A discussion on one of my recent posts culminated in a promise to do a series of `eye candy’ posts: one each for Hollywood and Bollywood men and women who were, way back in the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and 60’s, awesome to look at. So here goes: the first of the posts, featuring some of the best looking men from English films (which includes Hollywood and British cinema) from the good old days. These are ten men who just need to be in a film for me to want to see the film; they may or may not be excellent actors (though most of them are Oscar winners or at least nominees). This list is more or less in order, starting with my favourites.
1. Robert Mitchum: Mitchum once said, “I came back from the war and ugly heroes were in.” I beg to differ; if that had been the case, Mitchum wouldn’t have been a hero. I adore this guy, sleepy eyes, delicious voice and interesting walk (though he insisted he was trying to hold his gut in). Mmm.
2. Rock Hudson: What a pity this guy was gay. What a sheer waste of knee-weakening, pupil-dilating, drool-worthy male gorgeousness. `Nuff said.
3. Rossano Brazzi: I’ve been congratulating myself on a bit of serendipity ever since I discovered Signor Brazzi in South Pacific (1958). He didn’t act in too many Hollywood films, but when he’s onscreen, I end up not paying much attention to anyone else.
And Brazzi, like a good Chianti, seems to have improved with age. Here he is in Little Women (1949), not looking half as attractive as he was a decade later:
4. Cary Grant: Aaaah. Despite recriminations from an irate reader, I hold that casting him opposite an aging and less-than-beautiful Mae West in I’m No Angel was a crime. Worthy of capital punishment, I may add.
5. Stewart Granger: Like Cary Grant, a Brit by birth. And like Grant, so very easy on the eyes. Plus he wields a fine rapier (or whatever—he’s done some superb swashbucklers, including one of my favourites, Scaramouche).
6. Gregory Peck: Though he got a bit gaunt later on, Peck was very good looking in his earlier films; not boyish, but definitely attractive.
7. Robert Taylor: `The Man with the Perfect Profile’ is an example of someone whose looks changed considerably over the years. In one of his first major films, Camille, he’s heartbreakingly handsome, flawless and almost beautiful. Fifteen years later, in Westward the Women, he’s rugged, craggy—and still wonderfully handsome in a completely different way.
8. Richard Burton: Cardinal rule of an `eye candy’ list: Any man who can look good in a tunic has to be classed as good looking. Burton qualifies.
9. Laurence Olivier: Great actor, too. What a combination!
10. George Peppard: The only actor on this list for whom I’ve not yet reviewed a film (though I have seen Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Operation Crossbow). I love his boyishness, with that lopsided grin and shock of blond hair.
And now for some of the also-rans; men who didn’t quite make it to my top ten list, but are eye-catching enough in some of their films.
Clint Eastwood: I don’t much care for his dirty, unshaven avatar in the many Spaghetti westerns he starred in, but as Lieutenant Schaeffer in Where Eagles Dare, he’s handsome in a tough, hard-bitten way.
John Wayne: Another of those who went downhill with a vengeance, though he continued to be leading man even with sagging jowls and a paunch. Watch him in one of his 30’s Westerns (Stagecoach is recommended), and he’s quite an eyeful.
Christopher Plummer: It’s probably got something to do with my loving The Sound of Music, but I think Plummer as Captain Georg von Trapp is very attractive—especially at the ball.
Tags: Cary Grant, Christopher Plummer, Clint Eastwood, eye candy, George Peppard, Gregory Peck, Hollywood handsome actors, Hollywood hunks, John Wayne, Laurence Olivier, Richard Burton, Robert Mitchum, Robert Taylor, Rock Hudson, Rossano Brazzi, Stewart Granger
April 7, 2009 at 4:48 am
Ah!!! What a list :-)
Cary Grant is pure gorgeousness. And the comparison between him and Clooney drives me mad. All comparisons are an insult — Clooney doesn’t even qualify as a rough draft. Besides, God broke the mold and burnt the blueprint. Phew, sorry…but it’s really preposterous.
Gregory Peck, well, I fell in love with him when I saw To kill a mockingbird. And Rock Hudson is umm…too good for words.
But, where is Paul Newman? The Adonis!
