Movie Stars, Then and Now

Since I was a child, I have been a movie buff. Other kids would skip school to hang out with their friends and such. As for me, I skipped so as to catch the latest movie release. Back in the day new releases opened on Wednesday. When it was something I really wanted to see I would be there at 11:00 a.m. when the box office opened. I remember like yesterday heading to the first showing of Dr. No, the movie which began the Bond 007 franchise. And I have seen every one of the Bond films which followed.

Even today with cable TV and a subscription to Blockbuster both online and in store, nothing compares to a midday matinee. To sit in a cavernous dark theater, sometimes all by your lonesome, and watch a new release before the general public. To stretch out as though you own the joint and lose yourself for a couple of hours to a world of fantasy, comedy, excitement, and adventure.

But before then I would sit on the floor at my grandmother's feet watching the older movies from the 30s, 40s, and 50s. It was and is a joy to watch the stars of yesteryear ply their trade. Gary Grant, Tyrone Power, Errol Flynn, Betty Davis, Olivia De Havilland, Myrna Loy, Lauren Bacall, Kirk Douglas, Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and so many others. Shamefully, names a lot of the current generation of movie goers has never heard of.

I was thinking about what stars of yesterday to match with the stars of today. I made a short list of my choices using just a handful of the most prevalent stars of today and now to find their counter parts.

I will begin with a current favorite George Clooney. For a suave, debonair, handsome leading man I would match Clooney with Gary Grant. Both these actors have the combination of virility, sexuality and the aura and bearing of a gentleman. Both can stand on equal ground both in serious drama and screwball comedies.

My second pairing will be that of Brad Pitt and Tyrone Power. Both men are/were deemed exceptionally good looking by the female audience. Both have a natural swagger that makes them attractive to both men and women. Men want to be them and women want to be with them. They even have a movie character in common in that both men portrayed Jesse James.

Let us not forget the ladies of the cinema. Angelina Jolie is a major box office draw in some major action movies. So was her counterpart Ms. Olivia de Havilland. Ms. Jolie has starred in the Tomb Raider series, as well as, other action hits such as Wanted and Mr. and Mrs. Smith, whereas Ms. De Havilland starred in such action classics such as The Adventures of Robin Hood, Captain Blood, and They Died With Their Boots On. Ms. Jolie has some catching up to do though because Ms. De Havilland won two Oscars for her work in Two Each His Own and The Heiress. She also was nominated for three more including for the classic Gone With The Wind.

Even though a bit past his prime leading man roles, I must include Harrison Ford in this matching. Both in their prime I would match Ford with Errol Flynn. Both men had that swashbuckling devil may care attitude which drove their success. And both were favorites of the ladies with their dashing good looks and favorites of the men for the roles they played.

From here on out I will just do random matches and see if anyone agrees or disagrees.

Will Smith and John Garfield

Meryl Streep and Joan Crawford

Kevin Costner and Robert Taylor

Jason Statham and Jimmy Cagney

Sigourney Weaver and Lauren Bacall

I would suggest if anyone has not seen movies of old starring some of the actors mentioned here, please do yourself a favor and watch a few. The action movies were a lot more realistic when the actors actually prepared for the roles and did their own stunts.

In the Adventures of Robin Hood, Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone both fencing masters practiced and staged their own swordplay. It is still considered one of the best fight scenes in movie history. I will be a movie fan for life. I will watch the great ones and the not so great ones because for me the movies are an escape to other worlds, other realities and I visit them often.www.imdb.com/name/nm0000061/bio