OK, this seems to be a spot for fans of all things vintage. For the most part. So who's your favorite for most beautiful actress of the classic movie era (before 1965)? I'll throw my vote for Grace Kelly.

Kim Novak.

Sophia !

Margeret DuMont. :D

Hedy Lamarr (that's Hedy, not Hedley!):D

Always loved Gene Tierney.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/219/450528160_4f9327b56e.jpg

Although, I would settle for Lauren Bacall as well.

http://mysite.verizon.net/res0qaye/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/lauren-bacal.jpg

dew.

Some of my favorites.
Audrey Hepburn
Marilyn Monroe
Katharine Hepburn
Natalie Wood
Brigette Bardot
Maureen O'Sullivan
Olivia de Havilland
Barbara Stanwyck
Rita Hayworth
Lana Turner
Gene Tierney
Ingrid Bergman

Katharine Hepburn. To me, everyone else comes in a distant second.

Claudette Colbert, non better.

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg73/bluelake07/Bardot.jpg

The Hepburns- Audrey, then Katharine. Then all the rest.

Tippi Hedren


Going a bit further back, Marlene Dietrich


http://www.poster.net/dietrich-marlene/dietrich-marlene-photo-xxl-marlene-dietrich-6220459.jpg

Got a thing for redheads.

Ann-Margaret

I'll throw my vote for Grace Kelly.

Over & done right there for me -

http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/famecrawler/2007/12/rear-window-spying-neighbor-jimmy-stewart-grace-kelly-alfred-hitchcock.jpg

Granger49: That explains your thing for my wife... :D OTOH, the bourbon explains my wife's thing for you. :dunno: :D

But, back to the discussion at hand....

Audrey Hepburns
Gene Tierney

Each for different types of movies...

And, of course: a second for Margeret DuMont :thmbsp::tongue:

If I could go back in time and have a date with one, it would be ....... Kim Novak. That face, that body, that voice, she was amazing. Oh, and a nice personality. <grin>

Agree with Fisherdude.

I couldn't get the pic to load...but my vote goes to Myrna Loy.

Can't believe no-one has mentioned Loretta Young. Class & beauty!

http://film.virtual-history.com/cigcard/102/large/ai.jpg

Natalie Wood.

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k199/Urizen_2006/natalie1.jpg

The Hepburns- Audrey, then Katharine. Then all the rest.

Audrey was/is the embodiment of grace.

Granger49: That explains your thing for my wife... :D OTOH, the bourbon explains my wife's thing for you. :dunno: :D . . . .

And, of course: a second for Margeret DuMont :thmbsp::tongue:

We are not supposed to talk about that outside therapy.

I disavow any knowledge... I can't remember the rest.

http://filmforno.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/lillian-gish-in-the-green-hat.jpg

Lillian Gish.

Patricia Neal from all the old John Wayne war movies like "In Harm's Way".

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p141/Scorpion008/PatriciaNeal.jpg

Claire Bloom?

http://home.hiwaay.net/~oliver/garson14.jpg
Greer Garson

http://media.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2006/mar/chim/sophia_loren400.jpg
Sophia Loren

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1416/709445259_0a2c4ed766.jpg?v=0
Madeleine Carroll

...and everybody else in this thread.

+ 1 Myrna Loy

Also add Teresa Wright and Jennifer Jones.:yes:

Claire Bloom?

Yowza!!

I'll also second Kim Novak.

Add Joanne Woodward.

http://www.micksmothers.net/gallery2/d/26862-1/claudia_cardinale_gallery_14.jpg

She is a fantastic Italian actress. My favorite movie with her is "Once Upon a Time in the West". Henry Fonda, Jason Robards, Charles Bronson, Eli Wallach - great cast!

http://www.micksmothers.net/gallery2/d/26864-1/bergman1-758944.jpg

Was fantastic across from Gary Cooper in Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls".

Heres one of my favorite youtube videos on the subject.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vEc4YWICeXk

Nice to see a pic of Patricia Neal.

True Story: "No brag, just fact." Seeing her pic above reminded me that my late father once told me he went on a date with Patricia Neal when they both attended Northwestern University in the early '40s. As my dad's been gone for over 30 years, my recollection of the story is a bit fuzzy. It may have been a double date.

Some fantastic beauties thus far. Perhaps a bit late for "classic" but one's yet mentioned Catherine Deneuve.

95086

http://www.micksmothers.net/gallery2/d/26864-1/bergman1-758944.jpg

Was fantastic across from Gary Cooper in Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls".

Excellent pick. I always enjoy her performance in The bells of St. Mary's.

Her daughter has a certain appeal as well.

What, no Jean Harlow?
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a315/Bogframe/Jean-Harlow-.jpg

Claire Bloom?

So now I know why you are always in the basement. :D

Barbara Stanwyck. Great in Double Indemnity with Fred MacMurray.


http://sport-touring.org/ST-2A3/bs.jpg

Should have posted this to begin with. The bottom left is kind'a scary but the rest show what a beauty she is.

Lots of great choices and not a single wrong one. My addition would be TOBY WING.

