I have never thought of him as "bland", but as used in the article, I can see what the writer means; in many roles, he's a very believable "everyman". In the films I've enjoyed the most featuring Cotten he's pulled off desperate (Niagara) and creepy (Shadow of a Doubt) quite well.

Welcome to the SSO, Lomm! I see you have a photo from my fourth favorite movie of all time as your Avatar...BRILLIANT. :D It's in my top films too, obviously. :) Charade is my number one Stanley Donen film...with my two all time favorite actors right there front and center. Couldn't ask for more.

What a great thread. I may spend all my time here catching up with it.

Thank you Moira for helping me leap through some unexpected hurdles I ran into while trying to get registered!

Huge classic movie fan and stumbled upon this forum a while ago, but now decided to sign up. Looking forward to reading and talking about one of my passions with people who share it!