a scene or two. It’s a movie that’s been hyped non-stop for the last 50-ish years, but it more than lives up to the hype in question.
Release Date June 18, 1975
Runtime 124 minutes
English (US) ·