Sterling Hayden: Hollywood’s Radical Rebel and the King of Film Noir

Sterling Hayden was a man who lived life on his own terms. During the golden age of Hollywood he was more concerned with ships and sailing than being an actor. He was a reluctant star, a war hero, a communist and a self described “rat”. Sterling Hayden was one of the kings of 1940s and 1950s film noir and he appeared in the classics THE ASPHALT JUNGLE, CRIME WAVE, and THE KILLING among others - Just for that alone his legacy should be cemented but he seems to be as underrated as some of his classic 1950s film noir movies . I spent a lot of time with Sterling Hayden while making this video and this is by no means a definitive look at his career or life but I think it’s a nice overview. The films I chose to focus on are the ones that resonated deeply with me. Just to clarify because I seem to have overlooked putting in this detail - Sterling Hayden and Madeleine Carroll were married in the winter of 1942 in New Hampshire. It did occur to me that I did not really describe the s