It's been quite some time since I blogged but now is the time to share my thoughts on my favourite male film stars of the 1940's, and it turns out I have quite a few!
We'll start with the cover photo star to this entry, Edward G Robinson. He was born in Romania but moved to America as a child, he made some amazing films during his long career but he really made his mark in Key Largo alongside Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. His tough gangster-like persona on-screen was in complete contrast to his real life personality; by all accounts a lovely man.
Next, I'd like to share my views on the legendary Cary Grant. The man was one of the finest actors Hollywood has ever seen, and a gentleman. Out of every film I've seen so far, my absolute favourite is Bringing Up Baby, starring Cary alongside Katharine Hepburn. The chemistry and dialogue between the pair was hilarious and wonderful, and the supporting cast were excellent too. Cary made many more excellent films during the 40's, including Arsenic And Old Lace but Bringing Up Baby is my favourite of his, even if it is from 1938!
James Stewart, another icon of cinema, who starred with Cary and Katharine in the Philadelphia Story, is another of my favourite actors. He brought a realistic approach to his roles and his ability to flit between comedy and drama was amazing. His most famous role, as George Bailey in It's A Wonderful Life, makes me cry every year, it's a truly amazing film with outstanding performances. His films with Margaret Sullavan are well worth watching too, The Shop Around Tne Corner and The Mortal Storm being two stand-outs.
Tyrone Power, the devilishly handsome chap, deserves more credit in my opinion, for his performance in a film that didn't do too well at the box office; Nightmare Alley. It's a fantastic performance from him, but The Black Swan (1942) starring him and Maureen O'Hara is my favourite Tyrone Power. I'm not a huge fan of swashbucklers, but that one I can make an exception for.
Humphrey Bogart, another legendary star of Hollywood cinema, you only need to look at Casablanca, To Have And Have Not, Dark Passage (the latter two made with Lauren Bacall who he would go on to marry) to see he was such a versatile actor. Some people don't think he was that great an actor but I'm saying they're wrong!
A list of honourable mentions as I'm still getting over COVID-19 and haven't the energy to do a very long post so here goes! Other actors I thoroughly enjoy from the 1940's are:
Joel McCrea
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson
Paul Henreid
John and Lionel Barrymore
James Cagney (Amazing in Yankee Doodle Dandy!)
David Niven
Laurence Olivier
Charles Boyer
Michael Redgrave
Ralph Bellamy
Edmund Gwenn
Frank Morgan
Fredric March
There's so many more actors I could name but it would take me a very, very long to name them all. Apologies to those I missed off, please don't haunt me!
Next time, I'll be talking about my favourite female actresses, hopefully it will be as long as this blog post but it all depends on my health at the moment.
Photo of a young Edward G Robinson: Credit to Google Images/Pinterest.
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