The Best Actress of the 1930s: Myrna Loy

The 1930s produced some truly amazing film actresses; an argument might even be made that decade was the peak for film actresses. (Some might also make the argument it was the peak decade for male actors; that was some great decade for movies, that 1930s.) Choosing the greatest actress of the 1930s is no easy feat but when all is said and done it really comes down to two. And since I'm going to pick the other one as the best actress of the 1940s, I have decided to honor the Queen of Hollywood, Myrna Loy, as the best.

In 1938 Clark Cable was chosen as the King of Hollywood; he was popularly known as The King for the rest of his career. Even people not as obsessed with classic movies as I recognize the name Clark Gable. It is a testament to the popularity of Myrna Loy during the 1930s that she took her place alongside Gable. It is also a sad testament to the fact that most actresses don't have nearly as long a career as most actors that her name is a cipher to many people today. In 1938, however, Myrna Loy was big. Really big. Gabby Hayes big.

Her almond-shaped eyes and upturned nose imbued her with an exoticism that belied her all-American birth in Big Sky Country. It was that slightly Oriental look that bought her a ticket into the legacy of Hollywood. A staple of silent films was the Vamp and Myrna Loy was one of the vampish in the business. So successful was she in the role of the vamp that she appeared in 80 movies in less than a decade while she struggled vainly to prove that she was capable of far more. The advent of talkies finally brought her that chance. She appeared in a string of musicals in the early 30s before finally finding her niche in two movies released in 1934, both starring William Powell, an actor with whom Myrna Loy would forever be linked. The first saw her paired with her future King, Clark Gable. It was a gangster flick titled Manhattan Melodrama and while it is a powerful movie, it's mostly remembered as a result of the fact that it was the movie that John Dillinger saw just before he was shot to death outside the movie theater.

It was Loy's other 1934 movie that set the stage for her best work. Loy and William Powell set off the kind sparks rarely seen since when they made the first in what would eventually be a series of six based on the married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles. The Thin Man was a huge hit and rightfully so. Just about any movie or television show you've ever seen that involves a man and a woman solving crimes owes a debt to the Thin Man series. If you think that Moonlighting was an original idea, then you've obviously never seen a Thin Man movie. In a decade that overflowed with talented comedic actresses Myrna Loy floated effortlessly to the top. She could do a pratfall and then engage in quick witty banter as good as anybody ever has.

Myrna Loy was undoubtedly a beautiful woman, but though she exemplified class and grace she wasn't what you would call a sex symbol. Perhaps that is part of the reason she usually played wives in movies. But Loy was no punching bag or second banana. When Myrna Loy played a wife in a movie you could be sure that the marriage was going to be every bit as action-packed as what passes for action in car crash movies of today. Loy excelled in being able to hold her own against such physical and talent heavyweights as Gable and Powell. She wasn't a shrinking violet despite her small stature; her cocksure intelligence and quick wit was the hallmark by which she turned any number of underwritten roles into showcases for her virtuosity. If you were to choose just one adjective to describe the type of character that Myrna Loy played it would be "sophisticated."

It is a tribute to the woman as well. Myrna Loy was sophisticated enough to actually earn a place on Adolph Hitler's blacklist. She was a committed liberal political activist, taking time off from her career during World War II to fight the cause against fascist aggression. One of the first movies she made upon her return to Hollywood was the classic post-war adjustment drama The Best Years of Our Lives. Incredibly, Myrna Loy wasn't nominated for an Oscar for this role. Astoundingly, she never received an Oscar nomination throughout her career. Just goes to show what an Oscar is really worth.

Myrna Loy's talent is regularly showcased on Turner Classic Movies. If you aren't lucky enough to have a cable provider that gives you access to Turner Classic Movies, then look into getting a Netflix subscription. Netflix has many of Loy's classic movies, including all of the Thin Man series. Do not miss out on this incredibly talented actress.