Edward Binns gives men with jobs to do a convincing authority, helped by a gravelly voice that needs little emphasis. We rate his dependable supporting work most highly in ensembles, particularly when Sidney Lumet is directing.
Fi1m perspective
The gravel in Edward Binns's voice is useful in 12 Angry Men (1957): Juror 6 sounds as though he belongs in the discussion. Binns is convincing as one member of the jury, without needing to become its centre. We were gripped by the deliberations because Sidney Lumet and his ensemble make the responsibility of listening feel urgent. The writing sometimes arranges the disagreements too neatly, but the actors give us reason to attend to each man.
His film work began in the early 1950s and repeatedly put him in positions of practical authority. As Captain Junket, he is a police detective in North by Northwest (1959); television gave him a leading role in Brenner (1959–1962). Yet supporting parts remained the main business of his film career. That suits an actor whose firm delivery can establish a man's competence quickly, leaving a scene free to get on with something else.
Colonel Jack Grady, the bomber pilot in Fail Safe (1964), and Major General Walter Bedell Smith in Patton (1970) continue that pattern. These are credible uses of Binns, though the repeated military roles suggest the limitation too. We come to expect a purposeful man who knows his job, and dependability alone cannot make every appearance worth seeking out. Lumet directed him in four films, putting that reliability to good use in the ensembles of 12 Angry Men and The Verdict.
The Verdict (1982) casts him as Bishop Brophy, in a film whose strongest claim on our attention remains Paul Newman's worn-down Frank Galvin. We would not pretend Binns is the reason to choose it. He belongs to a superb cast that makes a familiar redemption story moving, although the solemn pace sometimes becomes self-important. It is a useful later stop after 12 Angry Men, provided there is no hurry to get to bed.
Biography
Edward Binns was an American stage, film and television actor. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 12 September 1916, he graduated from Pennsylvania State University and trained at the Cleveland Playhouse and the Actors Studio, of which he was an early member. He began appearing on Broadway in the late 1940s and in films in the early 1950s.
Binns is known for his roles in 12 Angry Men (1957) as Juror 6, North by Northwest (1959), Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), Fail Safe (1964), Patton (1970) as Major General Walter Bedell Smith, and The Verdict (1982). He appeared in numerous television series, including Brenner (1959–1962) as Lieutenant Roy Brenner, and episodes of MASH, The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents*.
Binns died of a heart attack on 4 December 1990, aged 74.
