Back in the Golden Age of Hollywood Reagan was often the second choice for many classic roles. (Not Double Indemnity as he was still in the Army making training films.) He always just seemed on the cusp of mega stardom but never quite made it. A B-Movie actor, the second movie run in tandem with the main feature A-movie in theaters, he never quite made it to the A-movies as a leading man. At the end of his Hollywood career in 1964, in his final film, Reagan did play a bad guy with panache:
An overlooked film today but a good one, with Lee Marvin, John Cassavetes and Angie Dickinson, it demonstrates just how good Reagan was as an actor as he, unknowingly, was preparing for his greatest role.
Reagan’s work on television introduced him to a wider audience rather than his movie career. He had many roles in popular TV series and was host for General Electric Theater, a weekly anthology series, for many years.