*Includes pictures *Includes Bronson's own quotes about his life and career *Includes footnotes, online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents 'Maybe I'm too masculine. Casting directors cast in their own, or an idealized image. Maybe I don't look like anybody's ideal.' - Charles Bronson 'I look like the kind of guy who has a bottle of beer in my hand.' - Charles Bronson The leading men of the 1940s and '50s ably represented the visual and cultural expectations of those decades in their iconic films. Some were handsome and glib with quasi-classical dialogue, some could sing, and a few could dance, while others brought an imposing athletic presence to thrillers, westerns, and urban crime dramas. However, with the advent of the early 1960s, popular culture entered a heightened age of verismo, a more frank and severe view of societal reality. Motion picture studios on both sides of the Atlantic, aware of the changing times, were quick to reflect
