Hi Alison...Wendy! I’m glad I’m not alone out on the limb with my comment. ( Whew! ) Now I admit, I don't know Alice White; never even heard of her. But I had (
another ) stream-of-cine-consciousness moment. You guys mention Alice, and I think of Pearl White....who makes me think of Edna Purviance...who makes me think of Esther Ralston. ( And there I linger... ) I don't know
WHY my brain does this. My brain has a mind of its own. ( At least my hands don't have a brain of
their own! But that's
another Forum. ) B4 I get kicked to the curb for not sticking to the silents and pre-codes subject matter of this thread, may I take one more moment to talk about Today's successors to the throne of Loy and Dunne and "Ladies Of That Ilk"?
Aspire to Loy and Dunne. Yeah. Exactly. There's that "
A" list of actresses: ( you know...the Bettes, Babsies, Kates & Joanies ) but I'm talking just a little bit below the radar, where you can't see the thespian strings. The Jennifers you mentioned Alison are pretty, but I agree, not weighty at all. And I really like Jennifer Garner too, but... Hey, you know who
is a Jennifer TO look out:
Jennifer Lawrence.
JENNIFER LAWRENCE in "WInter's Bone."
She appeared in
"The Hunger Games" but I
first saw her give a whale of a performance in
"Winter's Bone." I like Geena Davis...and Virginia Madsen, too.
VIRGINIA MADSEN
Madsen was getting a little heat when she did
"Sideways" but then poof, fell off the radar again. ( Her brother
is actor Michael Madsen who, POOF! fell off the wagon again, and just got arrested for a DUI. ) Catherine Keener? YaY!! Yes Wendy!! But listen, she doesn't only do comedies. I've mostly seen her in dramas, and was really scared of her when I saw her in the comedy
"The 40-Year Old Virgin." She's been so daunting in the dramas, when I found out she was going to be in that comedy, I thought she surely would rip Steve Carrell's character a new one...and he'd
never lose his virginity. But she was nice and gentle. No edge in that film. I like her.
I'm thinking of Melissa Leo, my untried and true sister sistuh Angela Bassett, Sigourney Weaver and Glenn Close:
Rachel Weisz is on the young side, but can carry a drama. (
"THE CONSTANT GARDNER" )
RACHEL WEISZ
She was so devastating and destructive to Paul Rudd in
"THE SHAPE OF THINGS" it took my breath away. Every time I saw her thereafter, I hated her. Naaaaah, I don't hate her anymore. She's really good. ( My friend's husband worked with her in a movie called
"CONFIDENCE." )
Ladies who should get more attention ( in MY book ) would be Diane Lane and Laura Linney.
DIANE LANE and
LAURA LINNEY
Diane's been around since she was a kid, but
"THE UNFAITHFUL" opened my eyes. Laura Linney is a cool, serious, blonde, really should have had a shot. The sharp persona but perhaps not playful as Loy & Dunne. I think maybe it's more of
her own choice not to pursue that "movie" career hot and heavy. She's on HBO, I believe, in
"THE BIG C" about a woman battling cancer. Also a denizen of The TheAtre. ( Lah-dee-dah! ) And they both worked with Richard Gere.
I guess I'm really thinking of those actresses who are the big FIVE-OHHHHH or older. I want to see Lorraine Bracco and Kim Basinger and Mimi Rogers back out there...fifty, front and center.
I tried to pick fotos that weren't glammed up, so you would take them ( and me & my picks ) seriously. Alas ( and alack ) I'm talkin' from the cheeeeep seats of my local multi-plex. I don't have the script or money or clout at all to help these actresses, but I like 'em all. And I would pick any one of them in a nanosecond, in a heartbeat over Keira Knightley.
Actually, I
do have an idea about a courtroom drama where...