Almost all the great modern day actresses have played cops, detectives and soldiers. i can't even think of one classical actress, who played such a role, mind you in the 30s, 40s and 50s Policewoman in both America were few and far between and female soldiers didn't fight in the front line until the latter part of the 20th Century.
What about Maureen O'Hara in her young days as an Irish American cop in the Christine Cagney mould, but tougher. or in middle age an Irish American Police Captain, a female version of the actor in Hill Street Blues.
Rosalind Russell would i think have made a great private detective as a more serious, tougher, but similiar role to her His Girl Friday.
Stanwyck i think could have played both a cop or an Officer in the army
Virginia McKenna and Mary Ure showed in Carve Her Name With Pride and Where Eagles Dare that they could have played British cops and soldiers.
What about classical actresses as cops, detectives, soldiers
-
klondike
Beautiful women are NEVER off topic ! especially those ladies with whips.*klondike wrote:Me neither, Ken; and if that didn't straighten me out, I'd say I deserved to get interrogated severely by Ava Gardner . . for at least a couple of hours!ken123 wrote: I wouldn't mind being " arrested " by Miss O' Hara !
But we prob'ly are getting pretty far off-topic here . .
Sorry, Stu!
* Oh - oh - Did I say a bad thing ! Oops so sorry -
Stu:
Don't forget the time you're talking about was still the era of 'the weaker sex' which if you consider it, only 50 years earlier women were still trekking across the country to settle out west, and even though a man had to care for the horses, change wagon wheels, and other 'manly' things. The women had to cook, clean, wash and mend clothes, and be right there alongside their men loading the rifles during attacks, and all of it using the crudest of materials.
Whenever anything 'bad' happened, the 'little lady' was pushed back and told to stay in the wagon, cabin, house, or whatever. Yet, nobody seemed to think it unusual for women to be left alone in those same wagons, and cabins when the men had to go on hunting trips for food for the winter. Nowadays women are actually marines, naval and army officers, and regular army, but back in the 40's (WWII), they were restricted to WACS, WAVES, etc. which were basically little more than nurses in uniform.
While the boys play with their pipe dreams about Ms. Ohara and the idea of her accosting them; there were a few British movies made with ladies as actual fighting personnal. I can't recall the name, but one was about the Irish freedom fighters. Then there was Lana Turner in Betrayed. I do believe she carried a rifle in a couple of her scenes.
On the whole, apparently American film makers felt women couldn't handle fighting scenes. And although the boys make jokes about it, Ms. Ohara held her own pretty well in some of the swashbuckling movies she made, handling those epees pretty competently.
I'm pretty sure Roz Russell would be a pretty scary D.I., as would Crawford. Her ladyship Irene Dunne would need a couple of bodyguards, for her dainty self, but I think Greer Garson could rip you a new one pretty well if you needed it!
Actually the rules haven't really changed all that much. A few examples of tough ladies are Linda Hamilton in the later Terminator movies, pretty little Meg Ryan was tough in Courage Under Fire, and J-Lo was spectacular in Enough, but on the whole, to be tough, the women simply talk tough, in most cases it's just a matter of a put down with the lady using language just as on target as the guy.
Anne
Don't forget the time you're talking about was still the era of 'the weaker sex' which if you consider it, only 50 years earlier women were still trekking across the country to settle out west, and even though a man had to care for the horses, change wagon wheels, and other 'manly' things. The women had to cook, clean, wash and mend clothes, and be right there alongside their men loading the rifles during attacks, and all of it using the crudest of materials.
Whenever anything 'bad' happened, the 'little lady' was pushed back and told to stay in the wagon, cabin, house, or whatever. Yet, nobody seemed to think it unusual for women to be left alone in those same wagons, and cabins when the men had to go on hunting trips for food for the winter. Nowadays women are actually marines, naval and army officers, and regular army, but back in the 40's (WWII), they were restricted to WACS, WAVES, etc. which were basically little more than nurses in uniform.
While the boys play with their pipe dreams about Ms. Ohara and the idea of her accosting them; there were a few British movies made with ladies as actual fighting personnal. I can't recall the name, but one was about the Irish freedom fighters. Then there was Lana Turner in Betrayed. I do believe she carried a rifle in a couple of her scenes.
On the whole, apparently American film makers felt women couldn't handle fighting scenes. And although the boys make jokes about it, Ms. Ohara held her own pretty well in some of the swashbuckling movies she made, handling those epees pretty competently.
I'm pretty sure Roz Russell would be a pretty scary D.I., as would Crawford. Her ladyship Irene Dunne would need a couple of bodyguards, for her dainty self, but I think Greer Garson could rip you a new one pretty well if you needed it!
Actually the rules haven't really changed all that much. A few examples of tough ladies are Linda Hamilton in the later Terminator movies, pretty little Meg Ryan was tough in Courage Under Fire, and J-Lo was spectacular in Enough, but on the whole, to be tough, the women simply talk tough, in most cases it's just a matter of a put down with the lady using language just as on target as the guy.
Anne
Anne
***********************************************************************
* * * * * * * * What is past is prologue. * * * * * * * *
]***********************************************************************
***********************************************************************
* * * * * * * * What is past is prologue. * * * * * * * *
]***********************************************************************
Anne
Rosamund John played a police woman in the 1950s film Street Corner, but in those days women officers in Britain were kept in the background. though i thought women of the early west worked shoulder to shoulder with their men on their homesteads and joined in the shoot outs if required
i was reminded of two tv shows in the 80s. i felt after after making Christine Cagney a toughie early on in Cagney And Lacey that they cop-out and made her less tough. the show where she was raped left me wodering if the early Cagney's including Loretta Switt's and Meg Foster's wouldn't have fought such an attacker off. in contrast I'm also reminded of Betty Thomas' potrayal of Lucy Bates in Hill Street Blues. she spent the first series in a skirt and behind a desk. then they changed her into pants and put her on the street
Rosamund John played a police woman in the 1950s film Street Corner, but in those days women officers in Britain were kept in the background. though i thought women of the early west worked shoulder to shoulder with their men on their homesteads and joined in the shoot outs if required
i was reminded of two tv shows in the 80s. i felt after after making Christine Cagney a toughie early on in Cagney And Lacey that they cop-out and made her less tough. the show where she was raped left me wodering if the early Cagney's including Loretta Switt's and Meg Foster's wouldn't have fought such an attacker off. in contrast I'm also reminded of Betty Thomas' potrayal of Lucy Bates in Hill Street Blues. she spent the first series in a skirt and behind a desk. then they changed her into pants and put her on the street