April 7, 2009 at 4:55 am
Thank you! I think of all the posts I’ve created ever since I began blogging, this one’s my favourite. ;-)
Paul Newman? Ah, yes – I had been wondering whether I should or shouldn’t include him in my list, but then finally decided not. I don’t know why – perhaps just because he wasn’t looking that gorgeous in the most recent film I saw of his – Torn Curtain. But I’m hoping to see him feature on your list!
Agree completely re: Grant-Clooney. I like Clooney, but hey, there is no comparison between the two. Grant was sui generis.
April 7, 2009 at 5:01 am
Your list has whetted my appetite for old hollywood films.
The next film that I have lined up is The Talk of the Town and guess who is in it?
April 7, 2009 at 5:33 am
Cary Grant! Oh, how I envy you. I can hardly wait for your review of it.
And guess which is next on my list? Operation Petticoat.
April 7, 2009 at 5:21 pm
O my! So many hunks!!!! :-D Love them all (except for Olivier whom I cant forgive for butchering my beloved Pride And Prejudice!) though I still have to see a Rossano Brazzi movie. And yay to Christopher Plummer – I am absolutely sure my liking him had everything to do with The Sound of Music but he is great in a lot of other movies too (I vaguely recall a thriller with Sydney Poitier but cant find info on imdb).
It strikes me that 30s-50s Hollywood had waaaaay more gorgeous guys than Bollywood of the same period. I dont think I could come up with a list of ten hunks from Hindi movies of that period. The 60s and 70s were different though.
Cant wait to see the rest of your lists!
April 7, 2009 at 6:49 pm
Thank you! I suppose I’m right now in liking-Olivier mode simply because I’ve recently seen Rebecca (and Pride and Prejudice, which I agree was criminal – but I do think he made a very handsome Darcy!)
Oh, I must try to find the Plummer-Poitier film; I like Poitier a lot too, he’s such a superb actor. And a thriller? Any day. Do let me know if you recall which one it was.
Hindi film hunks from the 30’s to 50’s? Prem Nath. Probably Prithviraj Kapoor too, though all I recall is a couple of shaky frames I’d seen loooong ago from Sikandar. But that’s it; I really wouldn’t put Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, or any of the earlier actors in the `hunk’ category. But thankfully, since my scope extends to the 60’s (and the late 50’s, by which time people like Dev Anand and Shammi Kapoor were lighting up the screen), I don’t think I’m going to have too much trouble creating that list.
April 8, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Great list!
but missed paul newman though. his cold blue eyes, they still make my legs wobbly. Cary Grant though fun, I still prefer Gregory Peck to him, Hamara apna Dev looks so much like him.
*What a pity this guy was gay* Why that? You could surely have compared chikan embroidery patterns with him ;-) Women’s loss, gay men’s gain!
Don’t know many, who featured in your list: Stewart Granger, Robert Taylor, Rossano Brazzi. Thanks for introducing.
Was irritated to see George Peppard. But tastes differ, don’t they?
April 8, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Happy Easter!
April 8, 2009 at 3:18 pm
And the same to you! BTW: watch out for my Easter post ;-)
Yes, tastes do differ – the eye of the beholder, you know… but I do think nostalgia has something to do with it; George Peppard was one of the first actors I recall seeing onscreen (in Breakfast at Tiffany’s – a bunch of us girls saw the film on VHS at a neighbour’s home, and we swooned over him!)
April 9, 2009 at 4:33 am
Heads up: Sabrina Mathew has also done a top ten list of gorgeous actors. Hers is a more wide-ranging list, both in terms of time and space, but I’m wishing I’d remembered Marlon Brando for my own list! How could I have forgotten?! Well, maybe by next year this time I’ll have seen some more old films and discovered (or rediscovered) some more handsome heroes…
April 25, 2009 at 11:22 pm
How could you leave out James Stewart and Marlon Brando!
April 26, 2009 at 6:43 am
Yup, I’m kicking myself about leaving out Marlon Brando (and my husband has since also reminded me about James Dean!) As for James Stewart: I’d classify him as the nice guy types; I don’t really think of him as hunk quality. Even in some of his early films (like The Shop Around the Corner) he’s sweet, not precisely hunky, in my opinion.
