I posted the following list in another thread on a different forum several months ago. I was always going to post it here but I never did. Last night I had some E-mails that brought the subject to mind again. Now I am ready to hear people vent at me over my selections! Here is a recap of the Top 10 names that I chose, and my initial response. Some people agreed with the list while others did not.
A glaring omission from the group is the name of Mary Duncan! After seeing what remains of Frank Borzage's THE RIVER (1928), I might even be tempted to rate her in the Top 3 or 4? Maybe even Number 1! But Duncan did not look quite the same in F. W. Murna's CITY GIRL, had to check and make sure it was the same lady???
Gagman's Patented Hubba-Hubba Rating's Scale:
TOP TEN SILENT SCREEN BEAUTIES LIST:
1. Corinne Griffith
2. Dorothy Janis
3. Jacqueline Logan
4. Olive Thomas
5. Delores Costello
6. Marceline Day
7. Mary Philbin
8. Esther Ralston
9. Camille Horn
10. Vilma Banky
While they did not make this list, I still like Janet Gaynor, Colleen Moore, Laura La Plante, Lillian Gish, and Jobyna Ralston very much. All of them were exceedingly darling little things! So were Mary Pickford, Clara Bow, Bessie Love, and numerous others. Renee Adoree was perhaps not quite as dainty, but She is still one of my very favorites. Ditto for Eleanor Boardman, Phyllis Haver, Bebe Daniels and so on!
I had tinkered with this list several times before submitting anything. I figured that the final result may raise a few eyebrows? I actually had Marion Davies listed in the top 7 or so at one point. Unfortunately, I had to drop Laura La Plante, and Jobyna Ralston from the Top 10 as well.
Here is a short list of the other Actresses that I was considering. Among those not previously noted, Honorable Mention went to the following:
Jetta Goudal, Marion Nixon, Virginia Lee Corbin, Anita Page, Mary Nolan, Jane Daly, Patsy Ruth Miller, Greta Garbo, Vera Reynolds Dorothy Sebastian, Dorothy Gish, Getrude Olmsted, Mary Miles Minter, Madge Bellamy, Louise Brooks, Olive Bordon, June Collyer, Greta Nissen, Olga Baclanova, Anna Mae Wong, Alice White, Mary Brian, Jeanne Eagels, Kathryn McGuire, Ruth Roland, Evelyn Brent, Madeleine Herlott, Mary Astor, Delores Del Rio, Barbara Kent, Betty Compson, Gloria Swanson, Norma Shearer, Edith Jehanne, and on, and on, and on! Wow! A whole lot of really good looking ladies to be sure!
Last edited by Gagman 66 on June 27th, 2008, 10:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Err, Somehow I knew that Betty Compson would be very high up on your own list! I knew that other list's would look much different than mine did. Thanks much for contributing!
I'm still sticking with Corinne Griffith at Number 1 though! How could you not even mention the lady???
Corinne Griffith Average???? In what Universe??? I know a lot of people who I think will disagree with you heavily? How about Delores Costello? Average? I think not!
I'm afraid that Louise Brooks just doesn't do much for me. In LOVE EM' AND LEAVE' EM' I liked Evelyn Brent better, and Evelyn doesn't look up to par in that film by any means in comparison to how she appeared in UNDERWORLD, THE MATING CALL, or THE LAST COMMAND. And while Evelyn looks great in THE MATING CALL, Renee Adoree was much cuter in the Movie than she was!
Sure, Betty Compson looks Smokin, In THE DOCKS OF NEW YORK I grant you but not all that good in WEARY RIVER. I haven't seen THE BARKER yet, I have seen THE PONY EXPRESS, and while she looks OK, She doesn't just Jump out at you. Dolores Costello in NOAH'S ARK, Dorothy Janis in THE PAGAN, Jacqueline Logan in THE KING OF KINGS, Corrine Griffith in THE DIVINE LADY. now those ladies jump out at you! And How!!!
Corinne Griffith
Renee Adoree
Dolores Del Río
Lillian Gish
Louise Brooks
Esther Ralston
Betty Bronson
Mary Duncan
Greta Garbo
Dolores Costello
Mary Astor
Dorothy Janis
I completely forgot about Marion Davies! In an era when Marion Davies was the standard, Corinne Griffith is very average. I also didn't even consider foreign actresses, like Brigitte Helm...
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and therefore always subjective. To me, certain qualities about a person can make them "beautiful" as much as any physical attribute. That being said....
Lillian Gish
Mary Miles Minter
Mary Philbin
Esther Ralston
Betty Compson
Delores Costello
Mary Pickford
Jobyna Ralston
Carole Lombard (started in silents)
Jean Arthur (started in silents)
Last edited by silentscreen on June 28th, 2008, 6:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Humor is nothing less than a sense of the fitness of things." Carole Lombard
I'll try to put these in some kind of order
Louise Brooks
Greta Garbo
Betty Compson
Clara Bow
Jobyna Ralston
Marion Davies
Marceline Day
Edna Purviance
Pola Negri
Mary Pickford
I do think personality contributes to beauty. To some Mary Pickford or Edna Purviance might be odd choices but they had a spark that made them all the more beautiful.
