Old Hollywood Stars: Before and After

[Inky]

What a brilliant idea for a thread, Cherry Lips! Thank you

One of my very favorite Hollywood faces and actresses is Bette Davis -

here she is on the right as a young child:

In 1928 (age 20):

As a blonde Hollywood "Starlet"

Classic Bette in 1950's All About Eve (age 42 approx):

One of my favorite movies - 1963's Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (age 55):

And finally in her golden years, still an amazing and interesting woman:

 

[HadleyH]

^ ^ ^
Great photos of Bette Davis ,Inky!!! :eusa_clap Thank you!




I have never been a great fan of Jimmy Stewart, I don't know why, don't ask me. He was a great actor and all that, but he never did anything for me. [huh]
Anyway, here he is...



Little Jimmy, looking like ... well, little Jimmy!

young man

Jimmy later on

 

[cecil]

Incomparable Gene

One of the reasons why I'm always gobsmacked by Gene Tierney is that her beauty is so natural. She wasn't dyed, bleached, nipped, tucked, crafted by a studio: she was just (in the words of her first husband) "a genetic marvel". From day one she was a stunner. I'm not saying that being more of a created beauty is at all a bad thing, it's just a sight to behold! It has also been said of her a number of times that no photograph or movie ever captured just how beautiful she really was. Sigh.

Young:

And as a star:

I know that beauty is supposed to be in the eye of the beholder but truly, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better looking woman! lol

 

[Smuterella]

^ heh - see I totally don't see it, especially the childhood pic which I find slightly scary.

Its great how we all find different things beautiful.

 

[cherry lips]

Ava Gardner

Talk about Southern Belle!

"the lady (1922–1990) remains unknowable, deeply affecting, and forever unsure of any talent she had, except for seduction. A few of the legends are true: It was a picture of her at 17 in a Manhattan storefront that started everything."
"MGM, which in her starlet days wanted to fill in that cleft in her chin with mortician's wax, now left her alone"
From the review of Ava's biography "Love Is Nothing":
http://www.seattleweekly.com/2006-07-26/food/she-was-something/

 

[HadleyH]

Jimmy Cagney

Now.... this Jimmy I really, really like! :eusa_clap


some are adorable from the cradle on! awwww

you tell'em Jimmy! (ain't he looking swell?)

Judo James!

AFI Tribute 1974. :eusa_clap he was the BEST! :eusa_clap

Edit to add to most inmortal photo in the history of cinema ......silly of me to have forgotten...

we love you Jimmy!!!!!!!

 

[Lily Powers]

Hadley, I love James Cagney, too! Especially in romantic films, so here's a pic of him from "Blonde Crazy," made in 1931, the same year "Public Enemy" was released. Polar opposite characters! Sort of off-topic since I'm not posting a "before he was well-known" picture, but since he's not so well known for his romantic roles, I think I can argue in favor of it .

 

[cecil]

^ heh - see I totally don't see it, especially the childhood pic which I find slightly scary.

Its great how we all find different things beautiful.

Yeah totally, likewise nobody else in the thread has done a thing for me.

Except Gary Cooper, of course. Sigh...

 

[HadleyH]

Hadley, I love James Cagney, too! Especially in romantic films

Lily... yes.... we totally agree!

...he rules! [angel]

 

[KittyT]

Good lord, Jimmy Stewart was dashing as a young man! James Cagney, don't see it!

Great thread, btw.

 

[scottyrocks]

Now.... this Jimmy I really, really like! :eusa_clap


some are adorable from the cradle on! awwww

you tell'em Jimmy! (ain't he looking swell?)

He's got the same 'dont you mess with me' look on his face in both shots. Amazing.

 

[R. L.]

Jack Lemmon

One of my favorites, more accessible to many of the younger folks since he kept going for so long.

 

[KittyT]

One of my favorites, more accessible to many of the younger folks since he kept going for so long.

I love Jack Lemmon. Likewise, early Walter Matthau.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Here you go Hadley....

Bette Davis and her Mom with Dog

 

[cherry lips]

Lana Turner

Lana Turner was born Julia Jean Mildred Francis 1921 in Idaho. Her father was a miner from Tennessee and her mother was a sixteen year old from Alabama. Before there was Lana there was Judy, as she was commonly called in those days.

Turner's discovery at a Hollywood drug store is a show-business legend. As a sixteen-year-old student at Hollywood High School Turner skipped a typing class and bought a Coke at the Top Hat Cafe [...] on Sunset Boulevard [...], where she was spotted by William R. Wilkerson, publisher of The Hollywood Reporter. Wilkerson was attracted by her beauty and physique, and referred her to the actor/comedian/talent agent Zeppo Marx. Marx's agency immediately signed her on and introduced her to film director Mervyn LeRoy, who cast her in her first film, They Won't Forget (1937). (Wikipedia)

 

[Lily Powers]

Good lord, Jimmy Stewart was dashing as a young man! James Cagney, don't see it!

Great thread, btw.

I was never a Cagney fan till I saw him in "Blonde Crazy." It was one of those undefinable qualities - the way he moved, the playfulness of the character, how he interacted with Joan Blondell - that made me see him as a really attractive man.

Here's an iconic pre-code beauty, Norma Shearer:

Even her husband, Irving Thalberg, didn't think she could play the vamp, but after she had photographer George Hurrell shoot her in sultry and dramatic poses, Thalberg cast her in the lead of "The Divorcee" in 1930.

 

[C-dot]

Even her husband, Irving Thalberg, didn't think she could play the vamp, but after she had photographer George Hurrell shoot her in sultry and dramatic poses, Thalberg cast her in the lead of "The Divorcee" in 1930.

I think Norma was a lovely actress - Not incredibly versatile, but she is an inspiration to the every woman: A "plain jane" who willed herself to be beautiful.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Audrey Hepburn....

10 years old...... such a cute kid

1948 Nederlands in 7 lessen

 

[jayem]

I know I may be the only person who thinks this... but I've never thought of Audrey Hepburn as pretty. Cute, maybe, but not pretty.

 

[Christy]

Love James Cagney, sooooo handsome!