BEST ROD TAYLOR MOVIES

“Giant” (1956) Billed as “Rodney Taylor,” the actor had one of his first significant parts in director George Stevens’ Oscar-winning version of the Edna Ferber novel about wealth, romance and rivalry in Texas. “The Time Machine” (1960) The H.G. Wells tale gave Taylor one of his most popular hits, thanks also to the touch of fantasy-producing staple George Pal. “The Birds” (1963) Taylor makes a solid hero going up against flocks of feathered non-friends in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic, ever-unsettling thriller. “Sunday in New York” (1964) Norman Krasna’s adaptation of his stage play gave Taylor one of his most popular roles as a man whose chance encounter with a Big Apple visitor (Jane Fonda) sets the stage for a new romance. “Young Cassidy” (1965) Inspired by the life of playwright Sean O’Casey, this drama – started by legendary director John Ford – reunited Taylor with his leading lady from “The V.I.P.s,” Maggie Smith. “The Glass Bottom Boat” (1966) In his second teaming with Doris Day, Taylor turns up the charm as an aerospace executive who comes to worry that his new employee (Day) might be a spy. “Hotel” (1967) Taylor is ideally cast in this saga based on Arthur Hailey’s novel, playing the manager of a New Orleans hotel targeted for a takeover while various dramas unfold among the staff and guests. “Dark of the Sun” (1968) At his brawniest here, Taylor plays a mercenary facing peril from all sides in the Congo while planning a theft of uncut diamonds. “Darker Than Amber” (1970) Rarely seen now, this impressively gritty mystery stars a very tough Taylor as novelist John D, MacDonald’s private eye Travis McGee. “Inglourious Basterds” (2009) Writer-director Quentin Tarantino enlisted Taylor for what turned out to be the actor’s final role, as British statesman Winston Churchill.