danjw Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 I have given this question a lot of thought over the years and after much serious contemplation I have reached a conclusion: Barbara Stanwyck. Stanwyck is the most versatile and I'm going to take this time to quikly prove it. She could have played most of Hepburn's roles (Maybe not as well but more than competently). "The Philadelphia Story", "Woman of the Year", "Keeper of the Flame". Yet Kate could never have done "Double Indemnity" She could have tackled Davis' "The Letter" but Bette wouldn't have a clue on how to handle "Lady of Burlesque." "Mildred Pierce," fugedda 'bout it, would have knocked it out of the park ("Stella Dallas?), but can you imagine Joan's heavy hand trying to balance the deicate comedy of "The Lady Eve? Claudette, Jean (Arthur and Harlow), Carole, Myrna, Rosalind, I love them all, I just believe Barbara Stanwyck was the most versatile. Only one celluloid crazed, movie mad man's opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyM108 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Saying that Barbara Stanwyck was the most versatile actress from Hollywood's Golden Age is like saying that Babe Ruth was the leading home run hitter of the Prohibition era, that Secretariat was 1973's Horse of the Year, or that Robert Osborne is our favorite movie host. It's not just that it's true, it's that the second place actress is in Barry Goldwater or George McGovern territory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swithin Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 I know BS is the queen of this board. I like her well enough, but not as much as I like Davis or Hepburn or Loy or Russell or Harding or many of the other greats. But in terms of the subject of this thread, i.e. versatility, you can pick a film/role here and there that BS could have tackled as well as someone else, but she could never have played the range that Davis and some of the others did. She played certain types very well: Martha Ivers is Julia Treadway, etc. My favorite BS film is The Lady Eve. She's great in that, but Hepburn could have played it as well. And the greatness of that particular film is really in the script and in the character performances: Coburn, Demerest, and especially Blore and Pallette. So I like BS, but she's not even my favorite Brooklyn Blonde: Mae West wins that contest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VP19 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Versatility, thy name is Barbara Stanwyck. From pre-Codes to film noirs to Westerns to screwballs, she could do it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyM108 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Hepburn couldn't play working class women, or for that matter any women who weren't larger than (real) life. Russell couldn't do glamor and Crawford couldn't do comedy, and Davis couldn't do either. Lombard was mostly typecast to screwball. About the only type of role Stanwyck never tried was costume dramas, and AFAIC that's more to her credit than anything, as those movies as a group hold up about as well as a Prohibitionist platform. She was definitely wise to avoid them and stick to the real world in all of its many splendors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Unless I've missed her being mentioned here already, might I humbly nominate the name of Irene Dunne into this thing here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 It has to be Ginger Rogers. She could do comedy, drama, dance up a storm, and even sing a little bit. Judy Garland too, with less dancing than Ginger, but more singing......Ginger even did well in noir, (TIGHT SPOT) Edited by: finance on Mar 6, 2012 9:49 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swithin Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 I agree, Dargo, Irene Dunne was one of the most versatile, with Davis and a few others. Andy, I agree that Hepburn did not do the lower/working classes, but I still prefer her to Stanwyck. When Stanwyck played poorer women, she still seemed to be Martha Ivers/Julia Treadway. And of course Leona Stevenson in Sorry Wrong Number was merely Martha or Leona in bed with a telephone. And, earlier on, in those great scenes with BS's pimping father in Baby Face, BS is Martha and Julia in a dump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyM108 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Andy, I agree that Hepburn did not do the lower/working classes, but I still prefer her to Stanwyck . No problem with preferences, since that's purely subjective, but I thought this was about versatility. One of the few times Kate ever tried "slumming" was in Spitfire , with a result that was so comically inept that it was beyond embarrassment. Don't get me wrong, she's in my top ten list of favorite actresses, but her limited ability to transcend her own privileged background in her film roles is something I can't easily ignore. Every memorable character she portrayed was either from old wealth or was a professional of some sort, whereas Stanwyck was comfortable playing women from every strata of society. When Stanwyck played poorer women, she still seemed to be Martha Ivers/Julia Treadway. And of course Leona Stevenson in Sorry Wrong Number was merely Martha or Leona in bed with a telephone. And, earlier on, in those great scenes with BS's pimping father in Baby Face, BS is Martha and Julia in a dump . Even granting these rather curious interpretations of those roles, what about her magnificent portrayals in So Big or Stella Dallas ? How do Martha Ivers or Leona Stevenson fit into them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swithin Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 My Hepburn comment was an "aside." Haven't seen So Big. Stella Dallas is Lily Powers and Joan Gordon; one might say a hard-up Martha or Leona or Julia. And of course "Big Valley" fits right in, too. I don't get the subtlety that I get with Bette. