WoW!
I counted ninety-four actors' names. You folks are remarkable!
If I didn't break away from what I was doing...absolutely all the rest of my favorites would be on your lists. So let me weigh in here and pretend I have an original thought in my head by naming these talented people:
MY HOLY GRAIL ( Ann & Lurene )
ANN DORAN - Oh you know her. She’s been in tons of things. I always figure her for smart & efficient. And anything Eve can do, Ann can do. I love them both. She’s mostly always in and out of the picture. I like her copper twangy voice and I thought she was pretty. Yes, her claim to fame can be in
“Rebel Without A Cause.” But I like her small turn in
“The Strange Love of Martha Ivers.” She’s a pip in just a few short sexy moments with Van Heflin.
LURENE TUTTLE - Myrna Loy has the moniker of
“The Perfect Wife” but I think she should share that title with the lovely Ms. Tuttle. ( She is mother of musical comedy star Barbara “Carousel” Ruick, who died at 41. ) Tuttle most often always plays The Wife. Now seriously, who can watch
“Psycho” and NOT hear Lurene say “...periwinkle blue.” She's married to the blowhard cereal executive in
“Niagara” and doesn't she leave her child with an unhinged blonde babysitter in
“Don't Bother to Knock”? Aaaah...for me she is character actress supreme. She can be ditsy ( as she was in “Psycho” ) or deadly serious as she was in her one powerful scene in
“Sweet Smell of Success.” For my money
“Tomorrow Is Another Day” is one of Lurene’s standout performances.
UBIQUITOUS
ALLYN JOSLYN, JOHN RIDGELY &
MINOR WATSON and
MORONI OLSEN.
When I see them, I know it’s the 1940’s. They make me smile. Minor has such a distinctive voice and he'd be my second favorite Sugar Daddy after my Sammykins. (
) Allyn does have the Jerome Cowan sleeeeeze factor, but his performance in
“Moonrise” astounded me and showed me he was much much more than a foil in a nice fitting tux with a little mustache. Don'cha just love Moroni as the police chief who wants to get to the bottom of things in
“Mildred Pierce”? ...And Veda's
at that bottom, too! And what can one say about John Ridgely? He was in every movie ever made even before Edison
invented them!!
THE DOWAGER-TYPE
Yeah yeah yeah...pin-up queens and bombshells are a’ight. But man cannot live by Glam alone! ( Or can they? ) Well, either one of these actors can cut you to ribbons with her quips:
HELEN BRODERICK - Even big burly Broderick Crawford had to have a mother. And Helen was his. She was wonderful in movies with her big eyes and long face. Her dead pan delivery is killer. Look at her in
“Swing Time” when she chastises Victor Moore for eating her ham sandwich. Fred & Ginger who.
CECIL CUNNINGHAM - Her words are like laser beams and you won’t even feel the slice until you see the blood. She played Aunt Paddy in
“The Awful Truth.” When she gives Ralph Bellamy that ‘Dear John’ letter and says, “...here’s your diploma” I fell on the floor. Saw her in a bit part as a Madam in
“Safe in Hell” and yelled at the tv,
“HEY...Aunt Paddy!!!” ( She didn't answer.
)
MOTHER COURAGE
ALINE MacMAHON
I
idolize Aline. She is strong, she is striking and she is beautiful. D’ya remember in
“Guest in the House”? ( I need to revisit
that one!! ) I liked her in
“Five Star Final.” Awwwwwwright! She might not have the physique of the blazing Blondell, but she’s sure got the attitude. And the pathos.
These folks made my runner-up list. Not that their talent is any less. No sir. But because I’m not so sure they’re not leading actor types as opposed to character actors:
Celeste Holm,
Audrey Totter,
Jeanette Nolan,
Jayne Meadows,
Marie Windsor,
Christine Lahti,
Martin Balsam ( and my newly added )
Peter Lorre.
Hey Jax
xxon, I don't see Frank McHugh's name
...anywhere.