Leading Men: The 50 Most Unforgettable Actors of the Studio Era Review

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Leading Men: The 50 Most Unforgettable Actors of the Studio Era ReviewAs the inevitable sequel to "Leading Ladies" released last spring, this glossy paperback covers their male counterparts in exactly the same format. Robert Osborne, longtime host of the Turner Movie Classics (TCM) and veteran film critic Molly Haskell have again winnowed down a list that presents the fifty actors they feel epitomized enduring box office appeal when the major Hollywood studios dominated the business and groomed its stars. For each of the legends, there is a full-page close-up photo, a thumbnail profile which includes even astrological sign, a select filmography of most memorable roles, selected stills, and some intriguing trivia. Like "Leading Ladies", it's all superficial but supremely entertaining for movie buffs.
Whereas the top actress list Osborne and Haskell assembled has a few idiosyncratic choices (e.g., Louise Brooks), as well as some pickings from the second-tier pool (e.g., Debbie Reynolds), the final list here feels somewhat more definitive. I believe this has far less to do with comparative quality than it does with the inherent sexism of a business where male actors were more typically maintained for box office longevity given the painfully erroneous notion that actresses have shorter shelf lives. There are the obvious no-brainers included as their status has gone well beyond iconic proportions - Bogart, Cooper, Gable, Astaire, Tracy, Cagney, Grant, Wayne, Fonda, Stewart, Olivier. Brando, of course, is here as well as his Method-oriented brethren - Clift, Dean (a legacy based on just three films) and in the same generation, Newman, Poitier and McQueen.
Several actors on the list have either faded almost completely or been severely underestimated in hindsight, and the editors have smartly included them here - Joel McCrea, John Garfield, Paul Muni, Edward G. Robinson and Alan Ladd are good examples. There is also a healthy dose of actors who dominated in the silent era - Valentino, Chaplin, Fairbanks, Keaton, John Barrymore, Lon Chaney, Harold Lloyd and likely the least remembered, John Gilbert, MGM's top screen draw in the 1920's and the most infamous casualty of the talkie revolution. Then there are a few whose personalities, other show business pursuits or private lives have so overshadowed their images that one tends to forget how vital they were on the big screen - Bob Hope, Mickey Rooney, Frank Sinatra, Rock Hudson, Bing Crosby.
The arbitrary cut-off of luminaries included looks to be around 1960 since actors like Sean Connery and Robert Redford are not included, though I wish the editors were more forthcoming about the actual prerequisites since Peter O'Toole is here. When one looks at a list that includes stalwarts like William Holden and Fredric March, it seems odd not to include enduring actors such as Tony Curtis, Tyrone Power, Richard Widmark, Robert Montgomery and Walter Matthau. From my perspective, the most egregious exclusion is Orson Welles, who was perhaps deprioritized since his staggering filmmaking talent was seen to overshadow his screen persona. I also wish the editors could have included some recognition for foreign actors of similar stature in the same era, for example, Jean Gabin, Toshiro Mifune and Marcello Mastroianni. But this is all part of the fun. The others on the top fifty list, in case you're wondering, are Charles Boyer, Ronald Colman, Kirk Douglas, Errol Flynn, Gene Kelly, Burt Lancaster, Jack Lemmon, Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck, William Powell, Anthony Quinn and Robert Taylor.Leading Men: The 50 Most Unforgettable Actors of the Studio Era OverviewTough, sophisticated, witty, and handsomefrom Rudolph Valentino to Buster Keaton, Cary Grant to Jimmy Stewart, Humphrey Bogart to Steve McQueen, each of the actors featured in this book brought a magnetic presence to the screen and made a powerful and enduring mark on film history. Produced by Turner Classic Movies, this stylish and definitive guide as the inside scoop and off-the-record reveals of fifty unforgettable actors and is also the focus of an on-air film festival on the channel. The lives and accomplishments of each actor are celebrated in an insightful career overview, accompanied by an annotated list of essential films, filmographies, behind the scenes facts, Academy Award wins and nominations. Full of surprising trivia, film stills, posters, and stunning photos, Leading Men pays tribute to the most charismatic, enduring, and elegant actors of the silver screenan essential resource for movie buffs and pop-culture enthusiasts alike.

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