Films of Glory : AFI Shines The Projector On The Achievements Of Kirk Douglas

It’s Kirk Douglas’ year.

The 74-year-old movie tough guy was the recent recipient of the American Film Institute’s 1991 Life Achievement Award, which the public can see Thursday when CBS airs “The AFI Tribute to Kirk Douglas.”

Plus: The 1960 epic “Spartacus,” which Douglas starred in and produced, was restored by the AFI and is in theaters across the country.

And: In March the Writers’ Guild of America honored Douglas for breaking the Hollywood blacklist when he hired Dalton Trumbo, one of the “Hollywood 10,” to write the screenplay for “Spartacus.”

Not to forget: Douglas has a cameo in the just-released Sylvester Stallone comedy “Oscar.”

On a more dramatic note: Douglas escaped death three months ago, suffering only a few broken bones and scratches, when a helicopter in which he was traveling collided with a small plane in Santa Paula.

Kirk Douglas has starred in more than 70 motion pictures during his 45-year film career and has received three best actor Oscar nominations. If Thursday’s AFI special whets your appetite, consider watching some of these Douglas classics available on video:

He was a hot young Broadway actor when producer Hal Wallis cast Douglas in his first film, 1946’s The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (public domain). Though Douglas later had a macho movie personae, in this enjoyable melodrama the actor plays the weak-willed, alcoholic husband of Barbara Stanwyck. Van Heflin co-stars as the bad guy.

Douglas gets to act tough as a gangster kingpin in the legendary 1947 film noir Out of the Past (RKO Pictures Home Video). Robert Mitchum stars as a former gangster who can’t escape his past when his old boss (Douglas) and girlfriend (Jane Greer) involve him in murder. Beware the colorized versions.

Douglas received his first best actor Oscar nomination for 1949’s riveting Champion (Republic Pictures Home Video). Douglas gives a remarkable performance as an ambitious, ruthless boxer who claws his way to the top.

In 1950’s underrated Young Man With a Horn (Warner Brothers Home Video), Douglas is memorable as a brilliant trumpet player who becomes obsessed with hitting the perfect note. Inspired by the life of horn player Bix Beiderbecke, the drama features splendid supporting performances by Lauren Bacall (as the bad girl), Doris Day (the good girl), composer Hoagy Carmichael and Juano Hernandez (as his mentor).

Douglas received his second Oscar nomination as the “bad” movie mogul in 1952’s searing Hollywood drama The Bad and the Beautiful (MGM/UA Home Video). Lana Turner (she’s the “beautiful”), Dick Powell and Gloria Grahame (who received the best supporting Oscar) co-star. Vincente Minnelli, primarily known for such musicals as “Meet Me in St. Louis” and “An American in Paris,” directed.

Walt Disney’s lavish 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Walt Disney Home Video), produced in 1954 and based on Jules Verne’s classic novel, was the studio’s first live-action feature. Douglas is engaging as a fun-loving sailor who becomes involved with the brilliant, but psychotic Capt. Nemo (James Mason) who operates a futuristic sub called the Nautilus.

Douglas and Vincente Minnelli scored another hit in 1956’s Lust for Life (MGM/UA Home Video), based on Irving Stone’s best-selling historical novel about painter Vincent Van Gogh’s descent into madness. Douglas received his third best actor nomination (he lost to Yul Brynner in “The King and I”) for his finely etched performance as Van Gogh; Anthony Quinn copped the best supporting award as Von Gogh’s pal, artist Paul Cezanne.

Douglas and frequent co-star Burt Lancaster make a great team in the action-packed 1957 Western The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (Paramount Home Video). Douglas is dying gunman Doc Holliday, Lancaster is Wyatt Earp, and together they shoot it out with the evil Clanton gang. Dennis Hopper and Rhonda Fleming co-star.

The year 1957 saw the release of another Douglas classic, the harrowing anti-war drama Paths of Glory (MGM/UA Home Video). Set during World War I, “Paths of Glory” tells the true story of how three French soldiers were tried and executed for cowardice because of a French general’s colossal blunder. A then 28-year-old Stanley Kubrick directed the film, which failed to attract an audience during its initial release.

Three years later, Douglas and Kubrick teamed up again for the recently restored Spartacus (unrestored version--MCA/Universal Home Video). Based on Howard Fast’s novel, the three-hour-plus spectacle chronicles the true story of an unsuccessful slave revolt against the Roman Empire. Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton, Laurence Olivier, Peter Ustinov (who won a best supporting Oscar) and a miscast Tony Curtis also star.

Douglas’ personal favorite is 1962’s Western Lonely Are the Brave (MCA/Universal Home Video). Adapted by Trumbo from Edward Abbey’s novel “Brave Cowboy,” “Lonely are the Brave” finds Douglas giving a haunting portrait of a rebellious cowboy trapped in the modern world. Walter Matthau and Gena Rowlands also star.

“American Film Institute Salute to Kirk Douglas” airs Thursday at 10 p.m on CBS.