Wednesday 17 February 2016

1940's Hollywood - The Leading Ladies

Nothing says glamour like classic Hollywood. The glitter, the poise, the extravaganza, and most importantly the glamorous actors and actresses who seemed to be living the dream.

Let's take a closer look on some of the actresses who defined 40's Hollywood.


Katherine Hepburn
                          

Katherine Hepburn was one of Hollywood's leading ladies for more than 60 years, and the 1940's was no exception! Some of the films she appeared in, in that decade include: The Philadelphia Story, Woman Of The Year and Adam's Rib.
She was characterised as being a very independent and private person. She refused to conform to the glamorous celebrity lifestyle of her time, and valued comfort over glamour which really made her stand out from everyone else.


Judy Garland
                        

At only 17 Judy Garland was thrown into instant stardom after her success in The Wizard Of Oz. In the 40's she was at the top of her career and went to star in a number of musicals, some of the most known being Meet Me In St Louis, For Me And My Gal and Easter Parade.


Rita Hayworth
                         

Today Rita Hayworth is considered one of the most iconic actresses of the 40's. Back then she was considered the ultimate glamorous screen idol and was described as a "love goddess".
In the early 40's she appeared opposite both Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly in You Were Never Lovelier and Cover Girl - the very first woman to do so. But the movies she is most famous for today are the dramas, for instance Gilda and The Lady From Shanghai.


Ginger Rogers
                               

I think most people today remember Ginger Rogers from the "Fred & Ginger" movies in the 30's. But she actually rose to another level of stardom in the 40's, when she went to win an Oscar for her role in Kitty Foyle. In the mid-40's she was the highest paid actress in Hollywood after making successful films like Lady In The Dark and Weekend At The Waldorf.


Lauren Bacall
                         

Lauren Bacall started her acting career in 1942, and during the 40's she was an icon of film noir. Some of her successes include To Have And Have Not, The Big Sleep and Key Largo. Her sultry looks and voice were considered her trademarks and made her hugely popular in the role of femme fatale.


Ingrid Bergman
                           

Ingrid Bergman was a Swedish actress who achieved Hollywood fame in the 40's. Her best known movie is no doubt Casablanca, but she also appeared in the movies For Whom The Bells Tolls and Gaslight which both got her an Oscar nomination (and a win for the latter). Later on she also appeared in several Hitchcock movies. At the top of her career she was considered an absolutely outstanding and conscientious actress besides being described as the ideal of American womanhood.


Veronica Lake
                           

Veronica Lake was another film noir icon of the time. She was, among others, in the movies The Glass Key and The Blue Dahlia. However, her breakthrough role was in the 1941 movie I Wanted Wings. Her physical trademark was her distinct peek-a-boo hairstyle, where her hair fell over one eye - a hairstyle that was widely copied by women of the time.


Gene Tierney
                           

Gene Tierney was acclaimed as a great beauty of the time. She was in the movies Heaven Can Wait and Leave Her To Heaven, but her best known role was in the movie Laura.


I'm sure there were many other great actresses of that time that I have forgotten, but these are my collection of the defining actresses of the 40's.

Do you see any of your favourites on this list?

18 comments:

  1. Well, Jeanne Craine is another of my favourites, but you added a lot of beautiful ladies to this list. HOW IS GINGER ROGERS SO PRETTY.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I forgot Jeanne Craine!! How could this happen?? Well, I have her in my header so she's not quite forgotten;)
      I love Ginger Rogers for so many reasons (and yes one of them is her beauty and gorgeous hair)

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    2. Yes, she's in your header TWICE! :-)
      I wrote a post about 40's songs here, btw: http://naomiblog15.blogspot.be/2016/02/my-favourite-40s-songs.html

      Delete
  2. They were so pretty! Ginger Rogers<3 Have you heard of Deanna Durbin? She's not as well known, I think, but she was super gorgeous, and had a lovely voice. Actually, she made her debut in the same short as Judy Garland did. ( They're both so young and cute in it!) Sorry, off-topic.:) Excuse my random ramblings.;)

    ~Rilla Blythe

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They sure were! That's also something I love about that time - that the actors/actresses were really handsome.
      I haven't heard of Deanna Durbin, so I looked her up and she looks real pretty! I'll try and check out her songs later.
      Don't excuse for rambling, I love learning new random facts;)

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    2. Yay!!! I'm so glad.:) Yes! They were handsome, and so many of them were truly talented in either singing or dancing. ( Or both.)

      ~Rilla Blythe

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  3. I don't know if you've seen The Major and the Minor (Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland and super hilarious!) but whenever I hear about Veronica Lake I think of it. She's not in it but her hairstyle is. :) I don't think I've actually seen a movie with her in it. These are so many of my favorite actress though!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No I haven't seen it yet, but it sounds real funny.
      I'll admit that I haven't seen most of theses actresses in movies, but still love them though.

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  4. I like most of these. Some of them I haven't seen in movie yet. I really enjoy Ginger Rogers in her dancing flicks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I haven't seen most of them in movies either.
      Yes, I also adore Ginger Rogers' dancing movies!

      Delete
  5. Ingrid Bergman! Wasn't she in The Bells Of St. Mary's? I love that movie! It's so sweet :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I think so. I haven't seen it myself, but judging from the actors in it, I think I would enjoy it as well.

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  6. Fun!

    I really like Katharine Hepburn, and I want to see more of Ingrid Bergman and Lauren Bacall :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I feel the same way! After researching all these actresses that I only knew by name, I want to watch all their movies.

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  7. Oooh my favorite/only-one-I've-seen Katherine Hepburn movie is Desk Set which was hilarious!
    I've seen a few Judy Garland movies. Summer Stock is the biggest one on my to-watch list!
    Ingrid Bergman is so perfect I can't even!!! I love, love, love Casablanca!
    I've never heard of Gene Tierney but she's beautiful!
    I love this list! I also like Vera Ellen from White Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've heard about Desk Set, it sounds real funny!
      And I love Judy Garlands moves (the ones Iøve seen at least) she's so sweet in them.
      Glad you liked it:)

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  8. My favorites are Gene Tierney, Ingrid Bergman, and Ginger Rogers. :) I've seen Laura, Kitty Foyle (and other GR movies-The Major and the Minor is a fun one) and I've seen multiple ones with Ingrid in them. :) I haven't seen movies with all of these actresses, though. I'd like to!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ingrid Bergman and Ginger Rogers are favourites of mine as well!
      As for most of the others, I actually haven't seen them in movies, buut I hope to remedy that soon

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