THE Most Unlikely Leading Man of the Golden Era

[Feraud]

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.

Not to sidetrack the thread too much but there are plenty of "straight" actors whose personal life makes me cringe. Rock Hudson is not an unlikely leading man because he was gay. If he have to consider personal lives then we can exclude 95% of our idols from the past and present.

Seriously, does this look like an unlikely leading man??
http://shots.oxo.li/hot/OXO-World/Rock_Hudson.jpg

Now back to the show.

 

[BegintheBeguine]

Long Live Rock

Rock Hudson was one of THE leading men. Even in "Seconds".

 

[Jack Scorpion]

I'll go w/Bogart being pretty unlikely.

I've never seen the appeal of John Garfield.

And I think Orson Welles is usually far out of his range in those leading roles. The Lady from Shanghai?

 

[Quigley Brown]

Well the reason I said I didn't consider Fred MacMurray and Rock Hudson as good leading men is because I already had preconceptions of them from their later years...before I had seen any of their earlier stuff. I grew up watching My Three Sons...I saw him as an old laid-back, pipe smoking dad. So I thought it was pretty funny the first time I saw one of his earlier films as the gun-totin' cool dude. Heck, back in college I bought an original poster from the film Borderline just for fun because it showed him pointing a gun right at me.

As for Rock Hudson...I really hadn't seen (or didn't remember) any of his earlier films until after he had died of AIDS. So to watch him in Pillow Talk it's in the back of my head that he's really faking his romance with Doris Day, but that's why they're called actors, aren't they. There are other leading men who's off-set reputations now affect the way I view them on-screen...after it was revealed that they were unfaithful husbands, wife-beaters, druggies, etc.

 

[herringbonekid]

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.

Bogart had other qualities too: cynicism (he fitted straight into the post-war mood here...it wasn't all optimism. see film noir) and a great distinctive voice. he was the underdog. the survivor.

 

[Fletch]

Rock Hudson is not an unlikely leading man because he was gay. If he have to consider personal lives then we can exclude 95% of our idols from the past and present.

You mean 95% of them are GAY??!! <Fletch freaks out>

Just kidding. One assumes the actual people have feet of clay like the rest of us, unlike their personas.

Or are you saying 19 in 20 of them are more messed up than your average civilian???? That's an interesting (and probably defensible, given the effects of shobiz fame) thesis.

 

[Feraud]

You mean 95% of them are GAY??!! <Fletch freaks out>

Just kidding. One assumes the actual people have feet of clay like the rest of us, unlike their personas.

Or are you saying 19 in 20 of them are more messed up than your average civilian???? That's an interesting (and probably defensible, given the effects of shobiz fame) thesis.

haha, no I have no idea how many people are gay!

What I am saying is no one could hold up to the scruitiny celebrities are subjected to. Comparing the classy actors of yesterday to those of today is futile. They live in two completely different worlds.

 

[Twitch]

Edward G. Robinson as a lead is my pick. Just could never get over his gangster persona which typecast him to a high degree and made him unbelievable in any other characterization.

 

[Tomasso]

Your posting the AFIs Top Actors means nothing to me. Are you posting it as a weapon against me somehow?

I was agreeing with your choice of Bogart. I posted the AFI list of top leading men to illustrate how he pales in comparison to the others on the list, aesthetically speaking.

BTW, opposing views don't normally begin with the phrase, "I Concur".

 

[bingolittle]

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.

...bogart is an unlikely choice as a leading man...he just was not as striking as some of the others...brando was an exceptional actor, just not likable IMO.....

 

[Hemingway Jones]

I was agreeing with your choice of Bogart. I posted the AFI list of top leading men to illustrate how he pales in comparison to the others on the list, aesthetically speaking.

BTW, opposing views don't normally begin with the phrase, "I Concur".

Well, you sure got me there! lol

You know how it is, sometimes you wonder if your message is getting across.

 

[Elvgren_girl]

Kinda hard for me to look at that list and see Gene Kelly at the bottom

 

[MudInYerEye]

William Bendix, who was a lead in several big time movies. Guy looked, talked, and acted like they just pulled him off the docks.

 

[richstyle]

The Ultimate Golden Era Man of Style

Chic, rakishly charming, mysteriously dangerous, , a debonair villain in most of his films, Zachary Scott was imho the ultimat man of Golden Era style. Too bad he's not celebated more, and didn't make more films, but he died young, at 51, and typecasting limited the range of his roles in Hollywood. But as the villain in Mildred Pierce opposite Joan Crawford he had style to burn, baby, burn.

 

[Girl Friday]

I was thinking Fred Astaire has to be the most unlikely, but what a dancer. Then I thought Ernest Borgnine, but what a career! http://imdb.com/name/nm0000308/

I'd personally rather be a character actor, they have a lot more longevity.

 

[LadyStardust]

Rex Harrison gets my vote. Unconvential in every aspect, but brilliant nonetheless!!

 

[Fletch]

Post-WW2 regular Joes

Edmond O'Brien

John (Mr. Anne Baxter) Hodiak

 

[Gray Ghost]

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?)

I agree with you. I better, since I am from his home town.lol I just love his movies.

Gray Ghost

 

[BegintheBeguine]

Love this movie

Paul Douglas. Clash by Night.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

William Bendix, who was a lead in several big time movies. Guy looked, talked, and acted like they just pulled him off the docks.

And a hoot as the great lover "Don Juan Quilligan".lol

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037655/