85 thoughts on “Screen Legends 1950-2010 Actors”

1. HI MO
   I never watched Peter Graves on TV but he will always be in my fond memories as the spy whom Golden Holden outed in Stalag 17, your 2nd highest rated Graves movie. As your pictorials illustrate Grave’s politics were such that he was apparently gladly prolific in advancing the Hollywood propaganda of the McCarthy times that sought to equate communists and liberals with the perceived designs of aliens from outer space on “truth, justice and the American Way of Life”, your fine posters for films with suggestive titles like RED Planet Mars and It Conquered the World leaving little to the imagination in the matter. In the latter film future Spaghetti Western star earthling Lee Van Cleef was a “fellow traveller” who fell on his knees in a cave and worshipped IT which looked to me like a dustbin with arms!

   Peter himself had of course a Big Brother – James Arness and my own personal Dan like link there lies in the fact that according to Arness it was my Duke who got James the role of Matt Dillon which brought big Jim such fame and fortune. Good still of Peter and Golden in Stalag 17 and my fave Graves posters are Fort Yuma [and because they are two rare Rory Calhoun ones] Yellow Tomahawk and Rogue River. Cracking presentation overall though.

   By the way I forgot to respond to your suggestion that I “let bygones be bygones” and I apologize for the oversight. Also I thank you for your kind praise about the volume of posts that I’ve contributed to the site in the past and I accept that by winding down my offerings I am to an extent “cutting off my nose to spite my face” as I have greatly enjoyed being involved in commenting and posting and of course owe a great deal to this site for the invaluable information it has given me as a movie buff

   However the manipulation for whatever reason of the various lists became too much for my “purist” mentality in relation to movie matters and in particular I saw as unacceptably flawed Bruce’s 1950-2010 actors’ list which though OK by me in almost all other respects deliberately excluded
   (1) A star who Bruce himself said “owned the fifties” and who was also a massive cinematic presence in the 1970s and is now a perennial Legend on probably most if not every professional ranking list of actors.. Indeed whilst never the Cowboy of the Century! he has been lauded as one of the “most important people of the 20th Century” from any walk of life or activity].
   (2) The actor who is regarded as a great trailblazer for the African-American community in movies, though of course other colored actors such as my own favorites Morg and Denzel ARE on the 1950-2010 list and always get their due on this site.
   (3) Dean. Actually he made so few films that I personally would not have him on ANY list but as he is regarded by many as a great cultural icon he should be on lists whose criteria warrants his inclusion.

   Bruce is of course fully entitled to set his own criteria and had he applied the same criteria both to males and females who were on the AFI lists I could have lived with the exclusions that I have mentioned..

   But he didn’t and as I have emphasized already I intensely dislike discrimination [however innocent or unintentional] in any form against either gender and for example I feel that men are discriminated against in professional tennis as they have to play 5 sets in Grand Slams to earn the same money as women who play just 3, and I’m certain that were that arrangement reversed in any situation there would quite rightly be an outcry from sensible progressive feminists. Even in movies top box office stars although still arguably overpaid [“Gimme more!”] usually have to settle for a lesser fee when they play reduced roles. However Queen Feminist Billie Jean King now says the men’s grand slams should also be limited to 3 sets in slams.

   So consider my stance as my own small “outcry” against the discrimination on the Cogerson lists against 3 males on the AFI lists whilst the women on those lists are given more favourable treatment by Bruce – and frankly my dear Scarlett I don’t give a d**n what the reason for the distinction is. I mean what’s next – a list that includes performers with at least 39 cinematic releases or more? Mr M for example has just 38 such releases [excluding a documentary offering or two] though one of the 38 is ignored by this site because of another arbitrary criterion that it has set as I understand it.so maybe a minimum of 38 would do!

   Accordingly I currently no longer feel that I belong to the “club” on this site that I once did and unless it ever feels it can be more “democratic” in the matters concerned it is better that for the most part I take a back seat.

