Myrna Loy

[ClassyCo]

Does Myrna Loy not have her own thread? I could've sworn one was out there somewhere, but I must be misremembering her being mentioned in other discussions for her having one of her own.

I suppose I can classify myself as a casual fan of Myrna Loy. I've liked her in the first two THIN MAN movies, WIFE VS. SECRETARY and LIBELED LADY, but to my knowledge, I haven't seen her in anything else. She started out playing "ethnic" vamps, but went on to have a long, successful career on the screen.

Any fans of Myrna Loy?

 

[Crimson]

I'll bite.

Yes, big fan of Myra Loy; probably in my top 10 favorite Golden Age actresses. It's a travesty that she was never even nominated for a competitive Oscar. But, also, understandable. Loy was the most understated actress of her generation. Even Claudette Colbert's shrewd underplaying was more obvious than Loy's wry, lowkey acting. In an age when great dramatic acting was generally theatrical and comic acting was often manic, Loy was easy to overlook. It's also the reason why I think her work looks even better in retrospect. Many of her peers' work, to the modern eye, can look overdone and antiquated, but Myrna's work remains fresh.

Lots of great movies in her filmography, but my favorite is the underrated and relatively obscure LOVE CRAZY (1941), which is more slapsticky than her other films with William Powell.

 

[ClassyCo]

top 10 favorite Golden Age actresses.

Side note, but do you want to share your list for us curious minds?

 

[ClassyCo]

Myrna Loy interviewed by Dick Cavett:

 

[Crimson]

Side note, but do you want to share your list for us curious minds?

Since I don't feel like giving myself a headache by ranking these or weeding out the extra 4, I'll just say these are my favorites of the 1930s-1950s. I generally enjoy their work, even in lesser films; although that's not 100%, since Hepburn and Crawford have performances I dislike. That's in contrast to actresses like Davis, Leigh or Hayward who I sometimes I love but I'm otherwise indifferent to.

• Barbara Stanwyck
• Claudette Colbert
• Gene Tierney
• Gloria Grahame
• Jane Russell
• Joan Crawford
• Katherine Hepburn
• Linda Darnell
• Lucille Ball
• Marlene Dietrich
• Maureen O'Hara
• Myrna Loy
• Olivia De Havilland
• Paulette Goddard

I'd be interested in seeing yours (when I next pop on).

 

[ClassyCo]

Since I don't feel like giving myself a headache by ranking these or weeding out the extra 4, I'll just say these are my favorites of the 1930s-1950s. I generally enjoy their work, even in lesser films; although that's not 100%, since Hepburn and Crawford have performances I dislike. That's in contrast to actresses like Davis, Leigh or Hayward who I sometimes I love but I'm otherwise indifferent to.

• Barbara Stanwyck
• Claudette Colbert
• Gene Tierney
• Gloria Grahame
• Jane Russell
• Joan Crawford
• Katherine Hepburn
• Linda Darnell
• Lucille Ball
• Marlene Dietrich
• Maureen O'Hara
• Myrna Loy
• Olivia De Havilland
• Paulette Goddard

I'd be interested in seeing yours (when I next pop on).

This is an impressive list, and I must admit, it includes some surprises for me. I appreciate you sharing it, and I will get back to you with mine.

 

[ClassyCo]

@Crimson

Like you, I don't want to take the time to actually rank these actresses. I'll stick to the same time frame as yours list as well -- the 1930s through the 1950s. I squeezed a couple more into my list, though, just because I couldn't narrow them down much more than what I did.

In no particular order, here are my top favorites:

• Bette Davis
• Joan Crawford
• Katharine Hepburn
• Jean Harlow
• Greta Garbo
• Barbara Stanwyck
• Betty Grable
• Linda Darnell
• Judy Garland
• Rita Hayworth
• Marilyn Monroe
• Doris Day
• Jane Russell
• Audrey Hepburn
• Elizabeth Taylor
• Esther Williams
• Debbie Reynolds

Since I didn't really rank them, I tried my best to divide them by decade of highest prominence. If I were to actually think about and rank these ladies, I know the list would be quite different. I might do that one day, but this is what we'll go with for now.