Roy Scheider had a memorable face, a throwback movie stars face, like Bogart or Cagney. His features weren’t handsome, but they were tough, sharp and angled. Never a major star, somehow Scheider landed roles in some of the most memorable films of the 70’s, two of which are the best of all time, “Jaws” and “The French Connection”. The decades following the 70’s weren’t particularly kind to Scheider, but from a fans perspective it doesn’t matter, he made his mark, and his performances will continue to delight.
KLUTE (1971) 
Dir. Alan J. Pakula
Starring: Jane Fonda – Donald Sutherland – Roy Scheider
Fonda, in an Oscar winning role, plays upscale prostitute/junkie Bree, who happens to be the target of a mad killer. Sutherland is Klute, whose investigation about a missing friend has led him to Bree. Scheider, in his sleaziest role, plays Bree’s pimp Frank. The screen time was minimal, but Scheider, with his leathering skin and wirey frame, cuts a menacing figure.
THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971) 
Dir. William Friedkin
Starring: Gene Hackman – Roy Scheider – Fernando Rey
Scheider plays Buddy Russo, partner to Gene Hackman’s academy award winning portrayal of Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle, whose ugly investigation techniques have a tendency to get his fellow officers killed. Together they stumble upon what turns out to be a major drug smuggling operation, run by Alain Charnier played by Fernando Rey. If done right, the bust will set Doyle and Russo up for a promotion. But Doyle’s mojo is bad, and he finds himself making the same mistakes he’s made in the past, leading to tragic results. Scheider plays the loyal sidekick with integrity, intelligence and tough charm, neither stepping on Hackman’s toes nor taking a back seat. With both “Klute” and “Connection” released in ’71, it’s somewhat surprising that Scheider wasn’t in another memorable role until four years later.
JAWS (1975)
Dir. Stephen Spielberg
Starring: Roy Scheider – Robert Shaw – Richard Dreyfus
Scheider is Chief Martin Brody. He’s recently moved his family from NY to the small peaceful town of Amenity, hoping to escape the hazards and dangers of the big city. All too soon, Brody discovers it doesn’t matter where you run to, the monsters that endanger a family in the big city are just as prevalent in the small towns of America, in this case it takes the form of a great white shark.
What stands out most in Scheider’s performance is the humor and comic timing he brings to the role. Brody isn’t completely comfortable in his uniform, or with his authority, with the locals or with the water around the island. Scheider is able to use his carved face to it’s most potential when it comes to merely reacting to the environment around him.
The moment when the shark first appears is a classic moment, where Brody, trying desperately not to show how scared he is, pulls off the greatest cinematic double take of all time, followed by one of the greatest lines. “We’re going to need a bigger boat.”
“Jaws” is a great monster movie and rousing adventure. And besides “Duel” is the only Spielberg movie that Grumpy Guy breaks out again and again to watch, and it’s always a pleasure to anticipate the many great scenes that Scheider made so memorable.
MARATHON MAN (1976)
Dir. John Schlesinger
Starring: Dustin Hoffman – Laurence Olivier – Roy Scheider – William Devane
Coming off his star making role in “Jaws”, Scheider may have been given more screen time than his character warranted, but none of it is wasted, as he turns out a charming and heartbreaking performance as Dustin Hoffman’s mysterious brother Henry “Doc” Levy, an international thief/spy, whose dealing with Dr. Christian Szell, an ex Nazi on the run, leads to horrifying results.
“Marathon Man” is a solid entertainment in the genre of the 70’s paranoid thriller, like “Three Days of the Condor” and “The Parallax View”. Scheider is given many moments to shine, including one of the most brutal fight scenes ever to be put on film.
SORCERER (1977)
Dir. William Friedkin
Starring: Roy Scheider – Bruno Cremer – Francisco Rabal
According to Wiki, Director William Friedkin regretted hiring Scheider for the lead role of Jackie Scanlon, and basically blamed the commercial failure of his film on his casting choice which originally was supposed to go to Steve McQueen. But Scheider is fine in the film as the leader of a crew of criminals hired to drive a pair of trucks through the back roads of South America, loaded with nitroglycerin. Every bump in the road, every dip, every shake of the engine could bring them sudden death. Not as good as the original, “Wages of Fear”, but a very suspenseful, compelling film. Later Friedkin admitted that releasing the film against “Star Wars” was a mistake. Ironically, the film that made Scheider a star, “Jaws”, also contributed to the downfall of directors like Friedkin and movies like “Sorcerer”.
ALL THAT JAZZ (1979) 
Dir. Bob Fosse
Starring: Roy Scheider – Jessica Lange – Leland Palmer – Ann Reinking
Perhaps Scheider’s best performance and completely unexpected. Up to this point, Scheider’s roles had mostly been in action flicks. Here he plays Broadway dance choreographer and director Joe Gideon. Scheider is excellent in this Fellini-esque, semi-biographical account of Bob Fosse’s turn in directing Dustin Hoffman in “Lenny”. It’s been a while since Grumpy Guy has seen this one, but it’s sitting in my girlfriend’s VHS library as I write this. I’ll be dusting it off this weekend in honor of Roy.
R.I.P. Roy Scheider.
