The picture I return to repeatedly is of Jean Simmons. Is she unposed?
I'm thinking it's unposed. In her studio portraits, she always seems relentlessly dour, and all of that word's synonyms: stern, unsmiling, unfriendly, severe, forbidding, gruff, surly, grim, sullen, solemn, austere, stony.
This one jumps out at you. It's my favorite picture of Jean Simmons by far.
By the way, some of these actresses are tough to find a great photo of.
Barbara Stanwyck looks like ten different people depending on the lighting.
Mary Astor consistently froze up in front of the camera.
Deborah Kerr underneath the airbrushing, makeup and lighting was heavily freckled and had chipmunk cheeks. Plus her screen persona was of the ultimate goody two-shoes so she's always posed as a princess or something. There are some very good candid shots of her -- she clearly was irreverent in real life -- but the photos tend to be grainy and you almost wouldn't recognize her.
Then there are some who can't take a bad photograph -- Greta Garbo, for instance.
At least none of them are standing on a generic red carpet doing the "red carpet" pose. Bleech.
Named for Katie-Bar-The-Door, the Katies are "alternate Oscars"—who should have been nominated, who should have won—but really they're just an excuse to write a history of the movies from the Silent Era to the present day.
To see a list of nominees and winners by decade, as well as links to my essays about them, click the highlighted links:
Remember: There are no wrong answers, only movies you haven't seen yet.
The Silent Oscars
And don't forget to check out the Silent Oscars—my year-by-year choices for best picture, director and all four acting categories for the pre-Oscar years, 1902-1927.
Look at me—Joe College, with a touch of arthritis. Are my eyes really brown? Uh, no, they're green. Would we have the nerve to dive into the icy water and save a person from drowning? That's a key question. I, of course, can't swim, so I never have to face it. Say, haven't you anything better to do than to keep popping in here early every morning and asking a lot of fool questions?
7 comments:
Um,
<*gulp*>
golly !
As the man said, "Great googly moogly!"
By the way, I strongly encourage readers to click on the photos to embigulate them.
Congratulations on your great taste in photos! The picture I return to repeatedly is of Jean Simmons. Is she unposed? Best natural smile ever!
The ice cream may have helped.
The picture I return to repeatedly is of Jean Simmons. Is she unposed?
I'm thinking it's unposed. In her studio portraits, she always seems relentlessly dour, and all of that word's synonyms: stern, unsmiling, unfriendly, severe, forbidding, gruff, surly, grim, sullen, solemn, austere, stony.
This one jumps out at you. It's my favorite picture of Jean Simmons by far.
By the way, some of these actresses are tough to find a great photo of.
Barbara Stanwyck looks like ten different people depending on the lighting.
Mary Astor consistently froze up in front of the camera.
Deborah Kerr underneath the airbrushing, makeup and lighting was heavily freckled and had chipmunk cheeks. Plus her screen persona was of the ultimate goody two-shoes so she's always posed as a princess or something. There are some very good candid shots of her -- she clearly was irreverent in real life -- but the photos tend to be grainy and you almost wouldn't recognize her.
Then there are some who can't take a bad photograph -- Greta Garbo, for instance.
At least none of them are standing on a generic red carpet doing the "red carpet" pose. Bleech.
Then there are some who can't take a bad photograph -- Greta Garbo, for instance.
Hear, hear!
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