The images in this post all come from the 1930 Stars of the Photoplay hardcover book published by Photoplay magazine. The cost of the book, which has individual portraits of 250 stars, sold for $1.25! Under each portrait is a brief bio, at least up to 1930, so double-click on the images for a larger size. Enjoy.
Ronald Colman
Warner Baxter
William Powell
John Loder
Kenneth McKenna
Ralph Forbes
Rod La Rocque
Conrad Nagel
Edmund Lowe
Gilbert Roland
John Boles
John GilbertSo what do you think - Men and Mustaches - Alluring?
11 comments:
It's a strange look, but particularly suiting to the right face. I think it especially works with Gilbert and Flynn (who isn't included). They just feel naked with it.
I do agree it works on the right face, or we are accustomed to seeing those faces in that way. I just find it interesting how many donned the look, both stars and second tier actors. And Flynn didn't make his first picture until 1933, so he didn't make the "cut" for this 1930 publication :-)
Very alluring. It is interesting that once it somehow became the fashion, everybody jumped on the bandwagon, seen on both heroes and bad guys.
did you track down which actor started the craze? My money would be on Colman.
While he's far from the best actor in this array, Gilbert Roland has to have been one of the handsomest male stars ever. And a ladykiller too. I saw him a few months ago in "The Bullfighter and the Lady," made when he was in his 40s I guess, and lord he was sex appeal personified.
I also see two lesser consorts of greater stars, Loder (Hedy Lamarr) and Mackenna (who seems to have treated Kay Francis quite badly).
Campaspe, I will have to do a little more research to see who was first, but I guess I should also mention in fairness that while it seemed every actor was sporting a mustache at the time, there were many profiled in the same 1930 edition of Stars of the Photoplay that were clean shaven. These include: Lew Ayres, John(ny) Mack Brown, Cary Cooper, Ricardo Cortez, Richard Dix, Neil Hamilton, Ben Lyon, Regis Toomey, Rudy Vallee, Richard Arlen, Robert Armstrong, and Charles Farrell.
Comparing the two lists, with a few exceptions, I think the mustachioed group clearly wins as far as name above the title and staying power goes.
Of course in one of my favorite Ronald Colman roles, Sydney Carton in 1935's A Tale of Two Cites, he is mustache free. But in 1947's A Double Life, its back in all its glory.
Thanks for putting in some men to look at!
I wonder, why are these guys staring so intently into the camera? I can't tell if they are constipated or just had an enema! What's with the dark circles under their eyes?
Coleman has Allure with or without a mustache....something about his grin.
Baxter - shave him
Powell - looks no Allure - persona - he was loaded with it
Loder - shave him
McKenna - silly mustache
Forbes - ditto - raccoon eyes
LaRocque - no allure in this photo
Nagel - he looks like a convict
Lowe - looks like a psycho doctor
Roland - shave and get rid of the part in his hair, then he'd have it
Boles - Mustache actually helps him! What is his left eye looking at?
Gilbert - shaved better - great smile!
Wonder how these guys would look in HD and in color. I did notice that they are all way too skinny.
Fun
I liked this post so much that I had to write my own about mustaches in general and early 1920's film star David Powell's in particular. His experience was that the audience interpreted his characters as villains, even though they weren't, solely because of the mustache! I translated the quote from a Swedish film magazine from 1920, so the English might be a bit weird.
On Mustaches
As for the gentlemen in this post, I'm especially happy to see Gilbert Roland with a mustache. I have always liked him, but he was such a babyface in the 20's - the mustache makes him look more manly!
Gilbert & Roland - hotcha! =D
Jennifer ^_^
It's Ronald COLMAN. Like it says right on the picture.
COLMAN. Not Coleman. COLMAN.
COLMAN!!!
Just kind of a pet peeve of mine. :-)
Ron, Thanks for pointing it out, I guess my total perfection took another hit. :-)
Absolutely! I love men with the pencil moustaches!!
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