What exactly is the 'dark' in 'Tall, Dark & Handsome'?

Factual Questions
21

The 30s actually produced the big name Latin types starting with Ceasar Romero and Anthony Quinn,but the 50s seemed to have most of them from the old guard Romero/Quinn to the new Montalban/Lamas.

You can google them for bios.

When you do you’ll see the tall dark and handsome Romero,known to a generation as the Joker on Batman,assaying the role of Doc Holliday to Randolph Scott’s Wyatt Earp in 1939. :confused:

This a forerunner of Vic Mature and Kirk Douglas in the role.

Mature was an example of the tall dark and handsome in an ethnic vein.Tho cast as presumably Italian in a few roles,as well as other ethnicities in the gladiator flicks-he was born of Hungarian parents.

22
      • I always thought that the “dark” referred to “dark Euro complected”, meaning basically, “Spanish”. Macho posturing and all that.
        ~
23

I would think that this ideal goes back at least to the novels of the Romantic era, with their heroes like Darcy, Rochester, Heathcliff, etc. Come to think of it, I forget if they were all tall or handsome, but I’m almost certain they were all dark, both literally and figuratively.

24

16 entries found for dark. The first 10 are listed below.
To select an entry, click on it. For more results, click here.
dark[1,adjective]dark[2,noun]dark[3,verb]dark adaptationdark agedark fielddark-field microscopedark horsedark lanterndark matter

Main Entry: 1dark
Pronunciation: 'därk
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English derk, from Old English deorc; akin to Old High German tarchannen to hide
1 a : devoid or partially devoid of light : not receiving, reflecting, transmitting, or radiating light b : transmitting only a portion of light
2 a : wholly or partially black b of a color : of low or very low lightness
3 a : arising from or showing evil traits or desires : EVIL <the dark powers that lead to war> b : DISMAL, GLOOMY <had a dark view of the future> c : lacking knowledge or culture
4 : not clear to the understanding
5 : not fair in complexion : SWARTHY
6 : SECRET <kept his plans dark>
7 : possessing depth and richness <a dark voice>
8 : closed to the public <the theater is dark in the summer>

I still go with it meaning “swarthy,” or at least dark-haired, but definitions 6 and 7 offer some extended possibilities. I think the OED expands upon “dark” as also being able to mean “secretive,” or by extension “mysterious.”