   “I’m up so tight I can’t unwind.
   What I’ve seen just broke my mind.
   You see what condition my condition is in?
   So I’ve just dropped in.
   THE BIG LEBOWSKI

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   1. Hello Bob, so um not a Peter Graves ‘Mission Impossible’ fan than eh? [Bob yawns] Robert Vaughn’s ‘The Man from UNCLE’? [Bob pulls a face] How about Patrick McGoohan’s ‘The Prisoner’? [Bob smiles nodding] 😉

      Red Planet Mars… Reds under the bed… Reds hiding in the toilet… it’s an invasion!! It Came from Outer Space or was it somewhere on Earth? They’re out to get you… no one’s safe!

      Thanks for watching my Peter Graves video, glad you liked the photos and stills. Yup his real name was Peter Aurness, the brother of James Aurness who later shortened it to Arness. To sci-fi fans James was famous as The Thing from Another World (1951) “Keep watching the Skies!”.

      I see Bruce has responded to the rest of your post. My two cents, Bob, I don’t think Bruce was trying to trick anyone, you’re the only one who seems to have noticed these things or is bothered by it. Like you said in your third paragraph you have enjoyed commenting and chatting here (and we have enjoyed your company), plus you said you “owe a great deal to this site for the invaluable information it has given me as a movie buff”. And this is how you want things to end?

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      1. HI MO

         Thanks for your feedback.

         Regarding your 2 cents worth on the 1950-2010 business (1) that I might be the only one who is bothered by the double standards that Bruce’s lists suggest to me is irrelevant as I am speaking for just myself of course. (2) others not being bothered doesn’t necessarily make it right. The individual’s entitlement to detach him/herself from something of which he disapproves regardless of the stance of others is in the general sense summed up perfectly in the proclamation “Not in my name!” (3) if it is true that nobody else noticed those inconsistencies then that too appears to me to be neither nor there because it is plain for all to see that the discrimination does exist and the only unknown quantity is the reason for it (4) all things do of course come to an end sometime or somewhere for some reason.

         Anyway I hope you have a good weekend. I’ll certainly enjoy my own as my wife and I are watching a DVD double bill featuring those two highly versatile and iconic legends Jeff Hanks and Len Newman. Meanwhile I’ll leave you with a further quote which I’ve just picked up-

         “Heston was such a magnificent and commanding figure who could at the same time exude such authoritative and saintly goodness that the “Biblical” Hollywood of the 50s/60s needed him to the extent that if he hadn’t appeared on the scene of his own volition they would have had to invent him.”

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         1. My immediately preceding post was meant for you and not WH. I’m not going to waste a good Chuck quote on HIM ! – but my apologies to both you and Bruce.

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   2. bravo. stick to your guns. zero tolerance of discrimination. too sad you have given up on all sports since they discriminate. very brave that you have given up all movies due to the unequal treatment of females (fewer leads, smaller roles, lower billing, lower pay). very selfless. 1 of Miriam Webster’s’ definitions of democratic mentions being all inclusive. I am thankful that UMR is all inclusive though not perfect. I could not stand it if UMR were perfect and UMR could not stand me(differing opinions and whatnot). I hope you allow yourself to “feel” a part of the club . we have always been included by Bruce.
      I agree poitier is top 25, if cultural impact /icon is most important he might be #1. but we are allowed to agree and disagree here at UMR.
      help me ,did Heston ever do a loveable , make me laugh role. i love to laugh and don’t want to miss that. true range includes comedy for me.

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      1. HI BOB COX
         Thanks very much for your support of my “zero tolerance” of discrimination. I should make it clear that I do not object to the exclusion of anyone, even a performer that I personally idolize, from a ranking list if the star concerned did not deserve to be on the list on his/her own merits.

         My concern is about the possible manipulation of lists to include people who otherwise wouldn’t make the cut, exclude someone who is disliked but should be there on merit, or both. I have identified several ways in which the double standards applying to males and females in the 1950-2010 lists have indeed achieved those objectives whether intended or not.

