Thompson came to Hollywood along with the Van Johnsons, Robert Walkers, and the Robert Mitchums. They were nice clean-faced young guys who were perfect for the new war pictures and youthful roles that all of the former stars were either getting too old to play or too busy being in the military to make. While the three mentioned made a greater impact on Hollywood than Thompson, his career is nothing to sneeze it. It is, however, often pushed aside and forgotten. Let’s take a dive and see the type of films he made.
He was born on November 27, 1925, already making him quite a few years younger than Johnson, Walker, and Mitchum (all born in the teens). He was the new kind of boy-next-door demographic studios were looking for now that WWII had emerged. He was discovered while performing in an Occidental College play (he sometimes wrote for them too). His first appearance was unbilled in a Henry Aldrich picture, but his first real role came from Universal’s Reckless Age (1944) where he starred opposite the likeable Gloria Jean. That was enough for MGM to place him in their studio roster. He was in the lesser MGM film Blonde Fever (1944), despite having good actors such as Philip Dorn and Mary Astor to support it. His next film was a fine one, but it was no more than a cameo comic relief part in The Clock (1945) where he appears as the henpecked boyfriend of Judy Garland’s roommate.
Thompson’s next role was much meatier in The Valley of Decision (1945) where he plays a member of the spoiled Scott family where Greer Garson works. His co-stars include Gregory Peck, Donald Crisp, Lionel Barrymore, Marsha Hunt, Preston Foster, and Dan Duryea, not too shabby! His part, however, was hard to stand out over the major cast. His next film was the smaller, but definitely charming, Twice Blessed (1945) with the talented Wilde twins. He plays the close friend of one of the sisters, who falls for the other one when they switch places. It managed to give him a love scene. He was also in the classic war film They Were Expendable (1945) with such stars as Robert Montgomery, John Wayne, and Donna Reed. Thompson’s part was considerably bigger than his in Decision. He was also a reliable leading man for such lovelies as Frances Rafferty and he had the lead in Gallant Bess (1946) aside from the titular horse.
His parts began to get showier in such films as The Secret Heart (1946) where he’s adorable as Robert Sterling’s Navy buddy who falls for his unstable sister, June Allyson. The role mainly called for him to not be noticed over Allyson’s school-girl crush on Walter Pidgeon, but we, the audience, noticed him anyway. He also showed up at the end of The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947), a rare pacifist picture of the time, where Van Johnson (a yankee) comes across a southern family and tells them that their son (Thompson), who is now dead, fought for the Union side. It was a very powerful ending to a now unnecessarily underrated movie. It is best known now for being the film debut of Janet Leigh.
Despite the war being over and his previous pacifist film, Thompson was put in some war films such as the Clark Gable vehicle Homecoming (1948), the big-cast film Command Decision (1949), and, of course, Battleground (1949). In the latter, he is more or less the main character in a cast that includes Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy, etc. The film follows him from being a new recruit in a battalion to becoming a man through the perils of war. In the next decade, Thompson progressed to more leading man roles, but not necessarily in the best pictures.
One of his better film was Dial 1119 (1950), a film in the newer darker film noir tradition where he plays a mentally disturbed young man. Definitely a difference from the roles he previously played. It, however, couldn’t last since his films following were The Basketball Fix (1951) and The Rose Bowl Story (1952), which was a low-budget film despite starring Natalie Wood and a pre-stardom Vera Miles. If Thompson was in a good movie, it was in a smaller role like in the 40’s with such films as Mystery Street (1950), The Tall Target (1951), and The Caddy (1953). The films to follow weren’t much better from the typical formula films being spun out in the 50’s. The occasional good ones included To Hell and Back (1955), Good Morning, Miss Dove (1956), No Man Is an Island (1962), and later The Turning Point (1977).
What really put Marshall on the map was TV. Aside from making the occasional television appearance, he was in the comedy “Angel” in 1960-1961. What was the part that really got him attention was Dr. Marsh Tracy in “Dakari”, which lasted from 1966-1969. He played a wildlife veterinarian who often worked with a cross-eyed lion named Clarence. The show came from the film Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion (1965). He also directed some episodes of the show “Flipper”. In his later life he took wildlife videos that were used in documentaries. He also appeared in more occasional shows such as “The Partridge Family”, “George”, “Quincy M.E.”, “Lou Grant”, and “Murder, She Wrote”. Thompson died on May 18th, 1992. While he is best known for his television work, his film work is also worth taking a look at.
~Bianca
The Tinseltown Twins 