Tuesday, August 16, 2011

That's Typing Tuesday #15: The Face He Deserves

"That's Typing" Tuesday, in which I share unpolished, unpublished writings from my vast store of unpolished, unpublished writings. On Tuesdays.

Somebody—possibly George Orwell—once observed that a man gets the face he deserves by age fifty. Here are some famous actors at that age. Are these the faces they deserved? You make the call.

Humphrey Bogart (In A Lonely Place)

James Cagney (with Virginia Mayo) (White Heat)

Douglas Fairbanks (The Private Life Of Don Juan)

Henry Fonda (Mister Roberts)

Cary Grant (age 51) (To Catch A Thief)

Robert Mitchum (age 49) (with John Wayne) (El Dorado)

Jack Nicholson (The Witches Of Eastwick)

William Powell (age 49) (with Myrna Loy) (Shadow Of The Thin Man)

James Stewart (Vertigo)

Spencer Tracy (with Joan Bennett) (Father Of The Bride)

6 comments:

LucieWickfield said...

Ha! What an intriguing thought! I can't say Jimmy Stewart looked exactly BETTER at 50, but his face at that age seemed to be making exceptional films. Funny, William Powell never changed too much.

mister muleboy said...

I enjoyed my ol' face right through the forties.

Ups, downs, ins, outs -- I still liked the old face.

Sadly, dissolute living led me to

get what I deserve.

The timing of the saying couldn't be more right: at 50, I got the face that I deserve.

Mythical Monkey said...

My, what big ears you've got!

Mythical Monkey said...

Funny, William Powell never changed too much.

It probably helped that we didn't really get familiar with his face until he was in his forties. And then he retired in his mid-sixties. Not as much age-range or variation as some of the others.

Yvette said...

At a certain age, ten years makes little difference, usually, on men. Damn them.

These all look pretty good. Cary Grant especially. :)

Grant hit his peak, I think in his forties and early fifties.

You didn't show Gable. He too looked pretty good at 50.

John Wayne and maybe Bogart didn't age as well as the others in my opinion.

KC said...

Cary Grant not only aged well, but he made everything he wore look fancy. That casual shirt seems snazzier because he is wearing it.