         For example if Poitier, Dean and Brando were all included in the male 1950-2010 list Mel Gibson would be pushed out and he’s very popular on this site.
         There is also a passage on the 1950-2010 female list page that seems to imply that the manipulations have resulted in securing places on the AFI list for Myrna Loy [also a big favourite here] and 3 other actresses.

         However since the Cogerson site does not control the AFI lists I’m not sure how that is supposed to come about and, anyway I’m puzzled as to why anyone would actually wish to turn cartwheels and eschew their own lists to get Myrna and the other actresses concerned onto an external list for which they had not qualified and on which the organisers clearly feel they shouldn’t be.

         Also the AFI lists were drawn up after widespread consultations, were offered to the public for comment before finalising and therefor did not reflect the opinion of just one person However here is what the passage to which I am referring says and you can judge for yourself.

         Our rule would take 4 stars off AFI’s “Classic” list and put them in these more logical time frame list. Those four actresses are Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe and Sophia Loren. That would leave 4 spots on the AFI list….and we think Myrna Loy, Irene Dunne, Olivia de Havilland and Deborah Kerr would make excellent and more logical replacements since all 4 of these classic actresses were stars well before 1950-2010

         I have now said all that I have to on this subject but I can rest my case with peace of mind as you at least have indicated that you support a stance against perceived discrimination whatever the reason for the double standards. It should be noted though that a few weeks ago another regular queried certain gender distinctions used in the summaries of the viewers’ personal ranking lists and those distinctions whether intended or not discriminated against Marlon Brando [again] and John Wayne as well.

         I have seen Charlton Heston in two comedies, the 1962 Pidgeon that Took Rome and the 1958 Private War of Major Benson. Heston was also very funny in a guest role in the 1994 episode of the TV sitcom Friends. However Steve Lensman too is a big Chuck Heston fan and he may care to comment on your query. Great exchanging posts with you and I hope the remainder of your weekend is pleasant.

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         1. thanks for the heston update. I will add those to my “to be seen” list. I noticed the inconsistencies also and suggested we remove all restrictions and give our favorites. it was loads of fun and very revealing. I hope bruce adds those commenter favorites sites onto the site menu . I noticed on our revised legends lists that you and I had some very close similarities. even to the point of listing a few no one else did. LOL . I hope you hang with us so we don’t hang separately (paraphrase ben franklin) UMR is great and affordable therapy. up the rebels. ; ^ )

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            1. HI BOB

               Thanks for your response. The Private War of Major Benson is a 1955 film and not 1958 as I stated previously. Sorry for the error.

         2. no worries it’s in the list, I use letterboxd. keep coming back. I need your input of favorite anne baxter movies to prioritize my add to watchlist. thanks for your help, bob cox

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         3. The Two Bobs, I don’t think I’ve seen those two Chuck Heston comedies and now I want to see them!

            There was another actor that hadn’t appeared in many comedies but I forgot his name… damn this fading memory of mine… ah yes Richard Widmark… usually quite tough and serious in his films… I think he starred with Doris Day in a silly romantic comedy? Can’t remember for sure.

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            1. HI MO
               You are right about my Richard being teamed with my Doris. When I first learned of the teaming I thought someone had given me an early Christmas present! It was in the 1958 Tunnel of Love though you probably know that and are just winding me up as usual. Maybe your Pharaoh should free you from your Biblical chains and give you the new nickname of The Joker!.

               Richard actually took over in that one a role that was intended for the great Charles William Stewart, but as he too is one of my idols it was win/win for me no matter which one of them ended up in the part. Actually YOU of all people should not mock that film as it was the first movie that your Singin’ in the Rain idol Eugene Curren Kelly directed in which he did not star.

               Whilst Widmark’s forte wasn’t in-your- face comedy, often a streak of black humor ran through his roles whether as the villain or the hero and he was also very good at playing the foil in those circumstances. For example in the 1977 The Domino Principle he is a crime boss who hires hitman Eugene Allen Hackman to fill a contract and at a round table meeting Widmark’s organisation’s lawyer, a condescending and snooty character, insults Hackman.

