A good-looking, distinctive face. Handsome111c, not "pretty". A brilliant actor. I've seen too few of his films, and now that I've seen the film noir "The Prowler", I thought, "what a supreme, consummate performance!"

He wasn't a pretty face but his intense performances were memorable.

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One of Hollywoods greatest and most underatted actors.
So true. A name that is probably not an a lot of people's list when they rank their favorite actors. It hasn't been on mine either, and that's odd, because every movie I've seen him in - too few I'll confess - Heflin's performance is outstanding.
So far my favorite Heflin performance is
Johnny Eager
, and now that I've just watched
3.10 to Yuma
I'm again reminded how good he really was.
voting history:
http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=629013

Yes, "The Ruthless Four" is a Spaghetti western. A pretty good one, too. I think "The Man Outside" is available on VHS; I know a few places that can track down anything on video and will try to find it.
I remember seeing Heflin's obituary when he died. One of the pictures the paper showed of him was taken about two years earlier (1969) without the wig - he was smooth on top. But to my knowledge, he did not appear in any films without the toupee.
There is quite a bit of dicsussion about Heflin on the Classic Film board. He is highly respected by most everyone on that board and I've seen some good imformation posted about him there.
"A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere" - Groucho Marx

I would like to see the Ruthless Four. I believe it is a Spaghetti Western.
I particularly like Van in Westerns, his role in Shane was one of his greatest.
I was suprised to learn that Mr Heflin wore a toupee. There was some footage Of M Heflin circa the 1940's dinning with other Hollywood stars without the wig. You would never guess that he wore a hairpiece. In Shane, The Man Outside and all his films his hair looked so natural.

I haven't seen "The Man Outside" but would like to. I have seen almost eveything else Heflin appeared in. He was very generous to other actors, giving tips to people like Kirk Douglas, Tab Hunter and others.
A great performance from him is in a little known Western, "The Ruthless Four". Heflin elevates the film with his presence in the role of a broken-down prospector who finally finds gold.
"A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere" - Groucho Marx

Did you ever see Van in film The Man Outside with Ronnie Barker?
Ronnie Barker revealed in his biography that Van gave him on tips on movie acting.

There are a few reasons why I think Heflin was compared to Tracy:

• both were considered great actors during their time
• both were known for their understated acting styles
• neither was considred traditionally handsome per the classic Hollywood description
  You're right that Heflin was a unique actor and a great talent.
  "A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere" - Groucho Marx

Spencer Tracy was also a brilliant actor but, I can't understand why the description of The poor man's Spencer Tracy has been given to Van. Mr Heflin had is own unique stle and was an original talent. So was Mr Tracy

Agreed 100%. Heflin was sometimes referred to as the "poor man's Spencer Tracy".
"A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere" - Groucho Marx