28 Comments »

1. Bob Turnbull says; December 11, 2008 @ 6:14 am

   Yeah, well I left out Vitti, Adjani, Karina and Tierney. Argh. Not to mention Irene Jacob, Alfre Woodard, Isabelle Huppert, etc., etc. And I really need to see more of Fenech’s films - geez she’s lovely.

   That was fun searching for the right pictures though. I’m gonna give a shot at an actors list too.

2. Jonathan Lapper says; December 11, 2008 @ 7:22 am

   Great list Kimberly. As I look through these and see many of the same faces I would pick it’s nice to see ones that I would probably have forgotten about had I done lead actresses. And then I would have kicked myself. Like Glenda Jackson. I just know I would have forgotten to put her on the list but I love her work so much. And Genevieve Bujold. I know she didn’t make your list proper but she did get an honorable mention, so to speak, and I love her work too.

   Finally, I like that you and I both have a penchant for making photos in a post uniform in shape and size. It just looks better to me.

3. Vincent says; December 11, 2008 @ 7:57 am

   Homeric !
   What a beautiful collection. I love the Deborah Kerr picture and it is so nice to put the great Miss Fenech here. Well, i think i have to do semething about this.

4. Rick says; December 11, 2008 @ 8:13 am

   Kimberly, what an impressive collection; I’m especially impressed by Adjani and Vitti. And what a great choice is Caroll Baker! Those all-American good looks get me every time.

   I like this meme … everybody’s lists have actresses I wish I’d chosen.

5. cinebeats says; December 11, 2008 @ 11:11 am

   Bob - Finding pictures I wanted to use was the best part! I had to resize and fix up a bunch of the pics I selected in Photoshop but I do that a lot. I don’t think people often realize how much time I spend restoring old photos and movie posters, etc. It’s fun to do but time consuming. I couldn’t find a picture of Meiko I liked for example so I had to create the one above and it took me a good 45+ minutes to do it. Next week it will be featured as my “image of the week” on my site.

   Jonathan - I suspect we would share some classic Hollywood ladies in common. Glenda Jackson is fabulous. She’s the only actresses I know of that could go head-to-head with Oliver Reed and that’s saying something! I regret not listing Bujold now, but limiting this to 20 is just crazy. Glad you liked the photos and my layout. I tend to enjoy playing with shapes and images in my blog so naturally I decided to follow suit with this.

   Vincent - I’m glad you enjoyed the photos, Vincent! That picture of Kerr is a favorite of mine as well. I hope you’ll share your own list of favorites too.

   Rick - Thanks! It’s nice to see another Baker fan. I don’t know if anyone’s listed her yet but I really think she is an amazing actress and she had such a varied and interesting career.

6. Flickhead says; December 11, 2008 @ 1:03 pm

   A great line-up, Kimberly…but it was difficult getting beyond that blinding, stunning shot of Liz Taylor!

   I believe Liz called Ava the most beautiful actress in Hollywood… she may have been right!

   Thanks for remembering Delphine.

   And Isabelle Adjani is… well… perfect.

7. Vanwall says; December 11, 2008 @ 1:34 pm

   Wow! Not only a great list, but you win the picture contest hands down! The eyes have it - lambent and large all around here, too. Lovely, lovely images, and some of the best shots of a few of those ladies that ever were taken; you got my favorite Liz Taylor shot right off the bat, what a hook! As with most of these lists, tho, I’d have to add Louise Brooks, regardless of era. This meme has some great lists, but this one is cherse!

8. cinebeats says; December 11, 2008 @ 2:02 pm

   Flickhead - Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed the pics. That shot of Liz is a knock out. She looks like she’s devouring the photographer with her eyes. Ava is undoubtedly one of the most gorgeous women ever captured on camera. I love her chin! She has the most perfect heart shaped face imaginable. I recently watched her in one of her later roles and I plan on writing about the film soon since I really like it, but it’s amazing how well she aged. She still looked fabulous at 50!

   Vanwall - I’m glad you liked the list and enjoyed the images. Is there anything better than glamour photography? I can look at images like these for hours! I do love Louise Brooks and she was fabulous in the two films I’ve seen her in (Pandora’s Box and Diary of a Lost Girl), but in all honesty I’m not as familiar with her and her work as I’d like to be. I’m sure more of her films are more easily available now so I should make a point of seeking them out.