               Latter Dickie takes Gene aside and wanting to keep on the right side of him says about the lawyer’s put down remarks “Don’t worry about him. We keep him around because he’s smarter than everybody else and knows it and he therefore gets away with it,” to which Gene retorts “I don’t care how smart he is. If he talks that way to me again I’ll squash him like a bug!”

            2. And now I have to see The Domino Principle. Bob always does this to me! 🙂

               And I want to see the Dick and Doris show too. I have to scour this weeks TV guide more thoroughly than usual. I did tivo The Grass is Greener a few weeks ago, still haven’t watched it, lots of stars in that one.

               Btw for the uninitiated who’s William Charles Stewart again? I can’t keep up with these nicknames you’ve given your idols. Maybe a glossary might be handy. 😉

               Thanks again for the movie info Bob.

2. Thank you for your detailed response. I read recently a statement by a film historian in which he reckoned that movie studios opine that a star’s duty is to “open” a movie and by that they mean that the star attracts enough people to see it earn today for example $15 million in its first weekend. After that, the historian said, good word of mouth is expected to help ensure that it is an ongoing success. In other words the star can not be held responsible if others haven’t done their job and word gets around that the movie is overall a stinker.

   I would agree with you that Desiree would be in few people’s Top 10 Brando films [except for maybe Lord Larry in his day being one of the few!] though that in itself says nothing as for example an actor who gave us 20 classics could by definition have just 10 of them in his top 10 ! and a film can be well outside even an actor’s top 30 and still be successful – look at some of the Duke’s movies for example.

   However Desiree was no classic and I agree that it would probably be low on the list of most Brando fans. In the Joel critique to which you treated us though he was disparaging the film and Brando’s performance as part of his personal attack on ole Mumbles whereas the latter had done his job as a star by attracting the necessary crowds and Desiree ultimately grossed an adjusted $250 million domestic in your own charts, and of course more abroad, against a budget of 24.9 million in 2017 dollars according to Wiki. For that to be the outcome the film must have earned good word of mouth in its time if the historian I mentioned is accurate in his general take about the components that ensure a film’s success at the box office. Indeed Desiree outgrossed Brando’s acknowledged classic that same year, On the Waterfront

   Accordingly Joel’s “nobody cared” about Desiree is too sweeping a statement to reflect the accuracy of the situation and indeed in my opinion a big fault with critics generally is that they often tend to castigate as out and out flops films that THEY don’t like without showing much respect for the cinema-going public’s interest in those movies and it goes without saying if everything is a classic there is no such thing as a classic!

   Accordingly guys like Joel play right into the hands of greedy film moguls who wish to hide a movie’s profits so that they can deny other participants their due share of those profits. James Coburn called it the “Creative Bookkeeping” of the studios and he fell foul of it with Candy, admittedly another awful Brando film which the critics baldy dismissed as a flop, but which made a profit as your own tables would suggest [adjusted domestic gross of nearly $150 million and more abroad against a budget of 19.6 million in today’s dollars]. James had to sue for his own tiny quarter of a % of those profits. Ironically though once Coburn. Mumbles, Burton etc all got their cut the film then did make a loss – or so the producers kept insisting but maybe somebody further down the food chain then lost out [“Thank you Joel!”].

   I have though acknowledged on several occasions that your own charts have done a good job in belatedly possibly giving the lie to claims that certain movies were box office failures.

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   1. Hey Bob
      1. Good points in this comment.
      2. Playing Devil’s Advocate here….yes Desiree was a hit at the box office….but
      3. After the double whammy of Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront…I think Brando reading the telephone book would have earned at least 100 million.
      4. When Desiree was released, there was a full on press push on Brando as the Oscar nominations had just come out….and his performance in Waterfront had everybody talking.
      5. Desiree was released on February 11th 1955…Brando won his first Oscar in March 30th….which is when Desiree was hitting secondary markets….which is where the money was really made….lots of free publicity.
      6. For the 1950s decade, Desiree was his 4th biggest hit….but 8th when looking at Oscar nominations….and 11th (out of 11) movies when looking at reviews…..so it was the worst reviewed movie of the decade.
      7. Despite it being his worst reviewed movie of the decade..it still has a Fresh 67% score.
      8. So I stand by my comment of Brando “ruling the 1950s”
      9. That being said, of his 1950s movies Desiree is one of his least memorable movies…it could be great…but it has a very weak legacy….especially compared to his classics like On the Streetcar Named Guys and Sayorna of the 1950s.
      10. Just so you know…I think Brando has a well deserved place on the AFI list despite this comment.

