Could Bogey make it today?

[Warped9]

This really isn't about Humphrey Bogart specifically, but about changing times and expectations.

I was having a discussion with my father who was relating how back in the '40's they'd hear folks sing on the radio and imagined what they looked like. Then in the '50s when they started seeing some of these performers on television often it wasn't what they expected.

We got to talking about how distinctive many past actors and actresses have been and how many of them still resonate today even if many cannot remember their names.

It's not a new thought, but often so many singers and actors today (and for easily a couple of decades) come across as "all much the same" and interchangeable with little to distinguish them. Of course there were many similar types back in the day, but one wonders: could someone like Bogart or John Wayne or Peter Lorre or Boris Karloff or Bette Davis or Jimmy Stewart and many others make it in today's world? Certainly many of them weren't all that photogenic in the conventional sense, but they did bring genuine and distinct presence to the screen.

I really do wonder because in many cases I'm challenged to think of someone today who is that distinctive onscreen. The only ones that come to mind are older performers already in their fifties and sixties and older. Today I can think of Morgan Freeman, Jack Nicholson and Clint Eastwood. After that I'm stumped.

 

[Kirby]

My first thought was of Bogart and Jimmy Stewart playing brooding, emo vampires.

I think John Wayne could make it as an action hero (he basically was one back in the day, plus he was a stunt man), and Jimmy Stewart could do all of the Tom Hanks-type roles. The others, probably would make it more on the stage then the screen now.

You're right, there are no young actors that are very distinctive on screen. I think that ended with the ones you mentioned, and maybe Harrison Ford, but they are a dying breed. They didn't make all that many movies back in the day, so it really brought out the good actors.

Now I need to go out an watch the Malteese Falcon again.

 

[Too Much Fun]

I don't think I'd enjoy finding out. Humphrey Bogart is one of my favourite actors, but I think certain actors just fit at a certain time and place and wouldn't benefit being in another one. This isn't because I think his acting style was too old-fashioned or anything, but rather because it was better utilized by the kind of writing and acting that was common in movies during his time.

I just don't think there are enough movies and roles worthy of such a fine actor in this day and age. It makes me think of Eddie Murphy. Some of his first roles ("48 Hrs.", "Beverly Hills Cop", "Trading Places", and "Coming to America") were so perfectly suited to his talents, but it was all pretty much all downhill from there (with a few exceptions).

People often say he just made bad career choices, but I can't think of a lot of movies that came out in the 30 or so years since his first big role that he could have shined in. Marilyn Monroe, on the other hand, is someone I think should have had better roles and might have if she'd been born/started acting later or lived longer.

 

[Greg Cox]

My first thought was of Bogart and Jimmy Stewart playing brooding, emo vampires.

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I can't resist pointing out that Bogie actually played a vampire in THE RETURN OF DR. X. Really.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I don't know, how about Tom Hanks, Mickey Rourke, Nicholas Cage, Sean Penn, Jesse Eisenberg, Javier Bardem, Benicio Del Toro, Vince Vaughn, Mark Wahlberg, Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, Dakota Fanning? And that's just sticking with mainly dramatic actors who do movies, if you add in comedy or TV, you'd find a ton of distinctive people who aren't traditionally photogenic.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I think Bogey would have made it as a television actor instead ala Hugh Laurie or Michael Chiklis, IMO...

 

[Captaindemotion]

Steve Buscemi is reminding me of Bogey a bit in Boardwalk Empire, actually.

I think there are plenty of non-conventional actors doing quite well at the minute. Tom Hanks is hardly male model material; he's more in the Jimmy Stewart mould. Nicholas Cage is hardly a matinee idol, even before you consider his receding hairline.

Bald actors like Bruce Willis or Michael Chiklis proudly reveal their chrome domes, instead of opting for the Heston/ Wayne toupee. TV features the craggy likes of Kiefer Sutherland, Tim Roth (Lie to Me) or David Caruso (CSI Miami). Then you have Matt Smith from Doctor Who, with his almost unearthly looks.

Further down the pecking order you have the likes of Ron Perlman or Michael Clarke Duncan, who are, well, somewhat different looking but never short of work.

People complain about all the pretty boy actors out there nowadays but they've always been there. Today's pretty boy is tomorrow's Oscar winning actor/ director (Redford, Beatty).

 

[the G-man]

Steve Buscemi is reminding me of Bogey a bit in Boardwalk Empire, actually.

I think there are plenty of non-conventional actors doing quite well at the minute. Tom Hanks is hardly male model material; he's more in the Jimmy Stewart mould. Nicholas Cage is hardly a matinee idol, even before you consider his receding hairline.

Bald actors like Bruce Willis or Michael Chiklis proudly reveal their chrome domes, instead of opting for the Heston/ Wayne toupee. TV features the craggy likes of Tim Roth (Lie to Me) or David Caruso (CSI Miami). Then you have Matt Smith from Doctor Who, with his almost unearthly looks.

