The actor's actor: Robert Ryan festival begins today at New York's Anthology Film Archives

"What a man!" That was how my grandmother always remembered her accidental meeting with actor Robert Ryan in a California bus or maybe train station (I was a kid at the time she first told me about this and can't remember which it was). They chatted for awhile, long enough, at least, for her to recall, "He was a perfect gentlemen, and so gracious and kind!" She felt he was hoping to get to know her further, but when she explained to him that she was married, he immediately stopped that line of pursuit.

A huge movie buff, my grandmother followed the lives and performances of actors and actresses as though they were family, and although Ryan's acting often left her cold -- he was too good at playing villains -- she never forgot that meeting, and the actor moved immediately to the top of her list, replacing even Robert Taylor, whom I always thought she kept in primary position only because he was married to her favorite actress, Barbara Stanwyck.

Grandmother would have been first-in-line to view the new series -- Robert Ryan: An Actor's Actor --beginning today at Anthology Film Archives in New York City. Offering only six of the actor's many movies, the films chosen manage to display Ryan's range and capabilities quite well. TrustMovies has seen five of the six (there were no screeners for About Mrs Leslie) and can attest to Ryan's enormous charisma and talent in each. Any one of the films is a must-see if you haven't, and probably a view-again, if you have.

You can check out the entire schedule here, as well as finding info about, directions to and ticket availability at AFA by clicking the appropriate links.