She never rose above starlet status but she was, IMHO, one of the most beautiful actresses of all time.

She's the "Young and Healthy" girl from the classic 1933 musical "42nd Street."

I agree with pretty much all the pretty actresses mentioned so far... not a bad one in the bunch! I'll add three that haven't been mentioned yet. Not your classic blond bombshells nor your foreign exotica, but memorable and likeable, pretty girls who haven't been mentioned yet:

Diana Rigg as Emma Peal in the Avengers.
[http://frodisman.com/dianarigg.html ]
[Even if she did put on a surprising amount of weight some years later.]

Dawn Wells as Mary Ann in Gilligan's Island... not such a classic beauty, but the character was lovable. [http://www.dawn-wells.com/ ]

And one not very well known at all, Dana Wynters. I liked her best in "Sink the Bismark", as the Admiral's assistant, but she actually appeared in numerous movies and TV shows over the years as a supporting actress. Some pics attached for those who wouldn't know her:

Should have posted this to begin with. The bottom left is kind'a scary but the rest show what a beauty she is.

Another good choice.

Particularly enjoyable in Bye Bye Birdie and Viva las Vegas. :thmbsp:

Rita Hayworth: See "Gilda" and this quote: "“If I'd have been a ranch, they would have called me the Bar Nothing” Man, does she leap off the screen in her opening scene.

Kathleen Turner: see "Body Heat" and this quote to the doomed William Hurt: "You're not too bright. I like that in a man." A voice like gravel swirling in a whiskey glass.

Diana Rigg! First TV crush -- those leather outfits on The Avengers!. As a very young teen I didn't quite know what it was that magnetized me when she was on screen. But I sure felt it.

Joan Fontaine, Myrna Loy, Katherine, Tippi (in the birds, i would crawl thru fire)

Rita...
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=32038&d=1164733254

Jean Arthur always did it for me.

looks like Kim Novak is the leader...she was one that Hitchcock tried to make into another Grace Kelly. and that pic of Ingrid Bergman is real nice.

Well, then, in her honor...some pics:

Catherine Deneuve


http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/MMPH/174810~Catherine-Deneuve-Posters.jpg

Natalie Wood (I love "Rebel Without a Cause" and "Marjorie Morningstar"), Audrey Hepburn.

Tippi Hedren


Going a bit further back, Marlene Dietrich


http://www.poster.net/dietrich-marlene/dietrich-marlene-photo-xxl-marlene-dietrich-6220459.jpg

"Have you evah been (Pronounced "Bean".) to Paris?"
With a kind of soft purry R in "Paris".

Very classy lady. I second this vote.

Dave

Audrey was/is the embodiment of grace.

She has my vote!

http://bp0.blogger.com/_FZ8fH1oF77k/R5ENehcLNmI/AAAAAAAAAPA/oxqZZkJm6k8/s400/AudreyHepburn.jpg

Celia Johnson, British actress who stared in many classic films in the 40s including her most famous with Trevor Howard, Brief Encounter.

Veronica Lake( I Married A Witch) 1942

Jeeze, you guys named all of my favorites, but unless I missed seeing it, I'll throw one in...Barbara Stanwyck!

Jeeze, you guys named all of my favorites, but unless I missed seeing it, I'll throw one in...Barbara Stanwyck!

I had a shot of her when she was young. Here it is again:

http://sport-touring.org/ST-2A3/bs.jpg

donna reed

Shirley Maclaine. She may be a bit nutty now..., but back in the day.

I would also have to vote for Grace Kelly. Classic beauty if there ever was one.....

Ava Gardner

Rosalind Russell
Judy Holiday - not well known, not a beauty, just a really fine actress.

Not necessarily my favourites - just trying to list ones AFAIK not mentioned yet... my favourite is probably Gene Tierney (there are soooo many).

.....Ida Lupino
Dorothy Malone
Ava Gardner
Janet Leigh

Natalie Wood (the big screen closeup of her in West Side Story sent chills down my spine)

Grace Kelly

Barbara Stanwyck

All three were the epitome of beauty in my opinion! But really, there have been so many it's hard to pick just three!

Grace and Ingrid

That picture of the young Barbara Stanwyck has got to be the OMG picture of this entire thread! That look defines "erotic" in my book.

Madhubala Her name in Arabic means damsil of honey.

Two more great movie ladies. Both were in many films but their most famous roles are in "horror" pictures. I present:

Fay Wray

and Julie Adams, sometimes billed as "Julia" Adams (shown with co-star George Nader)

Guys, all your suggestions are superb, beautiful and talented ladies. My favorite is Rita Hayworth, who from early childhood was schooled in the art of dance by her father. She could sing too. Her best role was Gilda in the picture of the same name with Glenn Ford. The poor gal never had a husband who was worthy of the name.

May I suggest a sleeper who had the looks of the best of them? -- Virginia Mayo. Although she made several movies with Danny Kaye, she proved she could act when she played a superficial bitch in one of my favorite movies, The Best Years of Our Lives. Two other great ladies are in that one--Myrna Loy and Theresa Wright.

