How about Joan Crawford, who was good when she was young (above, topmost) but who morphed into a complete genius in middle age (above). How do you like this combination of a slip, a near-unibrow, and an aesome awning-stripe background?
I sneaked this (above) in after I got comments reminding me that I left out Garbo. I should be flogged for that because I love Garbo. Amazingly, I didn't always feel that way. Before two or three years ago I used to wonder what all the fuss was about. What turned me around was that I finally got hold of a good print of "Grand Hotel." Watch that, "Anna Christie" and "Romance" and you'll see for yourself why she was so special. She's one of the queens of sentimental over-the-top.
And let us not forget Madeline Kahn who was brilliant as Eunice in "What's Up, Doc?"
Imogene Coca (above, spelled right this time), the wonderful partner of Sid Ceasar in the 50s!
Come on, no screen witch matched Margaret Hamilton, though the woman who did the voice of the hag in Disney's "Snow White" wasn't shabby.
Hamilton played a pretty good biddie, too.
What about Edna May Oliver (above) who was so good in "David Copperfield"?Then there's women like Bette Davis, Margaret Rutherford, and the like. This would be a long list if I wasn't so sleepy.
21 comments:
Psst - Eddie... That was MARGARET Hamilton. Not Edith Hamilton.
If you change the blog quick, no one will notice.
I LOVE JOAN CRAWFORD!! She was a genius in Mildred Pierce, a real MILFIIWAOW.
There a porno on youtube with a woman who looks like Joan Crawford, it's pretty awesome. So yeah, I'm a deviant.
These days I'm diggin that hot Edie Falco. Oh, man, ever since I saw her on 30 Rock I can't get her out of my mind.
Hey Eddie, you must really be sleepy - it's MARGARET Hamilton, and Imogene COCA. Sheesh!
BTW, thanks again for the swell Christmas books - "Lesbian Pulp Fiction" and "The Layguide: How to Seduce Women".
Very cool! You sure know how to ring in the holiday spirit!
Certainly Margaret Hamilton's
wicked witch is untouchable, yet her Mrs. Gulch character was 'too jerky', in her own opinion. Go figure.
What, no Garbo or Dietrich or Judy Garland? Okay, I can't expect even Eddie to share all my obsessions. My favorite Crawford moment: In Intermezzo, she commits suicide while her beloved plays The Liebestod in the music track. Wow!
oh I looove Madeline Kahn! She is in one of my top five favorite movies, "Paper Moon". Have you ever seen it? It stars father-daughter team Ryan and Tatum O'Neal . . . Ryan played the protagonist in What's Up Doc, as well.
Who the hell is Edith Hamilton?
You mean Margaret, of course.
Look-I have to be a cop about it as so many thousands read this blog on a daily basis, Eddie. You've no idea the influence you have on young minds--the sheer, potentially catstrophic potential you possess here for tossing out wrong names and credits! ; D
So anyway--yeah, sure, okay--here's all the ugly/funny-evil, goofball-faced "favs"--but who's the fairest of them all AND a good actress in your august opining? Who?
I'll give mine--I know you're dying to hear them:
Carole Lombard
Barbara Stanwyck
Claudette Colbert
Katharine Hepburn
Jean Arthur
...of course Bette Davis is always a treat to watch
...very often Olivia DeHavilland
Just to LOOK at(and often giving excellent perfs too):
Veronica Lake
Gail Patrick(that voice!)
Linda Darnell
Diana Lynn
Maureen O'Hara
Joan Bennett(always brilliant)
Later on--post 1949 or so-there's others but that's a start.
So who's your pinups?
or do I drag the declarations from Mount Northridge in a screwy direction here? If so, ignore please. : )
Psssst, Eddie? Edith Hamilton is an author. You mean Margaret Hamilton, who sold lots of Maxwell House Coffee in her day.
I hate to plug myself but one of my favorite actresses is the silent star Louise Brooks.. I just tried my hand at drawing her a couple times over at my blog
also if anyone loves photo essays on Bob Clampett cartoons, check my blog out. EDDIE APPROVES!
Apparently you're so sleepy that you called Margaret Hamilton, "Edith"...
She's gonna get you for that Eddie - and your little dog, too!!
I think you somewhat understated Madeline Kahn's talents. She wasn't just brilliant as Eunice in What's Up, Doc?, she was brilliant in everything she did. Her biggest role coming to mind of course would be her Oscar-nominated performance in Blazing Saddles as Lilly Von Schtupp. Also, she sadly died way too young.
Oh, by the way, Merry Christmas to one and all. B)
I loved Madeline Kahn. Sooo funny, and sooo missed.
I was re-watching Gene Wilder's The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Younger Smarter Brother the other day (silly film, but lots of fun) and I'd forgotten just how wonderful (and sexy) she was.
HA! Look what I started!
I'll get you, my pretty...!
That Joan Crawford bitch used to give me nightmares.No doubt due to her incredible acting abilities, and an oh way too close, resemblance to my step-mother.
"Who the hell is Edith Hamilton?" Edith wrote a classic book called Mythology, illustrated with beautiful line drawings by Steel Savage (great name!). I doubt if she could act, though.
I'm sure these actresses can act, but most of them have these manly looking jaws. I don't like the way most actresses look today, either.
I should google these actresses and see how good they are. Thanks for listing some names, Eddie!
Oh, and Merry Christmas!
Jenny: Linda Darnell, Gail Patrick and Diana Lynn...who are these women? They must be good, but I don't know them!
Mike: Glad you liked them! Yeah, I goofed on the names. I went back and changed it!
David: A new twist on the Grinch story! Very funny!
Eddie, Linda Darnell played the whore in My Darlng Clementine. She was great!
"Eddie, Linda Darnell played the whore in My Darlng Clementine. She was great!"
Yes, she also started making major films at age 16, and she was astonishingly beautiful(naturally so; just incredible features);
a really lovely, natural actress for a teenager with zero experience.
I'm with you, Uncle Eddie - Joan Crawford rocked the house. Although I thought that Bette Davis was the better actress, La Crawford had a better screen presence. Plus, she was one of the few actors of her time (Cary Grant, Bette Davis and Katherine Hepburn are others I can think of)
who was able to adjust to the times and still stay in the limelight without looking "dated". It's so easy to do a whole post on Joan Crawford.
Madeline Kahn was also a great comedic actress. She could play subtle as well as OTT screwball. I read something in a Lucille Ball biography about Madeline Kahn that makes me laugh, but I'm not sure how true it is. If it is true, it shows how shrewd of a businesswoman Ms. Kahn was. Ms. Kahn was supposed to play Agnes Gooch in Mame opposite Ms. Ball. Apparently, she (Madeline) wasn't happy with the role (it didn't help that Ms. Ball was a first class, genuine, total and complete itch-with-a-b on the set), and around the same time, she was offered the role on Blazing Saddles, which is the role that she wanted. So, Ms. Kahn started doing things, like performing "poorly" (read: not to Ms. Ball's standards) during rehearsals, so she could get fired from "Mame". According to the biographer, Lucy was hopping mad because she realized that Madeline Kahn probably did it on purpose, since she was still able to collect some money from the contract.
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