Two strong personalities. Two of the bests actresses ever. I'll list my favorites from each decade.
Joan in the 30s: Grand Hotel . Joan is vunerable, beautiful, and she holds my attention longer than Garbo. And Garbo is great but Joan is better. Bette in the 30s: Marked Woman. Perfect example of what Bette is made of. Even at a young age she showed no fear, tough as nails and bold. Made Bogie seem Boring. The only actor that could match her was Claude Raines. Joan in the 40s : I was this close to chosing Mildred Pierce. But Flamingo Road is my pick. It's all of Joan wrapped up in one. She's down and out, tender, smart, intelligent and tough enough to go up against Sydney Greenstreet. Bette in the 40s: Deception. Oh it's All Bette conniving and snapping. But she works in this movie. Because Claude Rains insults come fast and steady. He is no George Brent so it's truly a match of site. Joan in the 50s: This is hard because by the 50s, Joan looked hard. But my I choose This Woman is Dangerous. This role is really for a woman in her 20s, but Joan is forever Young in her mind and she played this role like a young woman convincely. Bette in the 50s:The Star. Bette plays a older actress that Hollywood doesn't want anymore and a young man in in love with her. Said actress also has daughter problems. Bette said she was playing Joan!
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She always appeared matronly and homely to me. She was not a vamp in contrast to the Myrna Loys and Greta Garbo's in the time. She was a unique product of the film industry. Ann Harding didn't need all the frills. She could capture the audiences attention and she proves this in films like the Animal Kingdom and Double Harness. Her acting is so natural and realistic, she upstages every one and her performances stick! Loretta Young is like Merle Oberon to me. Beautiful, but I can't stand her films. She was in many films, but I find her unwatchable. So I thought, are there any Loretta Young films you like? So I found her enjoyable in Cause for Alarm and The Stranger. In both she got duped by sly men. My favorite with her is Employee's Entrance but Warren William is more watchable. Now if I can just find one Merle Oberon film I like! |
Lori Joy Classic Film Lover, Artist, Old Movie Buff Archives
March 2017
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