One final suggestion for consideration -- Jeannette McDonald. She had a wonderful screen presence and a voice that could melt your heart. As a young boy, I fell hard for her in I Married an Angel, but actually her role in San Francisco with Spencer Tracy and Clark Gable was her best. Her role in Rose-Marie was good too. James Stewart was the bad guy and Nelson Eddy ( who else?) played the Canadian Mountie-good guy.

Ava Gardner

The pic is of the lovely Elizabeth Taylor. But Ava Gardner is certainly one of the top ten actresses mentioned here.

Ok, here is something to throw rocks at -- my ranking of the top classic actresses from 1932 to 1965 based on screen beauty, acting ability, and talent, (the ability to sing and dance, and do comedy as well as drama), in that order because I am basically a male chauvinist pig. Second and third tiers are just for fun.

1. Katherine Hepburn. She has the Oscars to prove she could act. Young Kate was very attractive.

2. Rita Hayworth. Scintillating screen beauty and talent to burn. Got typed early as a screen sex goddess. What's wrong with that?

3. Ingrid Bergman. Screen presence in spades. Acting ability enough to break your heart.

4. Elizabeth Taylor. Top beauty and acting ability even as a child. Hard to say who could look more beautiful on the screen than Liz.

5. Audrey Hepburn. Captivating screen presence with a feminine personna that was exemplified by her iconic smile. Was there ever a more beautiful screen princess?

6. Marilyn Monroe. Unappreciated as a serious actress, but she was the blonde bombshell of all time. For acting chops, see: Bus Stop or The Misfits.

7. Grace Kelly. Classic beauty whose short career still displayed great acting ability.

8. Claudette Colbert. Sophisticated and classy, she could do comedy and drama.

9. Ginger Rogers. What a smile! Could she act? See Kitty Foyle. Could she dance? Ask Fred.

10. Bette Davis. Her beauty was an acquired taste. But her acting ability was perhaps without peer, except possibly for Kate Hepburn.

The B-list: Joan Crawford, Jean Harlow, Paulette Goddard, Theresa Wright, Judy Garland, Greta Garbo, Loretta Young, Eleanor Parker, Deborah Kerr, and Vivien Lee.

The third string: Jeanette McDonald, Myrna Loy, Ava Gardner, Yvonne De Carlo, Debbie Reynolds, Susan Hayward, Sophia Loren, Kim Novak, Julie Andrews, Shirley Jones

my old thread resurrected! :thmbsp: nice work from you newcomers to the thread. :yes: It's good to see my favorites, Ingrid and Grace making a comeback after the early lead by Kim Novak. and I'll have to agree with those picks for Virginia Mayo and Marlene Dietrich. and a new one...Margaret Lockwood, British, I believe.

Mmmmmmm Yvonne DeCarlo!

http://agaudi.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/yvonne-de-carlo.jpg

Lizabeth Scott, she never achieved the level of success that she deserved but she was great in Noir, and she's still alive I think.

Also Barbara Stanwyck, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford...


http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o269/envyansand/lizabethgifProject33375X477.gif

Here's another photo of Barbara Stanwyck. This is from "A Lost Lady" (1934) and she would have been about 27 years old at this time:

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg73/bluelake07/BarbaraStanwyck.jpg

Lizabeth Scott, she never achieved the level of success that she deserved but she was great in Noir, and she's still alive I think.

Also Barbara Stanwyck, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford...


http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o269/envyansand/lizabethgifProject33375X477.gif

And she liked other women. :naughty:

10. Bette Davis. Her beauty was an acquired taste. But her acting ability was perhaps without peer, except possibly for Kate Hepburn.


I love her style and she cleaned up nice when she was in her twenties.

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/11_03/BetteD_468x654.jpg

There's not a single nominee here that I can disagree with and I hope to see this thread continue to grow.

Two more classic ladies from my list of favorites:

1. LOUISE BROOKS - Arguably the greatest silent screen actress of them all (if one discounts European wonders like Maria Falconetti).

2. CAROLE LOMBARD - Quite possibly the penultimate screen comedienne. A great actress and a genuine American hero. Her tragic death was a huge loss but sealed her legend.

A classic act,compleate with black face.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzQDw-qyJuE

another great actress who acts with eyes and expresses herself with every move even in this silly comidey.
because it is jpeg you will only see part of her expressions but this is still worth watching to the end.

Alida Valli, the "Second most beautiful woman next to Garbo"
She played in "The Third Man" with Wells and in "The Parradine Case" with Peck.

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2862258176/nm0885098

I agree that all the rest are stunning, with Ingrid Bergman as one of my favorites.

I didn't read all the posts, but did anyone mention Lauren Becall?

Alida Valli, the "Second most beautiful woman next to Garbo"
She played in "The Third Man" with Wells and in "The Parradine Case" with Peck.

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2862258176/nm0885098

I agree that all the rest are stunning, with Ingrid Bergman as one of my favorites.

I didn't read all the posts, but did anyone mention Lauren Becall?

Isent she one of the roller durbey chicks?