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3. Bob, you mention Heston not having the versatilty of Paul Newman which made me smile, can Newman play Michelangelo Buonarotti or Gordon of Khartoum or even Don Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar as well as Heston did? Like Tom Hanks, did Newman ever play anyone except Newman? An excellent actor within his limitations but he doesn’t have as much range as other great actors of that period, the same goes for Redford, Beatty, McQueen, Clift and Dean. But they do get an A+ for brood and moodiness. 🙂

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   1. Hey Steve….Newman played a car once….not thinking Heston can make that claim…..lol.

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      1. Hey Bruce, no one can play Butch Cassidy as well as Newman can, not even Charlton Heston. 🙂

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   2. Hey MO, don’t shoot the messenger! I was just passing on to you the quote from a professional historian/critic about Newman. However provided you don’t attribute to me some of those quotes from Joel we’ll not fall out about the matter!

      Actually I do nevertheless think that Newman had a very wide range as an actor – costume drama in The Silver Chalice [winning a Golden Globe in a film involving Christianity, Jerusalem and Rome all hitherto solid Heston territory] the boxer in Somebody up There Likes Me, the cripple in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Judge Roy Bean, the Mafiosi in Road to Perdition, the alcoholic lawyer in The Verdict, Billy the Kid and Fast Stevie in The Hustler.

      I think he most impressed me though as the Gigolo in Sweet Bird of Youth and I will never forget his bouncing up and down on a bed in that one, thumping it with his fists and screaming at his lover, the has-been actress played by Geraldine Page, who is on the phone to a Hollywood bigwig trying to resurrect her own career “What about ME! Tell him about ME!” [Chuck as a whining Gigolo – never!].

      Also does not Paul’s role in Exodus about the establishment of the modern state of Israel and the actual name of his character [Ari Ben Canaan of the Jewish brigade of the British Army] give him a close link with the famed Children of Israel and has he not therefore to some extent there too invaded Chuck’s territory?

      I think that whereas WH goes a bit over the top about hose idols of his you on the other hand underrate some of the same people. As for me I contrast with both of you in settling for simply modestly praising my favourites like The Duke, Laddie, Deanna, Doris and Joan and merely gently chastising those stars [and critics] who fall below my own standards. I’ll leave the last word on the subject though to IMDB whose list of the 100 greatest actors of all time places Paul in 9th position two places below your other favourite whipping boy of the moment, the great Jeffrey Hanks

      Anyway despite their exceptional brevity your St John and Funicello profiles were very interesting and of course had plenty of “raunch” in them. I think my favourite posters were (1) the first one for Lost World in Jill’s video and (2) again the 1st one for Beach Party your No 5 in Annette’s case. BEST WISHES from THE BIG L

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4. HI O BIBLICAL GREAT! “Just dropped in” to pass on to you another list that I recently came across and it is one of the more unusual ones in my experience in that in ranking the “100 Greatest Performers in Movie Entertainment History” it combines the stars from not just both genders but also from every era in movie history. The top 30 in ranked order are as follows with additional associated comments in a 2nd post.
   1/Tom Hanks
   2/Bette Davis
   3/Mr M
   4/Jack Nicholson
   5/Bobby DeNiro
   6/Katie Hepburn
   7/Jimmy Stewart
   8/Sir Hannibal Lecter
   9/Dustin Hoffman
   10/Audrey Hepburn
   11/Morg Freeman
   12/”Play it again Sam!”
   13/”Big Al” [the Godson]
   14/Meryl Streep
   15/Alex Leach
   16/Greg Peck
   17/The Man with No Name
   18/Paul Newman [“Superior billing over you at last, McQueen!”]
   19/The Little Tramp
   20/Lord Larry
   21/Ingrid Bergman
   22/Gene Hackman
   23/Sir Maurice
   24/Leo DeCaprio
   25/Jodie Foster
   26/”I love the smell of Napalm in the morning!”
   27/Johnny Depp
   28/Denzel Washington
   29/Hank Fonda
   30/Robin Williams

