Movies From the 1940s - Who are the 5 best actors?

[Takes Two To Tango]

Based on the work they did during that time period.

https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?title_type=feature&release_date=1940-01-01,1949-12-31&user_rating=6.5,&num_votes=15000,3000000&sort=user_rating,desc

My choices:

If you don't want to be tagged, just let me know thanks.

Please vote.

Spoiler

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@MichiganMMA1978

 

[tank666]

Chaplin, Bogart, Olivier, Flynn and Guiness.

 

[Gene Tunney]

I can't decide between Flynn and Cooper.

 

[Bluesbreaker]

I'd like to submit Basil Rathbone as an other.

 

[helax]

Bogey
Stewart
Welles
Lancaster
Edward G

@Bullitt68

 

[Bullitt68]

@Bullitt68

I usually never even enter these threads not just because polls like this are silly (no offense to anyone) but more specifically because I literally teach film history and it kills me how little people know and I don't want to turn every one of these threads into me lecture-ranting. That's not fun for me and I'm certain it's less fun for everyone else having a supernerd party pooper spoiling the fun. The "Serious Movie Discussion" thread was where I lived because anywhere else I'm way too serious about movies.

But since you brought me here with your tag, the answer isn't even listed on the poll.

 

[helax]

I usually never even enter these threads not just because polls like this are silly (no offense to anyone) but more specifically because I literally teach film history and it kills me how little people know and I don't want to turn every one of these threads into me lecture-ranting. That's not fun for me and I'm certain it's less fun for everyone else having a supernerd party pooper spoiling the fun. The "Serious Movie Discussion" thread was where I lived because anywhere else I'm way too serious about movies.

But since you brought me here with your tag, the answer isn't even listed on the poll.

I love old movies but my knowledge is basically just from watching them. Haven’t done any real studying on them but I actually do enjoy learning about the subject. Which is why I tagged you and was wondering your thoughts. For me these polls are just preference. I enjoy Spencer Tracy but I actually prefer his 30’s work and even his later stuff.

 

[Bullitt68]

I love old movies but my knowledge is basically just from watching them. Haven’t done any real studying on them but I actually do enjoy learning about the subject. Which is why I tagged you and was wondering your thoughts. For me these polls are just preference. I enjoy Spencer Tracy but I actually prefer his 30’s work and even his later stuff.

I consider Tracy the greatest actor not named Robert De Niro, so while I could rank his stuff by decade, it's ultimately silly, because he was doing great work in the early '30s all the way to his final film in 1967. It's the body of work and the crazy consistency of excellence that makes him so great, just effortless brilliance time and again. But in the '40s he crushed it in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as a grotesque villain, showing there was literally nothing he couldn't do better than everyone else; in Woman of the Year, which he was so good in that he actually made Katharine Hepburn fall in love with him in real life; in his wartime roles in Keeper of the Flame, A Guy Named Joe, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, The Seventh Cross, and Without Love; in the more melodramatic films Cass Timberlane and Edward, My Son; and in his romcom pairings with Hepburn State of the Union and Adam's Rib.

Bogart became an icon in the '40s, Stewart solidified his "everyman" persona, Robinson and Cagney continued killing it, Henry Fonda ascended to the realm of great actors...but, to quote Burt Reynolds from that video, there's only one Spencer Tracy

 

[helax]

I consider Tracy the greatest actor not named Robert De Niro, so while I could rank his stuff by decade, it's ultimately silly, because he was doing great work in the early '30s all the way to his final film in 1967. It's the body of work and the crazy consistency of excellence that makes him so great, just effortless brilliance time and again. But in the '40s he crushed it in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as a grotesque villain, showing there was literally nothing he couldn't do better than everyone else; in Woman of the Year, which he was so good in that he actually made Katharine Hepburn fall in love with him in real life; in his wartime roles in Keeper of the Flame, A Guy Named Joe, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, The Seventh Cross, and Without Love; in the more melodramatic films Cass Timberlane and Edward, My Son; and in his romcom pairings with Hepburn State of the Union and Adam's Rib.

