tastyWho is Chuck Bass?

A character like Chuck Bass only come along once in a while and then suddenly the cable bill doesn’t seem like such a useless waste of money after all. We revel in his badness, we feel for his vulnerability – and we’re attracted to him, even though we know it would end badly (for us)…

Chuck Bass is a Classic Character

A powerful, tough, passionate character wearing flashy clothes, the Chuck Bass character is reminiscent of many bad guys in classic black and white movies – particularly the characters played by actor Edward G. Robinson.

bassrobinson

“Some people have youth, some have beauty – I have menace.” (Edward G. Robinson)

Edward G. Robinson lived in New York City for most of his life. He appeared in his first movie in 1923. In real life, he “was a sophisticated, cultured man with a passion for fine art” (imdb) but in the movies he usually played brutal criminals. He appeared in many Humphrey Bogart movies, but he is probably most well-known for his role as gangster Rico Bandello in “Little Caesar” (1931). I think my favorite Edward G. Robinson movie is Key Largo (1948, with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall). The movie that reminds me of Chuck Bass the most is “The Whole Town’s Talking”. In this movie Robinson plays two different characters: a vulnerable dreamer who is secretly in love with his coworker and a violent schemer who will do anything necessary to save himself.

Here is Edward G. Robinson with Joan Bennett in the film Scarlett Street

Scarlet

And here is our other Edward… Edward Westwick -the actor who plays Chuck Bass

gossip

Edward G. Robinson in the 1944 film Tampico (with Lynn Bari)

EdGbc

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post Post to Delicious Post to Delicious Post to Digg Digg This Post Post to StumbleUpon Stumble This Post