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   1. Hey Big L. I like the list…as well as figuring out which actor is represented when the name is not given. I agree it is a pretty interesting list…..with two of my favorites getting some love. Robert Duvall getting named is unusual…..great actor…..but rarely mentioned on lists like this one. Looks like the baby is Leonardo….but even the baby is now 43. Fun list…thanks for sharing it.

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   2. MY OWN COMMENTS RELATED TO LIST IN PART ONE POST
      Hanks, DeNiro, Chaplin, Nicholson, old Mumbles and among the women Katie H and Bette “Old age isn’t for sissies” Davis are the “Usual Suspects” in most modern lists with just the pecking order differing slightly from time to time but I was surprised at Old Cantankerous Spence being listed as low as 64th.

      However I can’t complain for 6 of my guys are in the 30 – Mumbles, Jimmy Stewart, Greg, Morg Freeman, Denzel and Sir Maurice and although my dolls don’t do too well my Julia [Roberts] did make 70th position. Chuck’s exclusion also greatly disappointed me but I was delighted with the professional appraisal conveyed in the penultimate paragraph below. Selected other stars outside the Top 30 are Mr Demi Moore at 74th, The Duke [hurrah!] at 76th and King Gable in 79th place.

      Mr Moore’s ranking is consistent with my own long-stated contention that Demi’s ex as an actor is much superior to other leading action hero performers like Stallone, Statham, The Rock and Charlie Bronson [my personal fave among action heroes apart from Mr Moore]. Indeed the only two other actors at all in the list who are associated prolifically with action hero movies are Hans Old Father Time Solo at 35th and Mel Gibson in 72nd place and of course both of those have a much broader range than Jason Statham or The Rock for example.

      AUTHORS’ COMMENTS RELATED TO LIST
      “Between Brando, Bogart, Jack Nicholson, Anthony Hopkins and De Niro, who will stay in history as the ultimate gold standard among male actors?

      ALL those actors will definitely survive and will remain remembered long after they are gone. But I would have to tell you the truth that of these Marlon Brando will probably continue to remain a myth and legend well into the future. Part of this has to do with the reclusive and enigmatic lifestyle he led. He wrote a great autobiography. Brando was a genius, and probably always will be remembered as one. And among really, really good actors. Brando is probably considered the best, and Daniel Day-Lewis is just a hair’s –breadth behind him.

      Charlton Heston is not included in the 100, most likely because he did not have the versatility of a Brando or a Newman or most of the others mentioned who could play almost anybody. However that was more to do with physique than a lack of talent in Heston’s case as his was such a massive screen presence that it was impossible for him to play just ANYBODY. Timing also comes into it because if Heston had had the advantages of the Studio System of the 30s and 40s he was such an iconic figure that his Legend as a star would today probably equate alongside that of John Wayne and other recognised Hollywood great male artists of yesteryear. Certainly Mr Heston’s massive box office record supports such a contention and as it is some devout Christians who are also keen moviegoers have said that if they had the privilege to see God manifest Himself in mortal form among us they have always thought that He might well look something like Heston.” [Though none of them have probably seen what YOU look like!]

      PS: Nice mixed bunch in your latest videos. Ekberg’s profile naturally included some highly eye-popping pictorials my favourite amongst which is the first one from Mature’s ”Zarak”. I also like Micklewhite’s Women Times Seven poster and the ones from the two Martin and Lewis flicks. By coincidence I last night watched Robert Stack as a murderous Judge in an episode of Dick Van Dyke’s TV detective series Diagnosis Murder. Stack was 78 when he made that and still cut an impressive figure. My fave posters from Robert’s video are the 2nd for War Paint and the one for Great Day in the Morning my fave Stack movie with him as the lead actor albeit 2nd billed to Ginny Mayo.