Bogart became an icon in the '40s, Stewart solidified his "everyman" persona, Robinson and Cagney continued killing it, Henry Fonda ascended to the realm of great actors...but, to quote Burt Reynolds from that video, there's only one Spencer Tracy

Yea I thoroughly enjoyed his performance in dr Jekyll. I think for me it has less to do with his performances and more to do with the movies he acted in, in the 40s. I am not a big Hepburn fan and he has a few big ones with her in the decade. Nothing against her, I realize she’s a great actress. I do enjoy her in some roles but there are a lot I don’t enjoy watching. I feel the same way about Doris Day. Other than her work with Hitchcock I could probably pass on the majority of her filmography

 

[Bullitt68]

Yea I thoroughly enjoyed his performance in dr Jekyll. I think for me it has less to do with his performances and more to do with the movies he acted in, in the 40s. I am not a big Hepburn fan and he has a few big ones with her in the decade. Nothing against her, I realize she’s a great actress. I do enjoy her in some roles but there are a lot I don’t enjoy watching. I feel the same way about Doris Day. Other than her work with Hitchcock I could probably pass on the majority of her filmography

Oh, dude, not only do I think that Katharine Hepburn is the GOAT actress, but behind De Niro and Tracy she's just the GOAT. So imagine how much I love it that in my book #2 and #3 of all-time made nine films together! With no hyperbole, I've literally seen every single film that she was ever in. From 1932 to 1994, big screen and small screen, there's not a film that I've missed. Doris Day is a fucking hairdo, Katharine Hepburn is sublime

 

[helax]

Oh, dude, not only do I think that Katharine Hepburn is the GOAT actress, but behind De Niro and Tracy she's just the GOAT. So imagine how much I love it that in my book #2 and #3 of all-time made nine films together! With no hyperbole, I've literally seen every single film that she was ever in. From 1932 to 1994, big screen and small screen, there's not a film that I've missed. Doris Day is a fucking hairdo, Katharine Hepburn is sublime

Haha yeah I didn’t try to compare the two in regards to their careers. Hepburn is in a league of her own. It’s just the movies I don’t enjoy. I can recognize the great acting but the actual plots of the movies just aren’t for me. I’m a major noir fan. Bette Davis always stands out to me because she made a bunch of movies I enjoy plus she was a great actress. Joan Crawford too. They are at least in the ballpark with Hepburn, for me. With Doris Day I just meant the actual movies. If I see her name I know I probably don’t want to watch it lol.

If I had to pick a Hepburn movie it’s The African Queen all day for me

 

[Uber_Noober]

Serious zygo issues with this one


And Bogart was a manlet, but I voted for him anyway.

 

[Bullitt68]

Haha yeah I didn’t try to compare the two in regards to their careers. Hepburn is in a league of her own. It’s just the movies I don’t enjoy. I can recognize the great acting but the actual plots of the movies just aren’t for me. I’m a major noir fan. Bette Davis always stands out to me because she made a bunch of movies I enjoy plus she was a great actress. Joan Crawford too. They are at least in the ballpark with Hepburn, for me. With Doris Day I just meant the actual movies. If I see her name I know I probably don’t want to watch it lol.

If I had to pick a Hepburn movie it’s The African Queen all day for me

Haha, I don't care much for The African Queen. As a Hepburn film, a Bogart film, a Huston film, it's lower tier fare for all involved. Fun and enjoyable, don't get me wrong, but everyone involved had MUCH better outings IMO. And the way that De Niro towers over all other actors, Tracy included even though he's a strong #2, Hepburn is WAY out in front of the actress pack, but in #2 I'd have Bette Davis. Crawford was much more hit or miss both with her films and her performances, but she's in plenty of classics and turned in her share of great performances, too.

On the subject of Doris Day, though, if you've skipped Love Me or Leave Me, it has James Cagney's best performance post-White Heat and just one of his very best performances IMO.

 

[helax]

Haha, I don't care much for The African Queen. As a Hepburn film, a Bogart film, a Huston film, it's lower tier fare for all involved. Fun and enjoyable, don't get me wrong, but everyone involved had MUCH better outings IMO. And the way that De Niro towers over all other actors, Tracy included even though he's a strong #2, Hepburn is WAY out in front of the actress pack, but in #2 I'd have Bette Davis. Crawford was much more hit or miss both with her films and her performances, but she's in plenty of classics and turned in her share of great performances, too.

On the subject of Doris Day, though, if you've skipped Love Me or Leave Me, it has James Cagney's best performance post-White Heat and just one of his very best performances IMO.

Oh I forgot about that one. Nice. Love me or leave me was excellent. I generally can’t stand musicals

 

[Gene Tunney]

I usually never even enter these threads not just because polls like this are silly (no offense to anyone) but more specifically because I literally teach film history and it kills me how little people know and I don't want to turn every one of these threads into me lecture-ranting. That's not fun for me and I'm certain it's less fun for everyone else having a supernerd party pooper spoiling the fun. The "Serious Movie Discussion" thread was where I lived because anywhere else I'm way too serious about movies.

But since you brought me here with your tag, the answer isn't even listed on the poll.

