misswonderly3 Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 But then, unlike the "plainest woman who became a star" thread, the word "plain" is rarely applied to men. I've always thought the word "ugly" is extremely harsh, and rarely apply it to either men or women, I tend to use it when talking about furniture, clothes, styles, even music I don't like. Or sometimes concepts. But I digress. A word I'd be more likely to apply to men is "homely". The most "homely" man I can think of, who was a genuine star, not a character actor, is the wonderful Edward G. Robinson. Yet, maybe because of his personality, his energy and intelligence, he's still rather attractive. Sometimes. In some roles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Karl Hepburn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willbefree25 Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Charles Laughton. No contest! :0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arturo Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Wallace Beery hands down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danjw Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Wow, very different than plainest female. As far as leading men in the "Golden age"...... I always thought The two Jimmys' Cagney and Stewart were very average in looks (not talent of course) and also Henry Fonda never did much for me (until watching "The Grapes of Wrath" a few weeks ago I noticed Hank's got back hair which says more about me then him!). As a gay man I guess who has the least sex appeal...Danny Kaye,William Powell,Spencer Tracy,Fred Astaire. None of them can hold a candle to Joel McCrea or a young Gary Cooper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misswonderly3 Posted March 6, 2012 Author Share Posted March 6, 2012 JOEL McCREA ! JOEL McCREA ! Equally sexy for straight or gay ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyM108 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Robinson, Laughton, and Beery could all have moonlighted as Hallowe'en house haunters and commanded a sizeable fee. Not that there haven't been scores of other leading men who were less than studly in manner or appearance, but in terms of men who consistently got top billing those three stand out above the crowd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casablancalover Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 >misswonderly penned: >*JOEL McCREA !* >*JOEL McCREA !* >*Equally sexy* >*for straight or gay !* ****! he's poetry in motion, all right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfpcc1 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 William H Macy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willbefree25 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 William Powell!? William H. Macy?!! I think both are adorable. Different strokes. George Brent, I forgot about George Brent. The man ooooooozes plain..........plain boring, plain hack, just plain plain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clore Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 And that reminds me to add his name to the list, even if he is more of a character actor. I've long thought that they missed the boat, Kibbee should have been in horror films. There's something ghoulish about him for my money. As if he should have played in some version of the Burke and Hare story, perhaps teamed with Dwight Frye. Happy Birthday anyway Guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casablancalover Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 I consider plain to be more like someone you would see on the street, someone you wouldn't give a second glance to, but not homely. Nicholas Cage. Bruce Willis Frederick March Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willbefree25 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Oddly, he was the lead in some film, whose name I can't recall, that I caught on TCM. I didn't stick around, since he was NOT made to be a lead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clore Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Was it BABBIT where he played the title character? BIG HEARTED HERBERT is another. A few years ago, TCM saluted Aline MacMahon's b-day and most of the titles aired had her paired up with Guy Kibbee. But I like her enough to have suffered with watching him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 That's a point. If you saw Wallace Beery walking down the street, you'd give a second glance, and then cross to the other side. As for Fredric March, he was very handsome when he was young, but aged quickly in the '40s and lost his good looks. I guess he didn't do facial exercises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willbefree25 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Yes, Babbitt! It was horrid. Did you make it all the way through? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casablancalover Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Steve Buscemi Especially when he's portraying Happy Franks in [The Imposters|http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6NjLhtvW3o] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosebette Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Jack Nicolson... I think he's actually ugly and a bit obnoxious. I couldn't understand how he became a star. Also, Dustin Hoffman, although I think he's a terrific actor, he's really an ugly little guy! Bogart was not a handsome man, nor was Cagney, but both of them had incredible screen presence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willbefree25 Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Ooooph, I forgot Buscemi! He himself described his eyes as chameleon-like. I can just see him swiping his tongue over his irises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clore Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 > {quote:title=willbefree25 wrote:}{quote}Yes, Babbitt! It was horrid. > > Did you make it all the way through? I made it thjrough BABBITT, but only because of Aline MacMahon. Most of the films they had selected that day did pair MacMahon and Kibbee, so I was really proving my loyalty. They made ten films together and they aired about six of them. I will admit that THE MERRY FRINKS was the most severe test of the batch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willbefree25 Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Isn't Aline MacMahon a wonderful soul, to put up with Guy, both the actor and the character she had to play in relation to him? The Reno movie was even more infuriating. The women were moronic imbeciles, and I know women in other movies of the time weren't such doormats. Horrid movies, simply horrid. Jack's misogyny shone through like a beacon. It was fun to see Robert Barrat, though, in two movies - the guy who died taking off his shoes in The Kennel Murder Case. Thankfully, I missed The Merry Frinks. Let me guess, Guy was an overbearing a**, and the women around him kowtowed to him as if he were George Clooney. Looks like Jack the homely stump was big on transference to ugly men. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clore Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 In THE MERRY FRINKS Aline MacMahon really tested my devotion as this time Kibbee was her no good Uncle and Hugh Herbert was her husband. Herbert is someone who is even less appealing than Kibbee. What a limited and annoying act he had. That he had me wishing for more Kibbee (he doesn't get much screen time) and less Herbert ought to tell you something. The family in this film made the Bundys look like the Hardys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willbefree25 Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Hah! I surfed past that one and saw Herbert and kept going. I agree, his woo-woo one note act was his claim to fame. Honestly, how those two were signed on by Jack Warner is a mystery to me. Good thing I wasn't an actress at the time with JW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Nicholson was also considered handsome in an offbeat way when he was young. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangstagator Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 i think jack nicholson was quite attractive with lots of sex appeal, but it was just part of his overall magnetism. and yes, indeed it is true "different strokes" is the only way to explain these feelings. i find that george brent may have been plain in many of his roles but i still think he's quite handsome, willbefree25. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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