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      1. I would include Heston if I every re-do this list. Looks like we need to update the DDL section….as the stats are no longer valid. Good breakdown on Steve’s latest videos.

         As for Anthony Hopkins…a fine actor….but far from a legend. Even his greatest role ….Silence of the Lambs was a supporting one. Not thinking the masses have gotten excited by a new Hopkins movie.

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         1. I agree with your comments about Sir Anthony Hopkins within the following context-

            (1) The list that I passed on sought to rank the perceived greatest ACTORS/ACTRESSES of all time and not the biggest Legends in the AFI sense. Apologies if I confused you and other regulars about the matter..

            (2) As I’ve said I am not familiar with the professional people who provided the comments that I quoted including the ones that singled out Hopkins and a few other stars for special praise but film historians and critics tend to class as “gold standard” what THEY like regardless of public taste.

            (3) A good example of that is the quote you gave us from Joel in which he said that “nobody cared” about the 1954 Desiree whereas your own tables show that the public flocked to it. However Joel was speaking for the undoubted consensus of professional critical opinion which seemingly didn’t think that the general public lining up at the box office came into the equation, though Lord Larry later stated in an interview that the mainstream critics were wrong about the quality of the Mumbling Nappy performance [but then what would Lord Olivier know about it!]

            (4) Personally I find Sir Tony spellbinding as even a personality and whilst mine might be a minority opinion I see him as worth a hundred Rock Johnsons or Sly Stallones. It has always therefore disappointed me that on top of Sir A being recognised as a great actor he has not become a big box office star. As it is though Hopkins is also ranked high [8th] on IMDB’s declared “definitive” list of the 100 Greatest all time actors [just one place below Hanks] and I for one will always admire Sir Tony’s delicious utterance of a closing line in the 2001 Hannibal “I’m just about to have an old friend for dinner!”?

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            1. Hey Bob
               1. Thanks for the comment and the insight.
               2. I am right there with you….I think Sir Anthony Hopkins is an incredible actor….as I have seen 44 of his movies……and I can’t not think of a single bad performance.
               3. He has the best part in one of my all-time favorite movies…A Bridge Too Far…..which is pretty amazing considering that cast….Caine and Caan just to name a few.
               4. Despite seeing 44 of his movies…I have only seen 4 of his movies in theaters….the threeThor movies and Red 2…..but gotta admit…him being in the movie was not the reason I went.
               5. Seems he has been an “And” actor for the last 20 years….if he had the box office clout to go with the acting acclaim…Hopkins would be near the top of everybody’s list.
               6. His one directed movie….Slipstream….is very strange….one day I will sit down with Sir Tony and listen to his DVD commentary. Actually saving that experience for later in life. I recently did the same thing with Roger Moore and his DVD commentary for Live and Let Die…as it was like experiencing a new movie with the recently passed Sir Moor.
               7. Good point about Joel and Desiree……but I think it is fair to say……Desiree would not make many people’s Top 10 Brando movies…..as it can not compare to some of the legendary work he did.
               Thanks for the feedback….good to hear from you.

      2. And Bob, thanks for checking out my videos, have to confess I miss your detailed reviews and trivia. Glad you liked the posters and stills. Another 60s TV icon uploaded tomorrow.

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   3. Hello Bob, nice to see you again. Another list eh… let me see… an interesting list… I’m not the biggest Tom Hanks fan as Bruce knows, I liked his early comedies… but no.1 on a list of greatest performers in entertainment history is a bit much, has he ever played anyone except Tom Hanks? Hanks dying of AIDS, Hanks landing his plane in a river, Hanks in WWII, Hanks as a ship captain. All very well acted but still recognisably Hanks, compared to lets say De Niro as Jake La Motta or Brando as Don Corleone or even Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow, if you get my drift.

