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DawnM74

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Posts posted by DawnM74

  1. Posted

    On 1/9/2020 at 9:38 AM, Roy Cronin said:

     A lifelong heavy smoker, Betty Grable died of lung cancer.  At 3 packs a day though, she was not at the Bette Davis level.  She died nearly broke after being a millionaire at one point in her career, and with no health insurance, worked as long as she could after her diagnosis to pay the medical bills.

     

    1944 Betty Grable "Pin-Up Girl" Movie Chesterfield Cigarettes Art Print AD

    Harry James (her husband of over 20 years) was a gambling addict & introduced the bad habit (as well as smoking & drinking which she didn't do until she hooked up with James)to Betty. That's where all of her money went - to pay off debts incurred at the horse races. He was also an alcoholic & was very jealous of her success....their marriage was a dumpster fire.

    • Like 2
    • Thanks 1

  3. Posted

    This is one of my favorite Valentino films. I think it shows that he did have range & had he not died so young, would have proven himself to be more than just a heart-throb. He also had a knack for comedy which you can see in "The Eagle" & in some of his very early work.

    • Like 1

  4. Posted

    A few of my unpopular opinions........

    Greta Garbo was way overrated

    So are Lauren Bacall, Elizabeth Taylor, Meryl Streep, Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, Sophia Loren, Marlene Dietrich, Paulette Goddard, Humphrey Bogart, Grace Kelly, John Wayne, Katherine Hepburn, & Audrey Hepburn

    Louise Brooks was beautiful & an amazing fashion icon but not a good actress (or writer)

    Hedy Lamarr was beautiful (my goodness was she a stunner!) but she wasn't a good actress either

    Same with Lana Turner

    Charlie Chaplin was a genius but I still would rather watch Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, & Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle any day (they were geniuses too!)

    Joan Crawford was a better actress than Bette Davis (I still love Bette but I just feel Joan was better)

    Norma Shearer was a terrible actress & only got the parts she did because of Irving Thalberg

    I agree with  MG about Spencer Tracy

    I always knew Joan Blondell was underrated but after watching so many of her movies this month, she should have been a much bigger star than she was

     

     

  8. Posted

    Here are a few of my favorites.......

    The Great Profile Himself - John Barrymore (I know he's already been posted but i absolutely LOVE John Barrymore so I'm posting him again!)

    02e7501e5da901079f7a00c1df08eba3.jpg.66c2ff7d09a8d11429d5c2dce2e6693d.jpg

     

    Buster Keaton had an amazing profile too....

    tumblr_m8tvl6RwX81r98w5fo1_500.jpg.ebcbc347523f552642952ff05ba4769d.jpg

     

    Rudolf Valentino

    09be466e18276add56a806abb75f3376.jpg.897b133c8ec04453dfa47f113a07ebee.jpg

     

    The beautiful Myrna Loy

    75316604625dc860f4cfc9a8809e7302.jpg.f98e853da6aa492cfa0a6997164f0f85.jpg

     

    and Joan Crawford

    df839cc44fe859d5fda73c4cc5f8c98d.jpg.a6b84243332204739aa96f0e0b28bae2.jpg

    • Like 4

  9. Posted

    I loved this movie!! I originally watched it because I love Joan Blondell (and will watch anything with her in it) but I feel it was one of the best roles Tyrone Power ever got to play. Zanuck really didn't want Power to to this picture because he feared it would hurt his matinee idol image and the studio didn't promote it very well. What a shame because it is a great film.

    • Like 2

  10. Posted

    I am so glad someone else feels that Joan Crawford was a horrible dancer! I know that she always talked about how she started out as a dancer before her film career but she was terrible. I think that *she* thought she was a good dancer & that was part of the problem. I also agree about Ruby Keeler - terrible dancer!

    • Like 1

  11. Posted · Edited by DawnM74

    Linda Christian is one that comes to mind. Very pretty lady but not very talented, IMO.

    Annabella - see Linda Christian. Both were married to Tyrone Power but Annabella actually started her acting career before Tyrone Power started his.

    Lauren Bacall - another beauty but not someone I felt could truly act. She was okay with Bogart but that's it.

    Sonja Henie - Never should have been allowed to 'act'. Great skater, terrible actress.

    Simone Simon - I can only tolerate her in Cat People. Terrible actress.

    Gene Raymond - To me, he was just plain boring.

    I'll probably think of more later......

    • Like 1

  12. Posted

    On 4/3/2019 at 10:28 AM, Sepiatone said:

    Yeah.  And in GARBO'S case, not a fan here.  So.....

    Been hitting the DVD library!  ;)

    Sepiatone

    I'm not a fan either but I do love John Gilbert so I'm happy about seeing the films they did together.

    • Thanks 1

  13. Posted

    22 minutes ago, TomJH said:

    Actually, in Barrymore's case, I think we did see what he could accomplish as an actor before his drinking got him by the throat and he slowly evolved into a comic self caricature.

    Think of the versatility that the Great Profile demonstrated on screen: horror and Grand Guignol (Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Svengali), swashbuckling romance (Don Juan, Beloved Rogue), romantic leads (Grand Hotel, Arsene Lupin), straight drama (Councillor at Law, Bill of Divorcement), screwball comedy (20th Century).

