Well, my opinion is that she was one of the few actresses who was both stunningly beautiful and accomplished at her profession. There are some who would say that, as a guy, I’m responding to her looks rather than to her talent. That’s correct, to some extent, as I would watch her reading the phone book for hours on end, if allowed to do so.
“She ran the gamut of emotions from A to B.”
Colbert was great in *Cleopatra * and Imitation of Life, but I don’t think of her as having much range.
I’ll admit that I don’t have much exposure to Gish; only 4 or 5 movies. But Dietrich of course will always be a favorite too.
Range? Claudette excelled in comedy (It Happened One Night, Three Cornered Moon, Midnight, The Palm Beach Story) and drama (Imitation of Life, Since You Went Away, So Proudly We Hail)—the only kinds of film she missed were crime dramas and musicals.
As for Dietrich, I’ve always thought she was underrated as an actress and Garbo overrated. You can easily see Dietrich taking on any of Garbo’s roles: but can you possibly see Garbo in Destry Rides Again or Witness for the Prosecution?
Yeah, I’d to say Ingrid’s in my top 5. *Europa 51 * is one of the greatest films ever made, and her performance is what carries it.
I haven’t seen all of Colbert’s, but while I agree she slides rather easily between comedy and drama, Bette makes each role its own genre. Most of Colbert’s comic performances (that I’ve seen) are relatively interchangeable; ditto her dramatic. Like Hepburn’s.
And of course I agree wholeheartedly about Dietrich, even over Garbo. Blonde Venus, The Devil Is a Woman, The Scarlet Empress, Destry Rides Again, Rancho Notorious, Touch of Evil, Judgment at Nuremberg–I’ve seen each of these many times, and would gladly watch them all again.
Which reminds me.
They’re talking about Gwyneth Paltrow doing a biopic of Dietrich.
Now, don’t get me wrong, but whaaaa? Sylvia Plath, OK. But shouldn’t Uma Thurman or Michelle Pfeiffer do Dietrich?
Looks wise I would say Uma Thurman’s a great choice.
In terms of acting, I can see the choice of Gwyneth Paltrow, though. Uma Thurman’s inconsistent; sometimes she’s great and sometimes she’s awful, sometimes both in the same movie. I’m not quite sure how she would pull this role off. Paltrow is consistently very good in many types of roles. You’re likelier to get the right performance.
Oh, lordie, I hope they don’t do a bio-pic, those things are never anything but awful. And with the “doc-u-ment-awy” Marlene: a Film, it’s also redundant.
Who is the greater of the two, or who is the greatest of all time?
TCM’s been running a Dietrich doc. Seems to be pretty good, though it’s the only one I’ve seen so I don’t have anything to compare it to. The first time I saw it, I was amazed at her wartime activities, and thought at the time that it was a great story that needed to be told.
But you’re right; this side of Coal Miner’s Daughter, the celebrity biopic is not a genre that has produced a whole lot of great films.
Pah I say to your Stanwycks and Davis’s! The best film actress of all time even has a Faith Hill song about her! “Miss Gish, Miss Gish! Unstoppable!”
Lillian Gish had more range than both of them put together. Her career spanned 75 years.
They come a close second and third though.
What? Johnny Guitar camp and self parody? :eek:
[sub] You watch 500 movies a year and have only seen five Gish pictures? Shame.[/sub]
Yeah, I know. And I didn’t see any of them BECAUSE they were Lillian Gish movies; they were mostly to check off my Griffith list.
Get yous some Victor Sjostrom. The Scarlet Letter (1926) and The Wind (1928).