Has anyone ever noticed how much older people looked in old movies/TV shows?
When I look at old movies, and realize that many actors are only in their early to mid 30s, I’m surprised at how much older they look that the people in that same age that I encounter in real life?
Was makeup that bad back then, or were the lights that strong?
Or is makeup just that much better now?
I think it’s mostly a matter of generational fashion. We sometimes kid ourselves into thinking that people change the way they dress, groom and carry themselves as they get older. They don’t. It just seems like it when you compare them to younger generations. So, if Grandpa wears baggy flannel pants hiked halfway up to his chest and plasters his hair with oil, it’s because that’s what he’s been doing since he was 18.
One exception to this reasoning, is the men you see in World War II footage. They really do look older than the 18-23 year old average. I think the reason they all look like they’re in their 30s is a combination of the stress of combat and the fact that many were malnourished in their formative years growing up during the Great Depression.
IIRC there were actually quite a lot of older men serving as soldiers in WWII. I have a vague recollection of the average age being something like 28? 32? Very vague…
William Powell was 42 when the first Thin Man movie came out. If I change his hairstyle (like maybe washing it and skipping the Vitalis) and his clothing (jeans and a tee-shirt instead of the tux), then he actually appears younger than 42.
Ursa’s right, I think. Fashion is part of it. And subconsciously, we’re thinking of them as old, cuz we know most of them are dead by now, and we only know them from old movies.
Some of it’s miscasting too – I think a lot of older actors played teenagers or twenty-somethings long past credibility.
Make-up might account for prematurely aging some of the women actors though. Dark lipstick, heavy eyebrows, etc. How old was Kim Novak supposed to be in Picnic? 19 or 20? She looked 30.
While there certainly were men as old as 32 serving as soldiers during WWII, the average age must have been considerably less. As a WAG, I’d say it was probably around 21 or 22. Even among the ranks of officers, the average was probably in the mid-twenties.
May I jump in with an observation about old people on TV? Years ago they used older people, not teenagers and 20 somethings like now, on regular TV shows. The Honeymooners - I Love Lucy - Dick Van Dyke - it seems everytime someone was playing a bit part (cashier, postal worker, etc.) it was played by a real genuine OLD person. You had your stars, and little kids if offspring were required, and middle aged people. No teens or 20s.
A bit OT–I watched about 15 minutes of Grease the other night. My Japanese wife was cracking up because of the high school students that mostly appeared to be over 30.
I hadn’t noticed–surely becuase I hadn’t cared–before, but she was right. It became painful to watch the cast acting like teenagers.
John Travolta was probably the youngest of the main actors in Grease, and he was 24 when the film was released. Stockard Channing was probably the oldest, and she was 34.