Carole Lombard and Paulette Goddard. A nod to two other actresses that started in silents and are beauties of the thirties.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
Paulette Goddard was truly stunning in "Modern Times", and Edna in "A Woman of Paris." I almost picked Clara Bow too. She was pure magic in "It." My Mom thought Clara was prettier than Garbo. (Just goes to show how much personality can count with some!)
"Humor is nothing less than a sense of the fitness of things." Carole Lombard
MichiganJ your first two are my first two. The two who truly stand out above the rest, after that Clara is the definite third. The others are interchangeable depending on how I'm feeling at the time.
I made my list, took my daughter to a children's party and though, oh no, I haven't included Joan Crawford or Gloria Swanson although for me Gloria only qualifies with her hair left loose.
Last edited by charliechaplinfan on June 28th, 2008, 1:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
silentscreen wrote:Paulette Goddard was truly stunning in "Modern Times", and Edna in "A Woman of Paris." I almost picked Clara Bow too. She was pure magic in "It." My Mom thought Clara was prettier than Garbo. (Just goes to show how much personality can count with some!)
I think Charlie had a good eye when it came to picking his leading ladies. I almost included Georgia Hale.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
Yes, I have to agree that Charlie had an eye for the ladies. I picked Jean Arthur because to me she exemplifies the modern, intelligent woman, who's always so immaculate too. But she's also funny and has an air of mystery about her. But for pure glamour, there's no one like Carole.
I posted the following list in another thread on a different forum several months ago. I was always going to post it here but I never did. Last night I had some E-mails that brought the subject to mind again. Now I am ready to hear people vent at me over my selections! Here is a recap of the Top 10 names that I chose, and my initial response. Some people agreed with the list while others did not. 
While they did not make this list, I still like Janet Gaynor, Colleen Moore, Laura La Plante, Lillian Gish, and Jobyna Ralston very much. All of them were exceedingly darling little things! So were Mary Pickford, Clara Bow, Bessie Love, and numerous others. Renee Adoree was perhaps not quite as dainty, but She is still one of my very favorites. Ditto for Eleanor Boardman, Phyllis Haver, Bebe Daniels and so on! 
I had tinkered with this list several times before submitting anything. I figured that the final result may raise a few eyebrows? I actually had Marion Davies listed in the top 7 or so at one point. Unfortunately, I had to drop Laura La Plante, and Jobyna Ralston from the Top 10 as well. 
Here is a short list of the other Actresses that I was considering. Among those not previously noted, Honorable Mention went to the following:
Jetta Goudal, Marion Nixon, Virginia Lee Corbin, Anita Page, Mary Nolan, Jane Daly, Patsy Ruth Miller, Greta Garbo, Vera Reynolds Dorothy Sebastian, Dorothy Gish, Getrude Olmsted, Mary Miles Minter, Madge Bellamy, Louise Brooks, Olive Bordon, June Collyer, Greta Nissen, Olga Baclanova, Anna Mae Wong, Alice White, Mary Brian, Jeanne Eagels, Kathryn McGuire, Ruth Roland, Evelyn Brent, Madeleine Herlott, Mary Astor, Delores Del Rio, Barbara Kent, Betty Compson, Gloria Swanson, Norma Shearer, Edith Jehanne, and on, and on, and on! Wow! A whole lot of really good looking ladies to be sure!
Err, Somehow I knew that Betty Compson would be very high up on your own list! I knew that other list's would look much different than mine did. Thanks much for contributing! 
I'm still sticking with Corinne Griffith at Number 1 though! How could you not even mention the lady???
I'm afraid that Louise Brooks just doesn't do much for me. In LOVE EM' AND LEAVE' EM' I liked Evelyn Brent better, and Evelyn doesn't look up to par in that film by any means in comparison to how she appeared in UNDERWORLD, THE MATING CALL, or THE LAST COMMAND. And while Evelyn looks great in THE MATING CALL, Renee Adoree was much cuter in the Movie than she was! 
Sure, Betty Compson looks Smokin, In THE DOCKS OF NEW YORK I grant you but not all that good in WEARY RIVER. I haven't seen THE BARKER yet, I have seen THE PONY EXPRESS, and while she looks OK, She doesn't just Jump out at you. Dolores Costello in NOAH'S ARK, Dorothy Janis in THE PAGAN, Jacqueline Logan in THE KING OF KINGS, Corrine Griffith in THE DIVINE LADY. now those ladies jump out at you! And How!!! 