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprocket_Man Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 >I agree that Hepburn did not do the lower/working classes... Yes, and it just occurred to me that when it comes time to make a "biopic" of the life of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, the only actor who could possibly do the role justice is Katharine Hepburn. No doubt she'd nail his effeminate quality cold. After all, it's only a small step from THE PHILADELPHIA STORY's Tracy Lord to Romney. I can see it now: the movie should be called Long Day's Journey into Mitt (although The Romney of Scarecrow Marsh also has a ring to it). Too bad that the timing hasn't worked out, but perhaps this is one instance when digital technology may actually ride to the rescue and resurrect Hepburn for the role of a lifetime (even if it's past her lifetime). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swithin Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 I think Tilda Swinton could do a great Mitt Romney. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willbefree25 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Andy, can't you just see Kate dancing? :0 Can't you just see Kate in a midriff-baring costume? Babs, all the way. No contest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JefCostello Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 I was going to post Barbara Stanwyck before I even read the other posts. She's not one of my favorites, but she's the first answer that came to mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Agree about Irene Dunne. She could do drama, comedy and could sing! Stanwyck had great range also, but as far as I know didnt sing.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danjw Posted March 6, 2012 Author Share Posted March 6, 2012 Okay, okay gotta give Irene Dunne credit-very versatile. And don't get me wrong. I love Davis and Hepburn, but this about versatility not acting talent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesJazGuitar Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 To me Stanwyck is the most versatile actress. Dunne could do drama and comedy but she doesn't compare to Stanwyck for other genres like Westerns or Film Noir. I would also add Dietrich since she could dance, sing, do comedy and drama, but again, she wasn't as versatile as Babs. Davis was very versatile in her dramas i.e. she did frump, she did historical, she did the party gal, the loyal wife, the not so loyal wife, etc..... but of course Davis didn't do much outside of drama. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 My suggestion of Ginger Rogers apparently went over like a lead balloon. Why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesJazGuitar Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 While Ginger did star in movies other than comedies and song and dance movies I don't think she was great in these (to me Kitty Foyle is overrated). e.g. Stanwyck has stellar (or should I say stella), performances in multiple genres. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 True. Dunne didnt do any noirs, but she did star in several westerns, including, Cimarron, one of the greatest ever made.......Dietrich was versatile, but she was handicapped by her glamorous persona (not saying she couldnt have gone beyond that, but she didnt want to.......) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stjohnrv Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Claudette Colbert would be the lady of my choice because of her wide range of film genres: It Happened One Night.......... oscar winning comedy Drums along the Mohawk....... western (of sorts) Cleopatra..............................Historical costume drama war dramas, slapstick, Romance, action she did it all from 1927 until her final appearance on TV in 1987 she left us in 1996 at a youthful 92. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 But could she sing? (LOL) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Is there any actress who starred in at least one noir, costume drama, comedy, modern drama, Western, and also sang and danced? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 >I have given this question a lot of thought over the years and after much serious contemplation I have reached a conclusion: Barbara Stanwyck. Stanwyck is the most versatile I think you are right. I think she was the most versatile actress in Hollywood history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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