9. Will E. says; December 11, 2008 @ 9:49 pm

   Recently I’ve caught Susannah York in a couple movies–Images and The Silent Partner–and realized she’s fantastically gorgeous and talented. To think for years I only knew her from Superman! And Mia Farrow c. Rosemary’s Baby, when she looked “like a piece of chalk,” I believe was the description. And her later work in Husbands and Wives is some of the greatest acting I’ve ever seen.

10. Peter Nellhaus says; December 11, 2008 @ 10:51 pm

    I think everyone participated as that sense of leaving someone worthy out of their list. I should see more films with Meiko Kaji. I did like the first “Lady Snowblood” film, the second not as much. Thanks for playing. As for me being a nice guy . . .

11. Tim Lucas says; December 12, 2008 @ 2:04 am

    Bless you for including Delphine Seyrig, Deborah Kerr, Monica Vitti and Meiko Kaji, all of whom would certainly be among my own choices. Interesting how many people are picking Isabelle Adjani — she appeals to me, but it’s hard to pick out a definitive performance.

    I was tempted to prepare one of these lists without getting tagged, if only to put the name and face of Irène Jacob out there, but nearly had a meltdown just wondering if Françoise Hardy qualified with her cameo in CLEO FROM 5 to 7.

    I hope you have a wonderful holiday season, Kimberly! Keep up the sublime work!

12. Chris Filip says; December 12, 2008 @ 3:32 am

    All the ladies great!
    I add to the list - Marisa Mell and her green eyes !

13. Jeremy says; December 12, 2008 @ 9:43 am

    Wonderful list Kimberly and such great images. Flickhead tagged me and I ended up doing it twice as I wasn’t happy with my first list…not surprisingly we have several cross overs. Quality work as always…

14. Vicar of VHS says; December 12, 2008 @ 10:22 am

    Wow, what a stunning collection! Great stuff! You hit most of my faves there, though I would add Lauren Bacall and Rosalba Neri (aka Sara Bey). Still, no complaints with this list. You definitely WIN. :)

15. cinebeats says; December 12, 2008 @ 11:13 am

    Will - Susannah York is a terrific actress! I haven’t seen Silent Partner, but I think she’s great in Images. I just watched They Shoot Horses Don’t They? again recently and I had forgotten how great she was in that film but I highly recommend it if you’re a York fan.

    Peter - Personally I prefer Meiko in the Jailhouse and Stray Cat films, but I can watch her in anything and everything. Since you’re not really a nice guy I will blow you off the next time you tag me for a meme!

    Tim - Thanks so much! This was incredibly hard to do and I’m still questioning some of my selections. I’m glad you enjoyed some of my less popular choices. I have yet to see Deborah Kerr on anyone else’s list, but I adore her. I personally love the way Adjanai manifests madness. Her roles in Adele H., Possession and Camille Claudel are her real defining moments for me.

    I’m not all that familiar with Irène Jacob’s work so thanks for name dropping her. If you want to share any of her defining moments in film please do so I can search them out.

    I’m not sure if Hardy would make my actress list but she would undoubtedly make my my chanteuse list! On a side note, I just have to say once again that I absolutely love Cleo From 9 to 7 and Corinne Marchand is lovely to watch as well.

    Last but not least, happy holidays to you and yours!

    Chris - Marissa is fabulous! I considered adding her, but much like Rachel Welch, she’s more like pure eye-candy to me. So far I haven’t seen her really show her acting chops. Of course some people might argue that a few of the ladies above are pure eye candy and to them I say - you clearly need to see more of their movies!

    Jeremy - Thanks! I’ll have to give your list of 40 a lookover. I should have done a list of 40 myself, but I would have been doing this for a week and no doubt have a migraine by now. I suspect we’ll share some crossover choices.

    Vicar - Thanks for stopping by and I’m glad you liked the list. Bacall and Neri are terrific. Clearly I think we can all agree that selecting a mere 20 out of a sea of lovely & talented actresses, is just madness!

