Favorite movie actress of the 1930s?

[Faygo Kid]

Poll question: Favorite movie actress of the 1930s?

OK, you think other polls were tough. Gawd, they were great then. Before you yell at me, I leave off Olivia DeHavilland and Vivien Leigh because they were from the very latter part of the decade. OK, check it out - and look at what we are missing today. Be sure to post your comments.

[wryter2000]

1. That was tough

Have to go with Kate, though. Ever see Bringing Up Baby? One of the funniest movies ever made.

[Faygo Kid]

16. If you haven't seen "Bringing Up Baby," you haven't seen comedy

So many of that era were great, just great. Just watched "Bachelor Mother" with Ginger Rogers and David Niven the other night; check it out. Very funny. Under no illusion here of many postings. Wish DUers would check out the films of that era. Important to my life; glad one touched yours.

[wryter2000]

2. What, no Margaret Dumont?

Kidding

[thebigidea]

4. Oh, Miiiiiister Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirefly.......

[JackSwift]

15. Darn right, Margaret Dumont!

No there was a straight lady!

[Richardo]

3. Always had a thing for Myrna Loy...

Smart, sassy, sexy, lovely, ahhhhhh. :loveya:



Nora Charles and Mrs. Blandings her two pivotal roles. Was an equal match for both WIlliam Powell and Cary Grant.

Nick Charles: How'd you like Grant's tomb?
Nora Charles: It's lovely. I'm having a copy made for you.

:D :thumbsup:

[Faygo Kid]

5. Had a crush on 'em all. Especially Ginger.

What kind of list like this would you put up in the '90s? They were tougher broads then (with all due respect), and real actresses. Now what? A handful, stuck in subservient or victim roles, usually.

[trof]

6. Yeah. Looked like my mom.

[GOPisEvil]

8. Oh yeah...Myrna Loy, big time!

Damn, is she sexy or what?!

[Faygo Kid]

11. FDR's favorite actress, too.

He had a thing for Myrna Loy. Who wouldn't? I love "The Thin Man" movies. Time to watch one again.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

37. Am I mistaken?

Or was Hitler a big Myrna Loy fan as well?

[Vitruvius]

7. Mae West!

Who also discovered Cary Grant.

B/t/w, Ms. West wrote an excellent autobiography, entitled "Goodness Had Nothing To Do With It".

[Faygo Kid]

9. I knew she would come up. Marlene Dietrich, too.

She never ran out of a room, did she? Only so many I could list. Could you list that many today?

[Kahuna]

10. Norma Shearer who was the undisputed queen of Hollywood..

in during the 30s.

[Faygo Kid]

12. Maybe not undisputed, but big time.

Hey, this was tough! Jeannette MacDonald is not here, either.

[Kahuna]

26. Dude! I totally love Jeannette MacDonald too!!!

What's up with that???? My top three are: Shearer, MacDonald and Greer Garson.

I figure that even though I'm a straight woman, if I was into women, Shearer, MacDonald and Garson would be my types. :7

[Andyjunction]

13. Hedy Lamar!!!

She was also smart as hell besides being super hot.

[Faygo Kid]

14. Whew!! I am sweating! Super bright and hot.

Brains and beauty; major patent in WWII. Isn't it Hedy Lamarr? A misspelling somewhere. Or, as Harvey Korman would say, "Hedley Lamarr."

[neebob]

17. Joan Crawford!

She fascinates me, and I think she was extremely beautiful in the thirties.

[Faygo Kid]

18. Aargh! And I left her off!

I am tortured here. You are right; she should have been on the list. Just goes to show what a great list it is. Sentence me to Christmas with her Mommie Dearest ghost!

[neebob]

19. I don't care what they say about Joan

I just love her. I think she'd be a huge star today.

On edit: I also like Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis.

[Faygo Kid]

20. You think she could compete with the "giants" of today?

Joan Crawford would wipe the floor with them, as would any other on this list. I actually feel sorry for the actresses of today. What crap roles they have, compared to the strong women of the '30s. Ironic, isn't it? The almighty dollar and the dumbing down of our culture have led to this. Wish DUers would watch some of these great and strong roles, black and white or not.

[Faygo Kid]

21. Ohmigod! Forgot Shirley Temple!!!!

The greatest? Nah. The Biggest Female Film Star of the 1930s? You bet. Just couldn't list 'em all, but THIS one I forgot. No animal crackers for me, or good ship lollipops, either.

[joeybee12]

22. Kate rules, but still Vivien Leigh should have been included

Her Scarlet lives as one of the greatest screen performances ever.

But Kate is wonderful in everything, and she got better in the 40's and 50's.

