THE Most Unlikely Leading Man of the Golden Era

[scotrace]

Grant, Gable, Bogart, Peck, Stewart, Fonda. All very obviously Leading Men.

My vote for the most unlikely of leading men is Melvyn Douglas. To me, he seemed like an old codger from the get-go. Grandfatherly even as a young man. And yet, he got THE plumb co-star - Garbo!

When I think of him, it's always as Dr. Jaffrey in Ghost Story.

 

[drafttek]

This is a little post golden era but Tom Ewell always comes to mind. He ain't pretty yet he was opposite Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield. He must have had some clout, or some dirt on somebody.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

See, to my mind, it made absolute sense for Tom Ewell to be cast alongside those bombshells. Ewell (and not Gregory Peck) was the epitome of the '50s "man in the grey flannel suit". His presence in those films allowed ordinary Joes in the audience to imagine themselves in his place. Sort of like today's "ugly male porn star syndrome".


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[Miss Neecerie]

Grant, Gable, Bogart, Peck, Stewart, Fonda. All very obviously Leading Men.

My vote for the most unlikely of leading men is Melvyn Douglas. To me, he seemed like an old codger from the get-go. Grandfatherly even as a young man. And yet, he got THE plumb co-star - Garbo!

When I think of him, it's always as Dr. Jaffrey in Ghost Story.

Ninochka is such an ace film!

 

[LizzieMaine]

Kay Kyser. Lots of fun as a bandleader, and he's surprisingly good as the focal character in his films. (How many other novelty-band personalities of the day ever got co-billing with John Barrymore?)

 

[Haversack]

How about Peter Lorre as the Dutch mystery writer in _The Mask of Demitrios_?

Haversack.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

I beg to differ...

...in regard to Humphrey Bogart as an "obvious" leading man. He was short, he had a long face, he had a funny voice, he had odd mannerisms, he had a funny name, and he was out-of-proportion. However, he had that certain elusive quality, that odd mix that added up to a compelling whole.

Bogart, one of the most compelling actors of the last century, is my pick for least likely leading man.

 

[scotrace]

But Douglas did not have that elusive quality. He was urbane, and self-assured, but... grandfatherly. I kept waiting for Garbo to say "Lose the dentures..."

 

[Tomasso]

I Concur!!

.

Bogart, one of the most compelling actors of the last century, is my pick for least likely leading man.

Here's the AFI's top 15 actors:
1. Humphrey Bogart
2. Cary Grant
3. James Stewart
4. Marlon Brando
5. Fred Astaire
6. Henry Fonda
7. Clark Gable
8. James Cagney
9. Spencer Tracy
10. Charlie Chaplin
11. Gary Cooper
12. Gregory Peck
13. John Wayne
14. Laurence Olivier
15. Gene Kelly

 

[Godfrey Park]

Here's the AFI's top 15 actors:
1. Humphrey Bogart
2. Cary Grant
3. James Stewart
4. Marlon Brando
5. Fred Astaire
6. Henry Fonda
7. Clark Gable
8. James Cagney
9. Spencer Tracy
10. Charlie Chaplin
11. Gary Cooper
12. Gregory Peck
13. John Wayne
14. Laurence Olivier
15. Gene Kelly

Me too...

 

[Hemingway Jones]

.

I hope you guys are getting my point.

I love Bogart. I think he is the greatest. He is probably my favorite actor of all time.

But, he doesn't have the natural good looks and bearing of a Cary Grant or Marlon Brando. To me it makes he ascendency that much more of an accomplishment. It makes him that much more impressive.

Your posting the AFIs Top Actors means nothing to me. That list is of actors, not leading men, and certainly not of "least obvious leading men." Are you posting it as a weapon against me somehow? If so, what are you disagreeing with, because I haven't a clue. [huh] I think we're all in agreement.

 

[Nick Charles]

I like Patric Knowles and Richard Carlson

 

[patrick1987]

It seems like these are all men we like, but are not the obvious choice for the sterotypical Leading Man.
Laird Cregar in Hangover Square

 

[Feraud]

I vote for James Cagney as unlikely leading man. Short, stocky, not handsome in a Cary Grant kind of way and starred in a lot of films.

 

[Quigley Brown]

Fred MacMurray is questionable.

Definitley not Rock Hudson!

 

[Fletch]

David Manners, the guy from early '30s horror flicks.
It's amazing that they picked him to be Katharine Hepburn's first on-screen partner.

 

[Feraud]

Fred MacMurray is questionable.

Definitley not Rock Hudson!

Wha? Rock Hudson totally had the leading man look down! Whether or not he preferred leading ladies is irrelevant.

 

[Fletch]

Agreed. Manners, however, was faking it and looked it. The only time he showed believable physical intimacy with a woman (Helen Chandler), she was playing his sister! Ooog.

 

[Quigley Brown]

Wha? Rock Hudson totally had the leading man look down! Whether or not he preferred leading ladies is irrelevant.

I know he's just 'acting,' but I just can't watch Rock Hudson movies and not think about his true lifestyle (not that there's anything wrong with it)....especially Ice Station Zebra.

 

[shindeco]

I know he's just 'acting,' but I just can't watch Rock Hudson movies and not think about his true lifestyle (not that there's anything wrong with it)....especially Ice Station Zebra.

fftopic: And yet, no one says a word when Tom Hanks plays a gay character in Philadelphia!! (Or any of the other numerous straight actors who have portryed gay characters in recent years) Puh-leeeze!! There's such a huge double standard

Back to your regularly scheduled forum

Slightly tongue in cheek but I have to put in a vote for Keye Luke in "The Phantom of Chinatown"; who figured Golden Age Hollywood would ever cast an Asian actor as an Asian in a leading role--unheard of!!!