|
|
Post by gerald424 on Apr 11, 2023 3:03:55 GMT
Since we have our own bracket going on, I wondered if anyone followed the challenge TCM had going on that just ended on Twitter. Here are the results: |
|
|
|
Post by sagebrush on Apr 11, 2023 11:10:28 GMT
I couldn't have chosen between Claude Rains and Edward G. Robinson. Too hard!
|
|
|
|
Post by cineclassics on Apr 11, 2023 13:18:01 GMT
Bette Davis won, which was very easy to predict based on twitters' users. I followed the matchups and in the comments, there are A LOT of Bette Davis fans, predominantly women. So, it seemed like a foregone conclusion, in my mind. As far as "greatest star" for WB, objectively, I think it is Humphrey Bogart. The "greatest actor" of the bunch, for me, is probably James Cagney.
|
|
|
|
Post by topbilled on Apr 11, 2023 14:02:37 GMT
Natalie was the youngest in the bunch.
I don't consider Gary Cooper a WB actor, I consider him a Paramount star whose contract was shared with Sam Goldwyn. He went to Warners later as a freelancer.
I would have put Ruth Roman or The Dead End Kids on the grid. Also, where are Paul Muni and Glenda Farrell???
|
|
|
|
Post by dianedebuda on Apr 11, 2023 14:05:02 GMT
The "greatest actor" of the bunch, for me, is probably James Cagney. I tend to agree, but Muni was pretty impressive.
where are Paul Muni and Glenda Farrell??? |
|
|
|
Post by topbilled on Apr 11, 2023 14:17:27 GMT
where are Paul Muni and Glenda Farrell??? |
|
|
|
Post by topbilled on Apr 11, 2023 14:38:03 GMT
Where's Jane Wyman? Where's Ronald Reagan? Where's Dick Powell? Where's Pat O'Brien? Where's George Brent? Where's John Garfield? Where's Wayne Morris? Where's Virginia Mayo?
***
This is just a chance to talk about the usual household names that TCM's programmers like to promote. It's not really a comprehensive look at the studio's longest running contract players, many of whom were stars.
Wyman won an Oscar at the studio in a widely regarded film (JOHNNY BELINDA). Her contract kept getting extended. She made films at WB from 1936 to 1956...certainly she had a longer run than Kay Francis.
Reagan led the Screen Actors Guild and became a world leader. But because he was not a Democrat, he's never on the programmers' radar. Reagan impacted a lot more lives than James Dean did. I would also put John Garfield over James Dean, since Garfield's legacy as an early Method actor runs deeper and has more meaning than Dean's overly affected mannerisms.
|
|
|
|
Post by yanceycravat on Apr 11, 2023 14:56:19 GMT
Paul Muni - Versatility (Chameleon like Persona)
James Cagney - All-Around Talent (Yankee Doodle Dandy - White Heat) Humphrey Bogart - More of a Personality
Bette Davis - Versatility (Took Chances - Willing to look less than glamorous)
Eleanor Parker - Should get more respect
Olivia De Havilland - Mostly solid quiet performances
IMHO
|
|
|
|
Post by Roy Cronin on Apr 11, 2023 15:04:57 GMT
Bette winning makes sense to me as The Ultimate Warner Star.
I would have put her and Olivia on different sides to see them possibly spar in the final round.
|
|
|
|
Post by topbilled on Apr 11, 2023 15:07:48 GMT
Bette winning makes sense to me as The Ultimate Warner Star.
They also do this on the other side of the grid, by putting Natalie in there with James Dean. So that when we think of James Dean, we think of Rebel without a Cause and that causes us to think of Natalie again. It's stacked in favor of Bette and Natalie. Only Natalie did not fare well against Bogey...and that is really because when people vote for Bogey they are voting for The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca, and Natalie did not appear in two such iconic films. |
|
|
|
Post by sepiatone on Apr 11, 2023 15:35:29 GMT
Of course, who the viewers think is the "best" or "greatest" never means they really are. They are just a group of "favorites". And BTW TOP-------------------
When people think of BOGEY, they also usually think of BACALL. And where was SHE?
Sepiatone
|
|
|
|
Post by jamesjazzguitar on Apr 11, 2023 16:27:19 GMT
Bette winning makes sense to me as The Ultimate Warner Star. I would have put her and Olivia on different sides to see them possibly spar in the final round. My ranking of actresses has Davis at #1 and Dehavilland at #3, but for Olivia it is mostly her post-WB work. I.e. Davis gave her best performances in WB films (with All About Eve being the major exception), while Olivia's best work was for studios other than WB (even while under contract with WB, like the Paramount film Hold Back the Dawn). Olivia was in some great, highly entertaining films for WB, especially those with Flynn, like Robin Hood, but they don't represent Olivia's best performances of her career in a way similar to The Heiress or The Snake Pit. |
|
