# Recast a Modern Movie With Classic Stars **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 22, 2006, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-a-modern-movie-with-classic-stars/341135 "2006-01-22T19:11:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-a-modern-movie-with-classic-stars/341135/1 "2006-01-22T19:11:46Z")
While watching _Brokeback Mountain_ the odd thought occurred to me that “if this had been made 70 years ago, it probably would have been a Henry Fonda/Jimmy Stewart movie”. (Who’s Jack and who’s Ennis… to quote Big Julie from _Guys & Dolls_, “eeder way”.) When I saw _Narnia_ I had a similar thought that "The White Witch would have been played by Bette Davis, with Edmund Gwenn as the Professor and, of course, [Bert Lahr](http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/oz/images/vc49.jpg) as Aslan. Any other suggestions for who’d have played other modern movie roles if actors from the Golden Era were immortal? ---
**Author:** ![want2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@want2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2know)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-a-modern-movie-with-classic-stars/341135/2 "2006-01-22T19:14:46Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > While watching _Brokeback Mountain_ the odd thought occurred to me that “if this had been made 70 years ago, it probably would have been a Henry Fonda/Jimmy Stewart movie”. (Who’s Jack and who’s Ennis… to quote Big Julie from _Guys & Dolls_, “eeder way”.) Wouldn’t Montgomery Clift and Anthony Perkins be more appropriate? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-a-modern-movie-with-classic-stars/341135/3 "2006-01-22T19:26:51Z")
_Master and Commander_ Rutger Hauer and Dustin Hoffman. _Cape Fear_ Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-a-modern-movie-with-classic-stars/341135/4 "2006-01-22T20:10:58Z")
> [@want2know](#): > > Wouldn’t Montgomery Clift and Anthony Perkins be more appropriate? 😃 Anthony Perkins and Tab Hunter. They’d have had plenty of rehearsal time under their, um, belts, having been a couple. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-a-modern-movie-with-classic-stars/341135/5 "2006-01-22T21:14:35Z")
As long as we’ve got Anthony Perkins on the casting couch (so to speak), I think it would be cool to re-unite him with Janet Leigh in **Memento**. Peter Lorre would take over for Joe Pantoliano. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-a-modern-movie-with-classic-stars/341135/6 "2006-01-22T21:26:55Z")
My wife and I, while watching "Mr. and Mrs. Smith, allowed that if all the silly explosions, etc., were removed, perhaps this could have been a 1950s Hitchcock production with Cary Grant and (we couldn’t agree on who would do the Jolie part) Grace Kelley or Audrey Hepburn. Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![want2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@want2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2know)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-a-modern-movie-with-classic-stars/341135/7 "2006-01-22T22:01:49Z")
The \*Harry Potter \* movies with the Little Rascals–specifically, Spanky as Harry, Darla as Hermione, and Alfalfa as Weasley. I’m trying to come up with serious ones, but so many classic films have been remade that it’s hard to come up with original ideas! ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-a-modern-movie-with-classic-stars/341135/8 "2006-01-23T05:52:48Z")
I think Humphrey Bogart would have made a great Rick Deckard in “Blade Runner,” which Ridley Scott obviously intended as an homage to Forties film noir anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-a-modern-movie-with-classic-stars/341135/9 "2006-01-23T07:33:02Z")
> [@Sir Rhosis](#): > > My wife and I, while watching "Mr. and Mrs. Smith, allowed that if all the silly explosions, etc., were removed, perhaps this could have been a 1950s Hitchcock production with Cary Grant and (we couldn’t agree on who would do the Jolie part) Grace Kelley or Audrey Hepburn. The Coen Brothers’ “Intolerable Cruelty” owed a lot to the Howard Hawks, Grant/Hepburn-type screwball comedies. I’m not sure if it would make it a great film, but I’d be curious to see how that film would look if those two were actually in it. There are tons of films I’d like to see Cary Grant in, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-a-modern-movie-with-classic-stars/341135/10 "2006-01-23T13:42:56Z")