16. Marilyn says; December 12, 2008 @ 12:22 pm

    Kimberly - This is a fine list, with very fine pictures that define glamor, and a great reflection of your particular sensibilities. There are a number of women you listed that I certainly would have liked to have list if I hadn’t stuck with the external and internal rules I set for myself. Ava, Ann-Margret, and Sophia were all in contention. My husband loves, loves, loves Carroll Baker, by the way.

17. cinebeats says; December 12, 2008 @ 4:14 pm

    Thanks Marilyn! This was incredibly hard to do and I struggled through it. I’m looking forward to seeing your own list.

18. Kotto says; December 12, 2008 @ 6:06 pm

    my blog’s list was based simply on best performance, although if i had to do one listing my favorite faces i’d have to put rita hayworth, cyd charisse and grace kelly at or near the top.

    btw, love the website.

19. Neil says; December 12, 2008 @ 6:49 pm

    I’m currently living in fear that someone will tag me on this, or worse fear that someone already has and I didn’t notice.

    So, I won’t be taking up your open invitation or anyone else’s (hypothetical) invitation.

    But your list is terrific. I can’t think of many I’d choose that wouldn’t be among the 28 actresses you chose or mentioned. I’m glad folks like you are here making the effort on things like this to draw some people’s attention.

20. Film Walrus says; December 14, 2008 @ 12:47 am

    I’d have picked up the meme and done my own list if it weren’t basically exactly the same as yours! Great glamour photos too!

21. Keith says; December 16, 2008 @ 7:52 am

    Hey Kimberly. Wow! What a great list. You made some outstanding choices. Those were some beautiful pictures of those amazing women. I’m a big fan of those. I enjoyed checking out your post. I did one of those myself over at my Sugar & Spice blog. I had the worse time narrowing it down to 20. There were plenty I had to leave off. Again what a fantastic list.

22. Vanessa says; December 17, 2008 @ 8:09 am

    Interesting choices! What beautiful pictures!!! Especially that of Brigitte Bardot…

23. Eelko says; December 18, 2008 @ 3:13 pm

    Fabulous photos indeed! You made a fine selection. I can imagine it’s difficult to choose.
    But what about…. Tippi Hedren?? I think she’s amazing in ‘The Birds’ and especially ‘Marnie’! I guess this is an odd choice in the view of many, but I think Hitchcock knew what he was doing casting this captivating woman!

24. Jim Flannery says; December 18, 2008 @ 3:33 pm

    Re: Jacob, it’s hard to find a better starting point than The Double Life of Veronique.

25. cinebeats says; December 18, 2008 @ 4:20 pm

    Thanks for the continued comments, everyone!

    Koto - My own picks are based on acting chops as well, but the women above also happen to have lovely faces I enjoy watching too. Picking actresses based on one singular performance that I admired would be really tough since that list could be endless! As for Rita and Cyd, I really like them both and they’re lovely, but they’re not favorites. I’m afraid that Grace Kelly does absolutely nothing for me. I find her incredibly boring to watch, but I know I’m in the minority.

    Neil - I’m so damn sick of memes that I’m not sure I’ll ever do one again, even if someone nice like Peter asks me to.

    Keith - I enjoyed your list as well and we share some similar favorites. This was ridiculously hard to do!

    Vanessa - Thanks!

    Eelko - This was tough. I like Tippi a lot and I think she’s an underrated actress who didn’t make enough good films. But my favorite Hitchcock blond is Kim Novak and she’s on my list. Of course Novak was also in a lot of great films and I just adore her natural sexiness, vulnerability and style.

    Jim - Thanks for the suggestion! I’ve heard a lot of good things about The Double Life of Veronique. but I’ve never seen it.

26. Dr Orlof says; December 24, 2008 @ 12:43 pm

    Beautiful list! I choosed Gene, Ava, Anna, Barbara too! Natalie Wood : good choice…

27. Piper says; January 17, 2009 @ 10:26 am

    Wonderful pictures. I just love Charlotte Rampling and that’s a great photo.

28. Nicole says; February 4, 2009 @ 1:28 pm

    You did such a wonderful job in unifying this collection of glamour shots. I think Kim Novak, Monica Vitti and Fenech would be at the top for me, but I definitely would have included Elke Sommer, too.

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