      But if I had to remove any actor from that list it would be.. Robin Williams. Replace him with The Duke or Judah Ben-Hur. Jodie Foster looks out of place amongst those greats, replace her with Myrna Loy [Bob blows a fuse] or at least Bette’s rival Mildred Pierce, the Hollywoood diva.

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      1. Hey Steve…..you leave the late great Robin Willams alone……lol. Have you not seen his work in The Fisher King, Good Will Hunting, Good Morning London and Dead Poet’s Society?

         Actually even though I really like his movies….I do acknowledge his rough begginging and end of his career are hard to ignore. But, his 10 year successful run was one of the best of all-time.

         As for Hanks? Maybe not first….but he should be in the conversation. As I said in another comment…..if I were to redo this list….I would make your boy Heston a member of the team.

         Good feedback.

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         1. Hey Bruce, I like Robin Williams too but he does look out of place on that list. I remember when he died one snobby newspaper critic saying that Williams was talented but had never appeared in a good movie which was a bit nasty and wrong. The films you mention in your post are highly regarded by critics and movie fans.

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      2. HI MO

         Even as long as 20 years ago Hanks was getting listed as one of the all time great actors. For example I have already posted on this site a copy of one old list which gave as rankings (1) Newman (2) Hanks (3) Jimmy Stewart (4( Mr M (5) Archebald. .

         As regards your point about Hanks always being Hanks, one critic once confronted Old Cantankerous with the complaint that ” You’re always Spence Tracy in every role” and the contrary one snapped back “Who else do you want me to be – Humphrey Bogart?”

         Your mind set seems to be the same as my sons’s. When I pointed out to him Laddie’s versatility in for example playing a doctor in And Now Tomorrow, a hit-man in This Gun for Hire, a Roman centurion in Duel of the Champions, a sailor in Two Years Before the Mast a cowboy in Shane and with Nevada Smith and Fitzgerald’s Jay Gatsby thrown in for good measure my son retorted that it was just the same old Ladd turning up in different clothes and paying lip service to the con that he could adopt different personas. I’m not saying laddie was in the Hanks/DeNiro league but his Gatsby has been hailed by some film historians as the best of the various Gatsby interpretations, a contention that Bill Bendix agreed with.

         Indeed one film historian argued that the best screen – as distinct from theatrical – acting was provided by those who were natural [ie themselves] and within that context Jimmy Stewart for example had a strong claim to the accolade “greatest screen actor of all time”. That historian went on to contend that performers like Lord Larry and Mr M who donned different costumes and put on strange accents were experiencing psychological thrills similar to those enjoyed by children who thought they could “hide in plain sight”.but the acting of those two in particular was “theatrical”.

         Anyway as a Brando/Stewart fan and a long-time admirer of Hanks who is high on my B list it is win/win for me whoever has got the debate right and I guess that unless John re-enters the fray this is as close as we are going to get to a heated argument on the subject so I’ll wish you all the best for now and acquaint myself with your Jill St John video which I’m immensely looking forward to.

         THE BIG GUY

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   4. What? Newman is getting billed before McQueen?? Who are the ignorant charlatans who devised this ridiculous list? Have they not seen The Towering Inferno? 🙂

      Seriously though, it’s certainly a defensible list, though I think it suffers to some extent from the bias of the present era, where contemporary stars such as Hanks, Freeman, DeCaprio, Foster, Depp and Williams are perceived to be slightly more important than how they will perhaps be seen in 50 years. At the end of history, my prediction is that Stewart, Bogie, Grant, Crawford and Cooper will be seen as bigger than these relatively recent stars (though I get it that the list is not listing stars in order of popularity but according to greatness of performances).

      Still, thanks for sharing Big “Bob” Lebowski. Curious to know about the next 70 on the list!

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5. I’ve been noticing that this page is not included at the top of your “Newest Movie Pages’ page.

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   1. Yeah….about to fix that. I originally thought I was going to knock out the Actress page very quickly…and was going to do it at the same time….then life came knocking….lol. Finally the actress page is up…and both pages are on the newest page.

      Reply

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