Bogie & Bacall as Han & Leia? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-a-modern-movie-with-classic-stars/341135/11 "2006-01-23T13:53:45Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Bogie & Bacall as Han & Leia? I’m thinking about Bogie taking out a light saber wiedling Darth Vader with a .45…and an X-Wing named “Santana”. Would Walter Brennen be CP3O or R3D2? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-a-modern-movie-with-classic-stars/341135/12 "2006-01-23T15:02:55Z")
Serenity: The Duke as Captain Malcolm Reynolds, Audrey Hepburne as Inara, Jimmy Stewart as Simon, perhaps… I’m drawing a blank for the rest of the cast. Make the movie 20 years later in Italy then you cast Clint Eastwood as Mal, Lee Van Cleef as The Operative, whoever played Tuco in Good The Bad and The Ugly would be Jayne. Again, drawing a blank for the rest of the cast. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-a-modern-movie-with-classic-stars/341135/13 "2006-01-23T15:14:00Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > Serenity: The Duke as Captain Malcolm Reynolds, Audrey Hepburne as Inara, Jimmy Stewart as Simon, perhaps… I’m drawing a blank for the rest of the cast. Elizabeth Taylor-Kaylee Robert Mitchum-Jayne ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-a-modern-movie-with-classic-stars/341135/14 "2006-01-23T16:33:19Z")
Lord of the Rings Hmm… Aragorn – Chuck Heston Grima Wormtongue – Vincent Price Gandalf – Lawrence Olivier Pippin – Albert Finney ---
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-a-modern-movie-with-classic-stars/341135/15 "2006-01-23T17:42:12Z")
**Seven** , with Robert Mitchum in the Morgan Freeman role, Sidney Poitier in the Brad Pitt role, and James Stewart in a career-redefining role as John Doe. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-a-modern-movie-with-classic-stars/341135/16 "2006-01-23T21:09:19Z")
Lord of the Rings: Frodo: Carey Grant Bilbo: David Niven Merry: Stanley Baker Pippin: Michael Caine Sam: Nigel Green Gimli: Victor McLaglen Legolas: Errol Flynn Aragorn: Gregory Peck Gandalf: Boris Karloff Saruman: Christopher Lee is perfect as is. Denethor: Peter O’Toole Borimir: Sean Connery Faramir: Roger Moore Galadriel: Jean Simmons Gollum: Peter Lorre Grima Wormtongue: Vincent Price (good call, **tdn**!) Elrond: Laurence Olivier Arwen: Audrey Hepburn Theoden: Peter Ustinov Eowyn: Maureen O’Sullivan ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-a-modern-movie-with-classic-stars/341135/17 "2006-01-23T21:27:47Z")
Oops, make that Maureen **O’hara** as Eowyn. Also, Bela Lugosi, John Carradine, Lon Chaney (both of them), and every other Universal Monster Movie star as various orcs. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-a-modern-movie-with-classic-stars/341135/18 "2006-01-23T21:36:29Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Also, Bela Lugosi, John Carradine, Lon Chaney (both of them), and every other Universal Monster Movie star as various orcs. No, they’d make better Dark Riders. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-a-modern-movie-with-classic-stars/341135/19 "2006-01-23T21:54:28Z")
The Nine Riders: 1. Tom Mix 2. Gene Autrey 3. Hopalong Cassidy 4. Lash LaRue 5. Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. 6. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. 7. Clint Eastwood 8. Roy Rogers 9. John Wayne The Witch-King would be John Wayne in the costume, with James Earl Jones doing the voice. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recast-a-modern-movie-with-classic-stars/341135/20 "2006-01-23T22:04:04Z")
**the Rocky Horror Picture Show** (circa mid-1950s): Brad - Anthony Perkins Janet - Kim Novak Riff-Raff - Christopher Lee Columbia - Tallulah Bankhead Magenta - Marilyn Monroe Dr. Frank’n’Furter - Roddy McDowell Rocky - Tab Hunter Eddie - Marlon Brando Dr. Scott - Erich von Stroheim Narrator (a.k.a. Man with no neck) - Raymond Burr