Retro-casting superhero films and shows

[DarrenTR1970]

Didn't Orson Welles play 'The Shadow' on the radio? Why not a live-action version then?
Now I'm trying to think of other actors from the 30s-40s who could play pulp heroes Doc Savage and The Avenger.
How about 'Buster' Crabbe for Doc Savage?

 

[Captaindemotion]

Didn't Orson Welles play 'The Shadow' on the radio? Why not a live-action version then?

Yes, he did. Though I’m not sure if, with his round face, he’d have been a good physical match for Lamont Cranston.

Now I'm trying to think of other actors from the 30s-40s who could play pulp heroes Doc Savage and The Avenger.
How about 'Buster' Crabbe for Doc Savage?

Crabbe, while probably best known for playing Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, also played Tarzan. A later Tarzan actor, Ron Ely, also played Doc. I could absolutely see Buster playing yet another pulp icon.

Edit - while checking Ron’s IMDb page to make sure I was right about Doc Savage, I found out also that he also played an older alternate earth Superman in an episode of the 1990s Superboy tv show. Every day’s a school day.

 

[Henoch]

and Van Johnson for Hush

Van Johnson was The Minstrel, Batman, Season 2 (Episodes 5,6).

 

[RJDiogenes]

Dude, Kent McCord is the perfect Cyclops! If you're gonna go with that, why not Kevin Tighe as Beast?

Not bad. It's probably impossible to come up with a real actor who has a build like the Beast.

 

[FormerLurker]

X-Men in the '80s, only casting choice I can think of at the moment as he's my goto for the character:

Professor Xavier: Albert Finney

When I saw him as Daddy Warbucks in Annie, I couldn't get him out of my head, and still can't.

 

[JRoss]

Van Johnson was The Minstrel, Batman, Season 2 (Episodes 5,6).

Huh. The more you know.

 

[Nerys Myk]

70s X-Men
Wolverine- Robert Blake
Storm- Pam Grier
Colossus-Arnold Schwarzenegger
Nightcrawler- ?
Cyclops-Timothy Bottoms
Phoenix- Farah Fawcett
Banshee-Peter O'Toole

 

[RJDiogenes]

Hmm, Robert Blake might have been good for the Beast. Except I don't like him.

 

[FormerLurker]

70s X-Men
Wolverine- Robert Blake
Storm- Pam Grier
Colossus-Arnold Schwarzenegger
Nightcrawler- ?
Cyclops-Timothy Bottoms
Phoenix- Farah Fawcett
Banshee-Peter O'Toole

How about Olympic gymnast Curt Thomas for Nightcrawler? Good choices, but I personally would swap out Pam Grier for Leslie Uggams.

 

[Ovation]

How about Olympic gymnast Curt Thomas for Nightcrawler? Good choices, but I personally would swap out Pam Grier for Leslie Uggams.

One does NOT “swap out” Pam Grier for...any reason.

 

[RJDiogenes]

She's not right for Storm, though. I'd go with Teresa Graves.

 

[Christopher]

How about Tamara Dobson for Storm?

 

[DarrenTR1970]

I was driving around this afternoon and for some reason Joel Grey popped into my head for '70s Nightcrawler and Pamela Franklin for Jean Grey/Marvel Girl/Phoenix.

 

[Nerys Myk]

She's not right for Storm, though. I'd go with Teresa Graves.

Tall, regal, beautiful and black. What's wrong?

 

[RJDiogenes]

Tall, regal, beautiful and black. What's wrong?

Seems too tough, at least for Storm's original characterization. Teresa Graves would be better at portraying that inner calm she had.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Seems too tough, at least for Storm's original characterization. Teresa Graves would be better at portraying that inner calm she had.

I seem to recall Storm have a bit off a temper early on. Not Wolverine angry, but she could get a bit stormy when provoked.

 

[Kai "the spy"]

I see what you did there.

 

[N-121973]

Van Johnson was The Minstrel, Batman, Season 2 (Episodes 5,6).

Van Johnson's Minstrel was put in at the last minute, Frank Gorshin wouldn't return as the Riddler during the 2nd season and the story was originally conceived as a Riddler caper. They did the same with an episode featuring the Puzzler and cast John Astin as the Riddler eventually before Gorshin was persuaded to return once more in the third & final season.
I would have liked to see what Mickey Rooney would have done with the Penguin as he was originally cast, but had to drop out due to scheduling problems, not that Burgess Meredith is anything but the definitive Penguin but still, physically at least Rooney would have needed only the outfit and a fake nose and he'd have looked like he'd stepped from the pages of the comic.

Didn't Orson Welles play 'The Shadow' on the radio? Why not a live-action version then?
Now I'm trying to think of other actors from the 30s-40s who could play pulp heroes Doc Savage and The Avenger.
How about 'Buster' Crabbe for Doc Savage?

I'd have loved to have seen Crabbe play Flash Gordon in a big budget full-colour Flash Gordon feature-film as opposed to the black & white cliffhanger serials - though I do have a soft spot for them.

 

[FormerLurker]

They did the same with an episode featuring the Puzzler

Guest-starring Maurice Evans at his most girly. Alan Napier (Alfred) described him as looking like "an old aunty."

John Astin as the Riddler

His only turn as the RIddler turned out so badly that it was what inspired Frank Gorshin to come back. John Astin is a great actor, but he had no idea what to do with the character, and essentially played Gomez Addams as a criminal. I've seen it, and my memory jibes with that of Joel Eisner, the author of The Official Batman Batbook. Very disappointing.

 

[Christopher]

His only turn as the RIddler turned out so badly that it was what inspired Frank Gorshin to come back. John Astin is a great actor, but he had no idea what to do with the character, and essentially played Gomez Addams as a criminal.

I'd say the problem was just the opposite -- that Astin was trying to mimic Gorshin's intense, menacing performance and just couldn't do it as well as Gorshin. If he had played to his own quirky strengths instead, made the role his own, then he would've done a better job.