People complain about all the pretty boy actors out there nowadays but they've always been there. Today's pretty boy is tomorrow's Oscar winning actor/ director (Redford, Beatty).

Further down the pecking order, you have the likes of Ron Perlman

This.

 

[Greg Cox]

Even Daniel Craig is pretty craggy-looking compared to previous James Bonds. And Anthony Hopkins has been a leading man for decades now . . . .

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Even Daniel Craig is pretty craggy-looking compared to previous James Bonds. And Anthony Hopkins has been a leading man for decades now . . . .

You could throw Billy Bob Thornton in there as well and he didn't really break through until he was older as well.

 

[sojourner]

I wouldn't call his looks "unconventional" but I have always pictured George Clooney as coming from the old Hollywood mold. He would fit right in with Clark Gable, Fred Astaire, and the rest.

 

[Amaris]

I wouldn't call his looks "unconventional" but I have always pictured George Clooney as coming from the old Hollywood mold. He would fit right in with Clark Gable, Fred Astaire, and the rest.

Agreed!

Let's see... other than the people already mentioned... well, I think Angelina Jolie could do a fine job as a seductive mistress walking into a gumshoe's office to help her find her lost husband.

 

[Warped9]

But Clooney and Jolie are not unconventional looking. They're more traditionally good looking by any measure. There have always been unusual character actors, but not many that can star and carry a film as the lead. And I'm thinking of the past twenty years or so. I really don't see many that can stand alongside the likes of some of those I'm thinking of.

Think of someone like James Cagney. He came across like some sinister freakin' elf, but he was magnetic on the screen. Edward G. Robinson was another. And Bette Davis was certainly no beauty, but she often owned the screen when she was on.

 

[Canadave]

What about Adrian Brody? He's carved out a damn good career for himself, and he's certainly no pretty-boy. Cillian Murphy is similar: good actor, but not a looker in the conventional sense.

The thing is, no one becomes a movie star without being at least a bit physically appealing. Bogart may not have been the handsomest man in the world, but his looks were certainly striking. I think that's what matters as much as anything.

 

[Warped9]

I'd forgotten about Adrian Brody.

 

[Nerys Myk]

They didn't make all that many movies back in the day, so it really brought out the good actors.

Didn't they crank them out like they were going out of style back in the "Golden Age" of Hollywood? Not only features, but short subjects too. It was a veritable assembly line at some studios.

Guys like Bogey are usually the exception and not the rule. He really took off when he started to play gangsters and tough guys. Same for Robinson and Cagney. I think Joe Pesci would be their equivalent in recent history. Going back further you have Dustin Hoffman and Richard Dreyfuss as odd looking fellows that became leading men. Tommy Lee Jones won't be winning too many beauty contests either. Maggie Gyllenhaal is an actress with uncoventional looks ( some have called her ugly) that has managed to make it as a leading lady. Hell, Scarlett Johansen is a bit goofy looking, too.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Bogart didn't really become a star until he was about forty (and pretty much ceased playing gangsters). That's less likely today, for a leading man. He might do better as a character actor or a television actor now. TNT would love him.

 

[Rush Limborg]

John Wayne would probably make it--but probably not as a leading man. It seems more and more like "younger is better", nowadays. Perhaps he'd more likely be a "seasoned" supporting role who gives the protagonist some hard-earned wisdom.

I agree with the person who suggested Jimmy Stewart would shine in Tom Hanks-like roles.

Now Bogart...well, not just George Clooney but Brad Pitt and Matt Damon often inject in their roles an "air" of noir--or at least the specigic catergory of "coolness" we see in those old films. I could see Bogart working alongside Clooney and Pitt--and as someone said here earlier, perhaps with Jolie as the femme fatale (she's also pretty noir-ish, too).

But actually...my dad and I had a little discussion about Bogey. He was of the impression that Bogey was "cool" back in the day, but that kind of coolness is sortof "back then". I personally love The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep and Casablanca...and I wish we'd have more films like those, nowadays.

(Hmm...I wonder: who would star in a remake of Casablanca? Now, I'm not talking about a crappy "Hollywoodized" messed-up imitation--a faithful, GOOD re-make.

Who today would capture the cool yet cynical toughness of Bogey, as Rick? Or the lovely, innocent yet commanding hotness of Ingrid Berman, as Ilsa? Or the subtle, authoritative evil of Major Strausser? Or the nobility of Victor Lazlo?

Personally, for me, there's only ONE man who could play Louis--Andrew J. Robinson. Everything about Louis's brand of charm reminds me of Plain, Simple, Garak.)

 

[Greg Cox]

They didn't make all that many movies back in the day, so it really brought out the good actors.

Didn't they crank them out like they were going out of style back in the "Golden Age" of Hollywood? Not only features, but short subjects too. It was a veritable assembly line at some studios.

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Exactly. The studios made a lot more movies back in the old days, and a lot faster, too.

For example: a quick glance at imdb reveals that Bogie made seven movies in 1939!

 

[Nerys Myk]

John Wayne was young once. Made quite a few films then too. Was even the leading man a time or two.