"Classic" actors - all they really that great?

Question

Examples - John Wayne, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, James Dean, to name a few - if they were young and living today would they be as good as they have been immortalized to be?

Answer 1

I don't know about James Dean, he did very few films and died young but Bette Davis was a masterful actor. Watch some of her films, she did quite a variety for a long time.
It was a different era then so it's pretty unfair to compare those actors with todays.
Every era has their "great" actors, Davis, Crawford, Wayne are just a few from then.

Answer 2

THis is a great question.
I do like movies of today, as long as it catches my interest and there are actors/actresses in it I like.

I do like the older films of the 40's and 50's. I can't explain it really, just pleasant I guess. The movies back then wasn't always nice, and innocent, but I guess just the way they were done is much better than today.
I know we have cgi and all that, which is cool.
The Sky Captain of the World of Tomorrow was good. yea it has all the cgi effects and everything, but it really reminded me of the films from the 40's and 50's. THere are very few films that can do that.
Jude Law, he has such a Cary Grant air to him, he could of easily been an actor back hten and fit in.

Its hard to say, because all the actors you mentioned were very good, but they also had their own thing.
James Dean totally love him, been a fan forever, but I couldn't really picture him in anyhing today. Hate to see him in some coming of age film today......
Maybe Better Davis would be good in films today.....

Answer 3

It's a profession, nothing more, nothing less. Some are good at what they do and some are not. First it's a matter of what kind of movies you like and second, who do you think plays the rolls to your liking. Enjoyed the Duke because of the story lines and the supporting cast. Crawford, Davis and Dean were overrated. The longer their dead, the bigger the legend becomes.

Answer 4

John Wayne: Racist by today's standards.

Joan and Bette: Pain the the butts

James Dean: Bi-sexual.

Great? I don't consider actors to be great. Just another profession.

Answer 5

john wayne probably not, because he was mostly a western actor and didnt have a lot of variation. but the others you listed, definitely. James Dean would compare favorably to someone like Johnny Depp or Brad Pitt. A pretty face who is also a damn good actor

Answer 6

Don't confuse "actors" with "movie stars" - they're just not the same animal, as evidenced by some of the abysmally untalented but mega Hollywood stars like Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise.

But it's a good question, because it focuses on the importance of TIMING, in an actor's career.

All the names you mentioned...particularly Dean's...are inextricably bound to the era in which they lived. And they are all ICONS of their eras, eternally fixed in our minds as bigger-than-life. So I don't think your question can really be answered...

John Barrymore was haled as the greatest Shakespearean actor of his time, but if you watch his filmed performances now, they scream out : "WATCH ME! I AM ACTING!"

How could he be a success in today's emotionally stripped-down style?

Answer 7

Yeah I think most are. Back then you had to act. They didn't have the CGI & Special FX technalogy that they have now. Most actors now just have to show up. lol

Answer 8

Hollywood culture has adapted, and they'd have had to adapt along with it. I think they'd have a chance of fitting in.

Answer 9

yes they would bed as good if not better then some of today

Answer 10

of course.