Customer Reviews

Leading Men: The 50 Most Unforgettable Actors of the Studio Era

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As the inevitable sequel to "Leading Ladies" released last spring, this glossy paperback covers their male counterparts in exactly the same format. Robert Osborne, longtime host of the Turner Movie Classics (TCM) and veteran film critic Molly Haskell have again winnowed down a list that presents the fifty actors they feel epitomized enduring box office appeal when the major Hollywood studios dominated the business and groomed its stars. For each of the legends, there is a full-page close-up photo, a thumbnail profile which includes even astrological sign, a select filmography of most memorable roles, selected stills, and some intriguing trivia. Like "Leading Ladies", it's all superficial but supremely entertaining for movie buffs.

Whereas the top actress list Osborne and Haskell assembled has a few idiosyncratic choices (e.g., Louise Brooks), as well as some pickings from the second-tier pool (e.g., Debbie Reynolds), the final list here feels somewhat more definitive. I believe this has far less to do with comparative quality than it does with the inherent sexism of a business where male actors were more typically maintained for box office longevity given the painfully erroneous notion that actresses have shorter shelf lives. There are the obvious no-brainers included as their status has gone well beyond iconic proportions - Bogart, Cooper, Gable, Astaire, Tracy, Cagney, Grant, Wayne, Fonda, Stewart, Olivier. Brando, of course, is here as well as his Method-oriented brethren - Clift, Dean (a legacy based on just three films) and in the same generation, Newman, Poitier and McQueen.

Several actors on the list have either faded almost completely or been severely underestimated in hindsight, and the editors have smartly included them here - Joel McCrea, John Garfield, Paul Muni, Edward G. Robinson and Alan Ladd are good examples. There is also a healthy dose of actors who dominated in the silent era - Valentino, Chaplin, Fairbanks, Keaton, John Barrymore, Lon Chaney, Harold Lloyd and likely the least remembered, John Gilbert, MGM's top screen draw in the 1920's and the most infamous casualty of the talkie revolution. Then there are a few whose personalities, other show business pursuits or private lives have so overshadowed their images that one tends to forget how vital they were on the big screen - Bob Hope, Mickey Rooney, Frank Sinatra, Rock Hudson, Bing Crosby.

The arbitrary cut-off of luminaries included looks to be around 1960 since actors like Sean Connery and Robert Redford are not included, though I wish the editors were more forthcoming about the actual prerequisites since Peter O'Toole is here. When one looks at a list that includes stalwarts like William Holden and Fredric March, it seems odd not to include enduring actors such as Tony Curtis, Tyrone Power, Richard Widmark, Robert Montgomery and Walter Matthau. From my perspective, the most egregious exclusion is Orson Welles, who was perhaps deprioritized since his staggering filmmaking talent was seen to overshadow his screen persona. I also wish the editors could have included some recognition for foreign actors of similar stature in the same era, for example, Jean Gabin, Toshiro Mifune and Marcello Mastroianni. But this is all part of the fun. The others on the top fifty list, in case you're wondering, are Charles Boyer, Ronald Colman, Kirk Douglas, Errol Flynn, Gene Kelly, Burt Lancaster, Jack Lemmon, Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck, William Powell, Anthony Quinn and Robert Taylor.

I recently read this volume as well as its companion, Leading Ladies: The 50 Most Unforgettable Actresses of the Studio Era, and thoroughly enjoyed both while agreeing with others that the selections may have been biased if executives within the Turner Classic Movies (TCM) organization were involved in the decision as to whom to include and whom to omit. For example, Alan Ladd but not Tyrone Power. That said, both volumes offer a Foreword by Robert Osborne and an Introduction by Molly Haskell and have the same reader-friendly format which consists of a brief but adequate bio of the given actor followed by selections (with comments) of his "essential films," then a "Behind the Scenes" section. Here are a few brief excerpts.

From the brief bio of Charles Chaplin: "Even as late as 1972, a decision to honor him with a special Academy Award was considered controversial, though it marked the start of a series of late-life honors for the man who helped invent motion pictures."

From the brief bio of Clark Gable: "When the book Gone with the Wind became a runaway best seller, fans clamored for him to play Rhett Butler. Gable resisted (he hated period films after the failure of 1937's Parnell) but gave in when MGM agreed to pay a divorce settlement to his second wife so that he could marry Carol Lombard."

From the "Essential Films" of Rock Hudson: "Although [Seconds] initially failed at the box office, director John Frankenheimer's tale of an aging businessman (Hudson) who hires a mysterious organization to fake his death and rebuild him surgically has become a cult classic."

From the "Essential Films" of Steve McQueen: "In his favorite film [The Thomas Crowne Affair], McQueen was a slick millionaire who seduces insurance investigator Faye Dunaway to cover up his involvement in a bank robbery."

