I was sorry to see that you fell victim to an unfortunate stereotype in your "100 Greatest Movie Characters" feature (April 2004). Specifically: #64, Rocky Balboa. Adrian was not a "super-shy librarian." She was a pet store clerk. Now let's talk about librarians in movies. How about Katharine Hepburn's portrayal of Bunny Watson, the super-smart reference librarian in 1957's "Desk Set?" And don't forget Rachel Weisz's super-adventurous librarian, Evelyn Carnahan in 1999's "The Mummy!" Maybe you should compile a list of movies with librarians and movies set in libraries to make up for your goof.  Thanks for not shhhh-ing me.

—Kathy Rohde (librarian), Madison, Wisconsin

Yes, I do have too much time on my hands. Even so, I am bemused by your section on 100 greatest movie characters of all time. What criteria were you using? About half made no sense—Melanie Daniels??? Oda Mae Brown??? Lloyd Dobler?—and the order seemed so weird. Of course, we all have our own favorites but how could you miss out (at random):

• Linda Fiorentino, The Last Seduction
• Kathleen Turner, Body Heat
• Barbara Stanwyck, Double Indemnity
• Lana Turner, The Postman Always Rings Twice
• Rita Hayworth, Gilda

• Fast Eddie Felson in The Hustler
• Rudolph Pupkin in King of Comedy
• Jake La Motta in Raging Bull
• T E Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia
• Kirk Douglas, Spartacus
• Richard Boyle (James Woods) in Salvador
• Mozart and/or Salieri in Amadeus
• Aguirre in Herzog's Aguirre Wrath of God
• Fitzcarraldo in Herzog's Fitzcarraldo
• Alex Cutter (John Heard) in Cutter's Way
• Popeye Doyle in French Connection
• Carter in Get Carter (the original)
• Alfie in Alfie (ditto)
• Leon in Leon
• Jack Nicholson as Bad Ass Bodowski in The Last Detail
• Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption
• Thomas Crown (either one)
• Maximus, husband of a murdered wife etc, Gladiator
• Kirk Douglas character in The Bad and The Beautiful
• Gerard Depardieu as Cyrano de Bergerac
• Michelle Pfeiffer's Suzy Diamond in Fabulous Baker Boys

• Rutger Hauer as The Hitcher
• Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List
• Tom Cruise as Lestat in Interview With A Vampire
• Olivier as Christian Szell in Marathon Man
• Orson Welles as Hank Quinlan in Touch of Evil
• Richard Attenborough as Pinky in Brighton Rock
• Glenn Close and/or John Malkovich in Dangerous Liaisons

And how could you miss out of fun couples Bing and Bob in the Road movies; Sutherland and Gould in M*A*S*H*; and Rathbone and Bruce in the Forties Sherlock Holmes series? Okay, gotta get back to ironing my socks and laying out my cutlery drawer just so.

—Peter Guttridge, England

I had written an e-mail pertaining to Jack and Rose from Titanic, certainly two of the greatest characters on screen, being left off your wonderful list. It got to me to thinking of another performance by Leonardo DiCaprio which should not have been left off your list and that is of Arnie Grape in What's Eating Gilbert Grape? Over and over, so many reviewers and people, including myself, have considered his portrayal of a mentally challenged person the best that has ever been done. Numerous people who have loved ones who are mentally challenged have stated this is the one who got it right over others like Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, etc. Plus, being incredibly lovable and exasperating at the same time, and so in tune with Johnny Depp's portrayal of Gilbert, made it that much more poignant. It is such a shame Arnie, got left off the list.   He is to this day, memorable.

—Sandy Cushing, Colora, MD

Great feature, but how could you overlook my all-time favorite character:
Joel Grey as The Master of Ceremonies in Cabaret.

—Richard Whitehead, Atlanta, GA

Just a few complaints in an otherwise solid list of the 100 Greatest Movie Characters. Including Bonnie Parker opens the door for a host of others, most notably T.E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia. Jack Nicholson was represented well, but Melvin Udall in As Good as It Gets was a better character than Jake Gittes.

—Brad Nathan, Washington, DC

Don't Bogart that character.

Your list of the 100 greatest characters is interesting and rather complete. I agree with all of the selections except the placement the greatest character in the greatest film of all-time.

Rick Blaine, no.19, deserves a much higher place on your list. Clearly he is above Carl Spackler, Gollum, and Jeff Spicoli. If you can compare, or place above, Jeff Spicoli to Rick Blaine, then I would question your movie savvy.

—John Patterson, Lebanon, NJ