    That is a remarkable acting range, with Barrymore impressive in all of them.

    I do agree that we did get to see some of his amazing talent. I just wish we could have seen him at his full potential. If he was that amazing when he was drinking, just think how amazing he would have been if he never started drinking at all.

  15. Posted

    I love both because I love John Barrymore & I love Errol Flynn. Both films are enjoyable but to me they are so different from each other than I can't really compare them.

    Barrymore's is dark, more serious, more melodramatic, & a silent film. JB has to do all of his acting with his face, eyes, mannerisms, etc. Barrymore's voice was amazing but, at that time, we weren't able to hear it just yet.

    Flynn's is fun, energetic, and in technicolor. EF has dialogue along with his mannerism & his beautiful speaking voice doesn't hurt either.

    These two actors had so much in common & led such tragic lives. I don't think we really got to see their true talent because their inner demons destroyed them & their careers. We only got a glimpse of what could have been.

    • Like 1

  16. Posted

    Here are my picks. Some of them are just bad performances while others were shamefully bad and are uncomfortable for me to watch. I know the studios often chose these roles so there were many times when the actor/actress had no choice because of the studio system. But I also know that some of these roles were chosen by the stars themselves so they had no one to blame but themselves. I do wonder sometimes if someone did try to say “Maybe this isn’t the right role for you” but a star’s ego just couldn’t handle that. Anyway, here are some of my picks:

    Humphrey Bogart as a Mexican in "Virginia City"- terrible! I think he was probably just trying to pay the bills at the time since he wasn’t the legend he would become. Maybe I should let him slide on this one….

    Errol Flynn as Sebastian (a musician) in "Escape Me Never" - I love Errol but this role was completely wrong for him. I think the studio was trying to punish him for his bad behavior so they stuck him in this awful film. I love Ida Lupino & she was good even in the worst films so I guess it’s not a total loss.

    Jean Harlow in “Reckless” – Jean Harlow should have never been cast in a musical. Watching her dance (poorly) & sing (even though her voice was dubbed) is just plain wrong.

    John Wayne as Genghis Khan in “The Conqueror” – I don’t know how or why anyone thought that role was a good idea.

    This one is the epitome of 'painful to watch' films.

    Joan Crawford & Jimmy Stewart as ice skaters in “The Ice Follies of 1939” – awful! Speaking of these two great actors, Joan’s role in “Trog” was actually much worse so maybe “Follies” wasn’t so bad after all! And Jimmy Stewart singing “Easy to Love” from 1940's “Born to Dance” is pretty bad too.

    Mickey Rooney as Mr. Yunioshi in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” is hard for me to watch. I know times were different back then but it’s still pretty bad.

    Laurence Olivier in the 1965 British version of “Othello” – In outrageous all-over black makeup. Awful!!!

    Norma Shearer & Leslie Howard as “Romeo & Juliet” – both were way too old. The costumes were stunning but they were just not believable. I love John Barrymore but he too was too old (although he stole every scene he was in IMO). I liked Norma Shearer better when she was in silent films, To me, she always overacted in her speaking roles.

    Ramon Novarro & Lupe Velez as Native Americans in “Laughing Boy” – I love Ramon Novarro’s silent film work but not so much his career in talkies. This film was just awful and one of his worst talkies. Their Mexican accents & Lupe’s bad acting make this movie unbearable in my opinion. I always thought Lupe Velez was much better suited to comedies rather than serious roles.

    There are so many more but I'll stop there......for now.

    Sorry about all the crazy font changes. I'm at work posting this!😉

    • Like 1

  18. Posted

    My picks:

    Marlon Brando (never could stand him except in 'The Godfather')

    Bette Davis & Joan Crawford (I love them both but they could also overdo it at times)

    Lana Turner

    Katherine Hepburn

    Norma Shearer (liked in silents but couldn't stand her over-the-top acting in talkies)

    Shelley Winters

    James Dean

    • Like 1

  22. Posted

    33 minutes ago, Polly of the Pre-Codes said:

    Now I've known for some time that I like my beefcake with a nice amount of marbling (the current "dad bod" thing is this kitten's catnip). But one night I found myself crushing on Roscoe Arbuckle.

    I love Roscoe Arbuckle! He was so funny & that's what I loved about him. Add in Buster Keaton & Harold Lloyd. They make me laugh & that (to me) is sexy. I also love William Powell. He wasn't drop-dead handsome like Errol Flynn (my dream husband) or Tyrone Power, but he had his own class, grace, & style that made him super sexy, in my opinion anyway.

    • Like 2

  23. Posted

    1 hour ago, ChristineHoard said:

    Yes but she looks pretty good here; I can visualize the peek-a-boo long hair instead of the hat.

    Dawn, where did you get the photo of Nita Naldi?  Do you know what year it was taken?

    Thanks for sharing all the photos.

    The only info I could find about the Nita Naldi photo was that it was 'taken shortly before her death' (she died February 17, 1961).

    • Thanks 1
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