I might have included Judy Garland, but then again, just one movie to really judge her by. If you do a 40's poll, you have to include her.

[Faygo Kid]

23. It's a promise. Judy will be in a '40s poll.

Never a question. Whether I do one depends on the response here. Not sure DUers are into the classic movies, but we'll see. Anyway, thanks for responding.

[joeybee12]

31. Judy was the biggest box-office attraction for most of the 40's

I tend to think of her just as a singer, but she was quite the actress back then. She was robbed of an Oscar for A Star Is Born!

[Faygo Kid]

32. Actually, Barbara Stanwyck was the highest paid

in the '40s. But, that's for another poll! Should have put her there, and Joan Crawford/Irene Dunne/Shirley Temple in this one. Oh well, we live and learn.

[joeybee12]

34. Really? Well, Judy had a bad agent!

There was some special about her, and her movies during this period were huge hits--you know how they crown the king/queen each year based on box office recipets? She was always up there.

[cosmicdot]

24. Norma Shearer

so many great ones

Gloria Swanson
Marie Dressler
Marlene Dietrich
Irene Dunne
Helen Hayes
Lynn Fontanne
Merle Oberon
Luise Rainer
Janet Gaynor
Margaret Sullivan
Vivien Leigh
Greer Garson

[Faygo Kid]

27. You're good. Irene Dunne! One for you: Loretta Young

Check out others forgotten: Joan Crawford, Shirley Temple, see earlier posts. Overwhelming compared to today, isn't it?

[Kahuna]

29. Irenne Dunn was great and beautiful. A real natural beauty.

:thumbsup:

[Kahuna]

28. Another Norma fan! Any one who is not into Norma,...

check her out on TCM. She was the original 1930s Hollywood diva. Janet Gaynor won the first Best Actress Oscar. Norma won the second one for "The Divorcee." Also check out, "A free Soul" with Clark Gable, Lionel Barrymore and Leslie Howard. And, "The Women" with Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell (best performance - worth the price of the ticket), Mary Boland, and Joan Fontaine. "Idiot's Delight" with Clark Gable is also a good one.

[chiburb]

25. Myrna Loy, especially in Thin Man movies w/William Powell...

.

[chromotone]

38. The final scene of "The Senator was Discreet"

is a CLASSIC!!!

[VOX]

30. Myrna Loy. Elegant, graceful, classy...

and even silly, when necessary.

Be still, my heart.

[populistmom]

33. Barbara Stanwyck

There too many good ones, but Double Indemnity is one of my all time favorite old movies and she's in it, so she gets my vote.

[mitchum]

35. Barbara Stanwyck is my favorite of the 30s and 40s

the woman ruled both comedy and drama

[catzies]

36. I voted for Bette Davis but Vivien Leigh is my sentimental favorite.

For GWTW. Lordy, was she gorgeous.

[FarLeftRage]

39. Yeah, the love of my previous life...

Jean Harlow.

Short life and short career, but still beautiful and talented...










She was a Democrat, as well.

[PSU84]

40. Ginger Rogers,

even though she was a Republican.

She was really cute, a wonderful dancer, and very talented actress, especially in romantic comedies.

(I have all 10 Astaire/Rogers movies on video!)

I love Myrna Loy, too.

You should have included Irene Dunne.

[Faygo Kid]

41. Yeah, I know - Irene Dunne

See previous posts. You are right of course; others have been noted, too (esp. Joan Crawford). Hey, this was a tough poll to limit!

[stanwyck]

42. Of course I had to vote for Barbara

but Myrna Loy and Irene Dunne are right up there. Classy ladies. All of them. Myrna Loy was sassy and sexy in the Thin Man series; she made marriage glamorous before the '50's turned wives into frumpy apron-wearing prudes. And Irene. So irresistable as Cary Grant's long lost wife. Bur Barbara Stanwyck is my muse. Tough, yet feminine. Very convincing as a bad girl. Like Joan, she had an edge.

[Norbert]

43. Thelma Todd

But I did vote for Kate instead of Hot Toddy.

With Myrna Loy, Ginger Rogers and the others it was a very tough choice.

[Norbert]

44. If I had a second vote I'd probably go with Lombard.

Some ego she had. Wasn't she the one that if there was downtime on the set she would be playing poker with the production crew. They don't make 'em like that anymore.

[Faygo Kid]

45. She was great. What a loss. Congrats, Norbert, on 1,000 posts.

Gable was never the same afterward. It wasn't ego, though - she was a Great Broad (don't flame me, please!). A wonderful human being - how is that? I see that this is 995 posts. Honored you would use one here.