John Saxon's authority gives horror a credible adult presence; his ease makes even a thinly written action role agreeable. We value the steadiness of his supporting work, while recognising that charm cannot repair a script.
Fi1m perspective
In Enter the Dragon (1973), John Saxon gives Roper, a morally ambiguous gambler, a welcome ease beside Bruce Lee. He has the physical assurance of an actor trained in judo and Shotokan karate, but it is the agreeable company that stays with us. We enjoyed him and still grew impatient with the film, because Michael Allin's espionage material keeps interrupting the fights without giving Roper enough to justify the time. Robert Clouse makes the action clear and lively; Saxon makes the slower passages tolerable. We rate the performance without wishing there were more of it.
The teenage roles of the mid-1950s gave way to character parts, Westerns and European productions in the 1960s. The Appaloosa (1966) put him opposite Marlon Brando. Bob Clark's Black Christmas (1974) cast him as Lt. Fuller, while Dario Argento's Tenebrae (1982) made him Bullmer, a shifty agent. Horror repeatedly called on him to play the policeman, a casting habit that made good use of his authority.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) gives that authority a more personal job. As Lt. Donald Thompson, he is both a police officer and Nancy's father, sceptical of the danger but protective of his daughter. Wes Craven gets the balance right: Saxon lets us believe in the concern without requiring us to share the scepticism. His presence helps the film keep Nancy's predicament serious amid its malicious inventions. He need not be the centre of the film to make us care more about what is happening in it.
Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994) brings him back as a version of himself. The casting depends on our recognising an actor who has already helped make this horror believable. It is a sensible use of the audience's familiarity with a supporting player.
There are limits to what that kind of support can do. Enter the Dragon still stalls away from Lee, and even the stronger A Nightmare on Elm Street has untidy writing and effects that sometimes show their age. Start with Craven's film for Saxon: it gives the responsible adult something worth worrying about.
Biography
John Saxon was an American actor and martial artist. Born Carmine Orrico in Brooklyn, New York, he studied acting with Stella Adler and began his career under contract to Universal Pictures.
He appeared in more than 200 film and television projects over six decades. Saxon played Roper in Enter the Dragon (1973) and Lt. Donald Thompson in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), reprising the role in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) and appearing as himself in Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994). He was also known for roles in Westerns and other horror films, including Black Christmas (1974).
Saxon received a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor. He died of pneumonia on 25 July 2020 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