July 10, 2009 at 10:49 am
Oh yes. Christopher plummer do belong here. :)) He is GORGEOUS.
July 10, 2009 at 11:26 am
Isn’t he? :-) I’m trying to find some of his earlier films…
July 11, 2009 at 2:07 pm
actually, I’m not really into classic movies..And Christopher Plummer isn’t a familiar name to me (You see, I wasn’t even born when he began being famous..).
It wasn’t until I’ve seen “The Sound of Music” just the other day and I was like, “Whoa, that’s what you call handsome!!!” :) I think his face was one of the most handsome I’ve ever seen.. oh well.. so much for the sharing. :))
July 11, 2009 at 2:57 pm
I wasn’t born until after one of these men (Robert Taylor) had died – and of course, until way after most of them had passed their prime! ;-)
But I love classic films anyway… and Plummer, too, I’ve so far seen only in The Sound of Music, and he is just so gorgeous in that.
July 13, 2009 at 4:57 am
Good thing I found this blog. :) Nowadays not many people of my age, especially here in my place, are into classic films, and so it’s somehow hard to tell stories about these films to someone who couldn’t even relate to you.. :)) that’s all for now. ^_^
July 13, 2009 at 7:08 am
Ah, that’s nothing new. Most people who know that I like old films think I’m a bit strange too! ;-)
July 24, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Love this… Cary Grant, Stewart Granger, Richard Burton… all gorgeous. Olivier and Peck don’t do it for me – I like their acting but not so much their looks. I am on the fence with Robert Mitchum – I find him interesting-looking but perhaps not so handsome.
Rossano Brazzi was so gorgeous in ‘South Pacific’ (he had that mature, debonair thing going that Grant and Granger also had), but I don’t think I’ve seen him in anything else. I am not a big fan of westerns, but I agree with you on the charms of Eastwood (those eyes!) and the Duke.
Marlon Brando was absolutely gorgeous in his prime, as you and others have noted – I was spellbound by his looks in ‘Guys and Dolls’. Paul Newman would be very close to the top of my list if I had one – I think he was gorgeous. I think Henry Fonda was very handsome in his prime, but I know many would disagree! Other I find very good-looking: Sidney Poitier, Yul Brynner (yes, seriously), Victor Mature and Louis Jourdan.
PS Which Robert Mitchum films are your favourites?
July 24, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Oh yes, I agree with you on Yul Brynner and Louis Jourdan – both were very good-looking. More than Sidney Poitier, I find Harry Belafonte gorgeous… I remember when I was a kid and records were the norm rather than CDs or even cassettes, we had a Belafonte album which had his photo on the cover, and I wanted to rip it off and paste it on the wall of my room, he looked so good!
P.S. You’ll be seeing a list of my favourite Mitchum films pretty soon – I’ll be celebrating his birthday (August 6) with Mitchum week. Four films, various photos, and more, including my favourite Mitchum roles.
July 27, 2009 at 8:24 am
BTW, I’ve also seen Robert Taylor in some parts of “Camille” (it was the movie that they watched in “Annie”, when they went to the Radio City Music Hall) and I think he is good-looking indeed.. But I’d still go for Christopher Plummer. :)
July 27, 2009 at 9:33 am
A few of my personal favourites are Marlon Brando, James Dean and Sal Mineo. Robert Taylor was alright in the 30s too.
July 27, 2009 at 9:44 am
Sam: I haven’t seen Annie, but I have seen Camille – in fact, I even reviewed it on this blog, here. Robert Taylor does look very dishy in it, though perhaps a little of a wuss!
Some_random_person: I definitely agree with you re: Brando and Dean. Haven’t seen any of Sal Mineo’s films, but from the photos available on the Net: yes, I’d say he’s a good looker too!
October 6, 2009 at 5:19 am
i love old movies like posted above..the best looking men from English films today Hollywood’s Classic Hunks…i got Robert Pattinson gets shirtless shots on Twilight saga: New Moon.
October 6, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Of the current actors, I’d probably list Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale and Ewan MacGregor among my favourite hunks… Robert Pattinson just doesn’t appeal to me, somehow!