I've only seen Rebel Without a Cause, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Wizard of Oz and Rear Window that any of these people appeared in, I think, and I got 23, so I'm pretty happy. I was trying to remember Marlene Dietrich the whole time - I just kept thinking 'that actress Edith Piaf spoke to in La Vie En Rose'...didn't work
Never heard of Lillian Gish, Jean Harlow and Claudette Colbert were difficult, but I expected Veronica Lake to be in the list. Didn't know Sidney Poitier was acting before 1950.
Jean Harlow was wonderful. She was Marilyn Monroe before Marilyn was, but smarter, trashier and with a bit more chutzpah. And a bit less clothing. It was largely because of her movies that Hollywood started the decency code in 1935 requiring conservatism in dress, language and content. Unfortunately she died at 26 of kidney failure. "Dinner at Eight" is my favorite if you get the chance.
I can't believe that I didn't know them all five years ago. But it's not easy accessing some of their best movies, so there's still a lot of watching for me to do.
That caveat still doesn't hold water. James Dean's first role, credited or uncredited was on a TV series in 1951. He didn't appear in a credited film role until East of Eden in 1955. Audrey Hepburn's first role was in 1951 as well. Poitier's first credited role was in 1950, so he technically doesn't meet the criteria either (it says *before* 1950).
I tried all of those, along with the Barrymores, Joan Fontaine, Theda Bera, Mary Pickford, Donald O'Connor, Clara Bow, Rudolf Valentino, and Gloria Swanson. Lauren Bacall was nominated for an Oscar in 2009, so I didn't think she qualified. Should have tried her anyway.
I'm really stunned at the generally poor performance on this quiz. I guess people don't watch old movies anymore. Only 6/50 were guessed my more than half. It's interesting what people know and what they don't. They know all the flags of Asia but not this. Alas, I missed Brando and Garland.
Surprised to not see Charles Laughton, Ronald Colman or Lionel Barrymore. Especially Colman, who was way ahead of his time. Many performances by what are now screen legends do not age well. Not so for Ronald Colman. If you've never seen "A Tale of Two Cities", do yourself a favor.
And she wasn't a big enough star to expect her to show up here, but she was in a few great movies...June Duprez. Those eyes! And, oh, that voice!!!
I have a copy of Frank Capra's autobiography which helped me remember several of these. Lots of great movies were made in the golden days of Hollywood. They churned out so many pictures back then that I guess a few of them were bound to be memorable.
Stan Laurel? Oliver Hardy? Bud Abbott? Lou Costello? Bela Lugosi? Boris Karloff? Lon Chaney? Once again, AFI proves that they know as much about films as Rolling Stone does about music (in other words, not much).
And this time I found even more holes. John and Lionel Barrymore, Errol Flynn, Douglas Fairbanks... it's like they excluded any sort of adventure, horror, or comedy films (except the Marx Brothers for whatever reason).
I wasn't alive in the 50's, but I appreciate events and people and accomplishments that predated my existence. Thank you, Quizmaster, for this once not treating anything that came before 1950 as irrelevant.
We all have favorites who didn't make the list for some reason. The actress list especially could go on much longer. I agree with your suggestion of the de Havilland sisters and would also like to mention Susan Hayward and Rosalind Russell, but I understand that the list is limited and opinions are many.
Most people remember male actors far more than female. They just had (and have) more and bigger roles. Lillian Gish, but not Douglas Fairbanks from the same era? Claudette Colbert, but no Errol Flynn? Vivien Leigh did one movie she's remembered for. (Streetcar was famously dominated by Brando.) It's definitely more inclusive of famous actresses at 25 apiece.
At least I've heard of all of them. The "legend" is either becoming inaccurate as hardly anyone knows anything they did anymore or apt in that no one has seen them.
I mean, these stars and their movies are from 70, 80, 90 years ago. It's honestly totally understandable that most people alive today aren't really into their movies and haven't heard of them. It's not a shame, it's just a fact of life. Time moves on. I know it's a REALLY unpopular opinion, but I don't really love most older black and white movies. The acting in particular is just hokey to me, and the trans-atlantic accent gets annoying. The movies from back then just don't pull me in like more modern movies.
I disagree that that was the golden age of movies. They were absolutely great for the time and paved the way, but I actually think movies from the 80's and 90's on are much better in just about every way.
Memorizing the lyrics from Madonna's 'Vogue', Billy Joel's 'We didn't start the fire' and The Kinks' 'Celluloid Heroes' got me about half of the answers
I should have scored better. I got 26/50. I was surprised that AFI did not include Olivia de Havilland or Charlton Heston on these lists. Thanks for the quiz!
The Road To Perdition
Cars
http://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/66970/100-greatest-film-performances-of-all-time
Surprised to not see Charles Laughton, Ronald Colman or Lionel Barrymore. Especially Colman, who was way ahead of his time. Many performances by what are now screen legends do not age well. Not so for Ronald Colman. If you've never seen "A Tale of Two Cities", do yourself a favor.
And she wasn't a big enough star to expect her to show up here, but she was in a few great movies...June Duprez. Those eyes! And, oh, that voice!!!
I disagree that that was the golden age of movies. They were absolutely great for the time and paved the way, but I actually think movies from the 80's and 90's on are much better in just about every way.