I like Tracy as much as the next person. But his face started looking like an old catcher's mitt by the 1940's.

Serious zygo issues with this one
View attachment 1070569

And Bogart was a manlet, but I voted for him anyway.

He was a heroin addict. Great actor though.

I didn't vote for Chaplin, but he would be my honorable mention pick.

 

[Bullitt68]

I like Tracy as much as the next person. But his face started looking like an old catcher's mitt by the 1940's.

He never played The Hot Guy, so who cares? He was that rare entity: The Character Actor Leading Man. He didn't age out of playing romantic leads like Cary Grant or just ignore the fact that he was old and wrinkled like Bogart (hello Sabrina) or Stewart (my students never understand why Grace Kelly wants anything to do with him in Rear Window). But you always buy Tracy no matter the film. Put him in any role in any film about any subject set anywhere in any time period, and you're going to get a great performance. He was so good that he became a star. And as he aged, he became one of the great cinematic patriarchs/authority figures, as evidenced by films like Father of the Bride, The Actress, The Last Hurrah, Inherit the Wind, Judgment at Nuremberg, and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Hell, his wise weathered face was so iconic that they made a cartoon out of him.

 

[Gene Tunney]

He never played The Hot Guy, so who cares? He was that rare entity: The Character Actor Leading Man. He didn't age out of playing romantic leads like Cary Grant or just ignore the fact that he was old and wrinkled like Bogart (hello Sabrina) or Stewart (my students never understand why Grace Kelly wants anything to do with him in Rear Window). But you always buy Tracy no matter the film. Put him in any role in any film about any subject set anywhere in any time period, and you're going to get a great performance. He was so good that he became a star. And as he aged, he became one of the great cinematic patriarchs/authority figures, as evidenced by films like Father of the Bride, The Actress, The Last Hurrah, Inherit the Wind, Judgment at Nuremberg, and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Hell, his wise weathered face was so iconic that they made a cartoon out of him.

For what it's worth, Tracy was in my top 5 for the 20's-30's poll. Like Lancaster, he was exceptionally versatile as he aged.

 

[Highway99]

Cary Grant aged out of romantic leads? As in he was no longer believable?

 

[Bullitt68]

For what it's worth, Tracy was in my top 5 for the 20's-30's poll. Like Lancaster, he was exceptionally versatile as he aged.

And it's a credit to Tracy that he was always versatile. He could do comedy, drama, and action; he could do contemporary films and historical films; he could do Westerns, war movies, prison movies, romcoms, melodramas. He could do it all, and at an exceptionally high level.

Cary Grant aged out of romantic leads? As in he was no longer believable?

Yes, famously. It's the reason he retired. He couldn't believe it himself. It's like Liam Neeson announcing he's retiring from action roles. How believable is it watching senior citizens like Clint Eastwood on the big screen and Jonathan Banks on the small screen be these invincible bad asses when they look so frail? Same thing in the romance realm. You can only be the dashing leading man for so long before it gets ridiculous. I love Bogart, but Sabrina is atrocious. Bogart had 30 years on Audrey Hepburn and with his poor health it looked more like he had 50 years on her. And Stewart getting onto the massage table in Rear Window with his old man skin falling off his bony body, it's comical to think that Grace Kelly would want to be with him. Grant at least is THE male movie star and kept his looks for so long that I wouldn't be surprised if he really did make a deal with the Devil to be that handsome, but not even the Devil can beat Father Time.

 

[Highway99]

Yes, famously. It's the reason he retired. He couldn't believe it himself. It's like Liam Neeson announcing he's retiring from action roles. How believable is it watching senior citizens like Clint Eastwood on the big screen and Jonathan Banks on the small screen be these invincible bad asses when they look so frail? Same thing in the romance realm. You can only be the dashing leading man for so long before it gets ridiculous. I love Bogart, but Sabrina is ridiculous. Bogart had 30 years on Audrey Hepburn and with his poor health it looked more like he had 50 years on her. And Stewart getting onto the massage table in Rear Window with his old man skin falling off his bony body, it's comical to think that Grace Kelly would want to be with him. Grant at least is THE male movie star and kept his looks for so long that I wouldn't be surprised if he really did make a deal with the Devil to be that handsome, but not even the Devil can beat Father Time.

Oh yes, he must have found it unbelievable that a younger woman could find him attractive, so unbelievable that he retired and promptly impregnated 27 year old Dyan Cannon.



But you're right the guy was a genetic freak of some kind. He smoked like a chimney for decades, sat in the sun like he was getting paid for it and still looked like this at around 60: