Cute, but with the talent to overcome it

[Robert Regan]

The 1944 Jane Eyre had three exceptional children in the cast, Peggy Ann Garner, Margaret O'Brien, and Elizabeth Taylor. Who was cute, and who was not?

[ChiO]

One not so cute, one in the negative sense of cute, and one never cute.

Do you mean there was someone to watch in JANE EYRE other than Orson? Who woulda thunk?

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Robert, I thought Margaret O'Brien was adorably cute in Jane Eyre. She just had this sing-songy lilt in her voice and was so bouncy in the costumes when she danced, and she fairly well nailed the French accent. No series of small feats for a little gal in front of a camera.

Sexy cute....


Oh, yeah. Pre-pubescent mojo working overtime for Brandon De Wilde...

[CineMaven]

Ahhh, Brandon. Good one SueSue. Especially out of that "Member of the Wedding' haircut and that nerdy look in "Shane." He was dreamy in "HUD" once I could tear my eyes away from baaaad bad boy Paul Newman. ( And Brandon Cruz...what a blast from the past Wendy. Wow! He was adorable, Mr. Eddie's son. )

As for "Jane Eyre" Elizabeth Taylor was never cute. She was the most beautiful child I've ever seen.

Her only competitor: lovely Ann Carter from "Curse of the Cat People." She ought to be invited to the TCM Film Fest.

[Maricatrin]

Mary-Kate - Debbie is cute, but I think it would be a great underestimation to say she has relied on it all her life. She's got a lot more going for her than cute, and I think she'd have loved to have been given a chance to do serious roles. She knocked me out a few weeks ago when I finally sat down and watched How the West Was Won. There wasn't a cute scene in the movie and she did a fantastic job with the very grown up role.

Hmm, now I'm a little confused. By the very name of the thread, I thought it referred to people who were really cute, but had the ability to make you forget it by their acting capabilities. I love Debbie Reynolds, she's a very talented actress, and simply adorable. Her What's My Line appearances are a delight ... an example:

[youtube] [/youtube]

I agree with Mary-Kate that the juvenile types--whether children, teenagers, or twenty-somethings who can play younger--are the ones that fall into the "cute" category. Russ Tamblyn, absolutely, and Jackie Cooper and the young Natalie Wood. James Dean seems too angsty to be cute--interesting and attractive, yes. Peter Kraus seems too handsome to be cute; he's a leading man. Guess I'm making a distinction between "He's cute" = "He's good-looking" and the kind of cuteness that Teri Garr has that other very attractive young women may not have.

Darryl Hickman made the point that even as a child he was a character actor, and that's probably true of Dean Stockwell as well, which is a little different from the kind of "cute kid" you usually see in movies or TV.

Thanks kingrat, and I definitely agree about the Handsome vs. Cute where males are concerned. That's kind of what I was driving at, but didn't put into words.

I hadn't heard that about Darryl Hickman, and he has a point. But as a young man I think he's sort of cute. He's a good actor; I recently saw both his appearances on the Untouchables and was impressed.

[ChiO]

And yet another cute and talented child who became a talented (but not so cute) adult:

Michael "Mickey" Gubitosi aka Bobby Blake aka Robert Blake.

[Robert Regan]

You're right about Taylor, Theresa. Though she was certainly convincing as a child, there was always something about her that was deeper than childhood. Almost as if she were already a woman inside just waiting for her body to catch up. And Ann Carter was indeed a little gem, one of my favorite child actors of the forties along with Robert Anderson.

Sue Sue, I agree with you about O'Brien in Jane Eyre. She was adorable and a remarkable technician for a child. I think she is the one ChiO referred to above with "in the negative sense of cute". I guess one can't please everybody.

Okay, ChiO, if I called them right, you already know that I disagree with you about O'Brien. That must mean that you consider Garner to be "not so cute". This brings up an aspect of cute that has not yet been mentioned here. One can be cute without necessarily being pretty. And I think that's little Peggy Ann to a T. This is relates to a child being as beautiful as young Elizabeth, but hardly cute.

[pvitari]

It's hard to live up to the speckled puppy standard of cuteness. I mean, who can beat this?

[CineMaven]

WOW! Those eyes, that little snout. My heart's melting!!!

NO FAIR PAULA!!! NO FAIR!!!!

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You're right about Taylor, Theresa. Though she was certainly convincing as a child, there was always something about her that was deeper than childhood. Almost as if she were already a woman inside just waiting for her body to catch up. And Ann Carter was indeed a little gem, one of my favorite child actors of the forties along with Robert Anderson.

Bob, I love your phrase:"...there was always something about her that was deeper than childhood." Yes, there was. What a Movie Star:



Robert Anderson, Bob? I thought Michael Anderson, Jr. was an awfully cute boy ( "The Sundowners" "The Sons of Katie Elder" and "The Monroes." )

* * * * *

I'm glad there are so many different definitions for cute as there are people. And films is such a visual medium that who can help but get caught up in the looks of a person, the looks of a film. Simone Simon....very very cute.



I always found Priscilla Lane to be "girl-next-door" cute. Or maybe she was pretty. Well....she was definitely the cutest of the Lane Sisters. Then again, there are some very handsome women and some very pretty men out there in Hollywoodland.

[Robert Regan]

Yes, Theresa, you are so right, as usual! Thank you for the compliment. And thank you for reminding us that there are several million ways to look at a movie or a person, reel or real. And thank you for mentioning the adorable (even when she's mean) Simone Simon. We have been neglecting here all the cute men and women from other countries. That's certainly not something that we have a corner on.

Robert J. Anderson, sometimes billed as Bobby, sometimes as Bobbie, and more often not billed at all, was James Stewart as a child in It's a Wonderful Life, Zachary Scott as a child in Ruthless, and also made an impression in The Bishop's Wife. Foe some reason, his career just petered out after that. Until I looked him up, I was afraid that maybe he was killed in Korea, but no, he has a long career in production up through the nineties. He was a handsome boy (not cute, though) and a very good actor. I'm sure most of us here on the site have seen him.

[CineMaven]

Paula, I still cry "Foul! No fair!!"

* * *

Seeeeeeeee. As long as I am "right, as usual" Bob, our friendship will flourish another 35-years.

Aaaah, Robert J. Anderson. I know who you mean now. ( I looked him up. ) He was a good - looking kid. You know who I thought was cute, not handsome? ( Who. ) Kyle Johnson, the young lead in "The Learning Tree." I remember gushing about him to my father and about the movie when I first saw the film. I don't think my Dad knew WHAT to say.

Do you know who I thought was drop dead handsome... not cute -



My heart belongs to Johnny Crawford, but Gene Reynolds...boy! A fine actor too.

[Maricatrin]

It's hard to live up to the speckled puppy standard of cuteness. I mean, who can beat this?

Oh my gosh, simply adorable!!! This is reminding me of a friendly argument I once had with my sister as to which were cuter, babies or kittens.

[Rita Hayworth]

Beach Blanket Bingo
1965 Muscle Beach Classic



Annette Funcicello, Frankie Avalon, Deborah Walley, and Jody McCrea (Quartet of) ... is hard to beat and not mention Donna Loren and a young Linda Evans (of Dynasty Fame) in this charming beach movie that has cuteness written all over it.

[youtube][/youtube]

Trailer of this charming beach movie in 1965.