From "Behind the Scenes"of Henry Fonda: "On the first day of shooting for On Golden Pond (1981), costar Katherine Hepburn gave [him] a fishing hat that had belonged to her longtime companion Spencer Tracy. He wore it throughout the film."

From "Behind the Scenes" of Gregory Peck: "In Roman Holiday (1953), Peck improvised the moment in which he pretends to have lost his hand in 'The Mouth of Truth.' Audrey Hepburn's screams of horror, followed by delighted laughter, were real."

It would be unfair to expect more of this volume than what it was intended to be: An enjoyable, often informative discussion of 50 actors of the studio era, most of whom are "unforgettable." More a quibble than a complaint, I wish those who organized the material in this volume had also identified (in a bibliography) the biography of each actor which is generally regarded as most accurate and comprehensive.

If you like the golden era of Hollywood, don't even hesitate gettng this one and the other two books (Leading Ladies and Couples). Yes, you can always argue that they should have included this and that actor, but you can't argue with the ones who are included here. So just enjoy it.

The quality of the photos are breathtaking. I bought two copies for myself and framed some of those photos on my walls.

The only real drawback to LEADING MEN is the decision to use very light, hard to read font for the text instead of bold print that would stand out and make reading about the various stars more accessible. Even with reading glasses, I find it a strain to read the text unless I'm under a very strong light.

This is the only criticism I have of the book as a whole. The photos chosen for the various players are excellent, the text is concise and to the point, and all of the "essential" films of each actor are pretty much on the mark with a few exceptions.

Since these kind of subjective lists never please everyone, I'm sure some will quibble over the omission of their favorite actor.

A good book of its kind, but the text problem using light font is a big no no as I see it and prevents me from giving it the higher rating it would have deserved. The same flaw appeared in LEADING LADIES, where again the font used for the text was too light which made reading the text a chore instead of a pleasure. You'd think they would have learned from the first printing.

This is a fascinating book for movie buffs. It is a compendium of 50 of the leading actors, most of them active during Hollywood's Golden Age. The book offers a short biography of each performer, a survey of his top films and awards, and trivia tidbits. The entire volume is very well presented, and the seller shipped it out very quickly, asking for a very reasonable payment. I was very satisfied with my purchase.

This is a quality release from Turner Classic Movies. The book includes, TCMs picks of the actor's greatest movies (with synopsizes), selected facts, and a small biography on each of the 50 stars.
If you have a soft spot for classic movies and their stars, this is a great book. It is written in the same format of the 50 Most Unforgettable Actresses, which I also give high marks.

I love this book. It has so many incredible actors that I lvoe and admire. And this book introduced me to the incredible Joel McCrea and John Gilbert. I just wish Tyrone Power, Charlton Heston, Richard Burton, Glenn Ford, Warren Beatty, Steve Cochran were also included. But...I love this book and it's a treasure.


I hope a Volume 2 will be released.

Published by TCM, this book aims at profiling the "50 most unforgettable actors of the studio era". The book is not meant to be a serious scholarly work. Move history buffs will find little new information revealed in this book. Instead we are given concise profiles of the leading men from Hollywood's golden era.

Each star gets about a page long blurb highlighting their careers, lives as well as their five most memorable pictures according to the editors. Each proflie also includes multiple pictures and several bits of interesting trivia related to each star.

The criticism of this book undoubtedly is who was left off the list. The books publishers acknowledge it would have been impossible to compile a list that would be completely satisfactory to everyone. I think they were spot on for the most part however I did disagree with some of their selections. Steve McQueen's heyday took place after the Studio Era. Harold Lloyd was an exceptional comedian but not a leading man in my opinion. James Dean is an icon however 3 films is too short of a career to include him on the list. Joel McCrea and Mickey Rooney were great actors but did not have as great careers as some of those left of the list. I thought Robert Montgomery, Fred MacMurray, Tony Curtis, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Joseph Cotten (who wasn't even mentioned in the honorable mention list) had stronger resumes and deserved recognition in this book.

But again, everyone will surely want to substitute at least a name or two on the list but I wouldn't let it stop you from purchasing this book.

Reading this book about the great leading men of Hollywood's past was rewarding on several levels. I found myself engaged by the stories of those who made a lasting impression on filmgoers, thankful that Robert Osborne and those at Turner Classic Movies had crafted a well-researched work focusing on the true life stories and careers of some of the most influential actors of our age. The book is filled with the kind of behind the scenes facts that any film fan would savor.

Review posted by David W. Menefee, author of Richard Barthelmess: A Life in Pictures (2010 Top 10 Film Book Award).

I keep this book by my recliner in a place of honor and easy access. A great source of information and grand old photos of larger-than-life stars of the studio system. While I would have included Van Johnson, Glenn Ford, Tony Curtis and Charleton Heston, I was thrilled to see John Garfield included. "Julie" Garfield is the most under-appreciated and least discussed stars of his era. Kudos to Robert Osborne and TCM for making this invaluable resource available to us.