For this week’s Bake, we’ll be sticking with the trivia angle, although I’m switching from music to acting. (Before you run screaming from the room, sit your ass back down. I’ll be offering clues this time, so it should not be as traumatic. And here, take some of my anxiety meds. I’ve got plenty. They give me enough to cause a five-ton elephant to stare at a Pink Floyd album cover for three hours.)
I’ll be presenting photos of actors and actresses in their younger days, and your only duty is to figure out who they are. Some of them will be obvious if you have a keen eye, others not so much. I will then follow the photo with several clues (the exact number will fluctuate depending on my focus level for this project, a caveat that should accompany everything I do). There will be measurable gaps between the photos and each of the clues.
And what do the gaps mean, young grasshoppers? It means you should scroll slowly and not race through the whole mess like a wild boar on crack. (Of course, this is a free country, and you can do whatever you want in your life that proves most satisfying. I’m just giving you an option.)
I should also point out that some of these snaps have been prior victims in the whole Crusty Pie/Past Imperfect mess. So, if you’ve been a somewhat-faithful, long-term reader (and still have basically admirable memory-retention skills), you have a leg up in the challenge. (Where does that “leg up” phrase come from, by the way? I’m sure it has an innocent derivation, but I’ve always thought it seemed a bit ribald. I digress.)
Ready? Here we go…
1.
Bryn Mawr College, 1928
As Eleanor of Aquitaine: “Don’t fret. We’ll wait until you’re dead to do it.”
Spencer Tracy
2.
I was an extra, along with Joan Crawford, who played chorus girls dangling from a chandelier in 1925’s “Pretty Ladies”
Why are they always casting me for Asian parts?
Thin Mints
3.
The woman is Jean Harlow, not our target.
He might have been responsible for what happened one night.
And he certainly doesn’t give a damn, Scarlett.
4.
Bit of a French-sounding last name.
Heathcliff.
Married Vivien Leigh.
5.
Had a son who pled guilty to manslaughter. (Didn’t expect me to go that deep, did you?)
Refused to accept his Best Actor Oscar and sent Sacheen Littlefeather instead.
Coulda been a contender.
6.
No
Wire
Hangers
Ever!
(Is she serious with that cross around her neck? Girl, please.)
7.
He was in the first film to win an Oscar for Best Picture . (Small role, but still.)
He won a Best Actor Oscar for “Sergeant York”.
He won again for “High Noon”.
8.
Miss Jean Brodie
Professor McGonagall
Downton Abbey
9.
Ball of Fire
The Big Valley
Double Indemnity
10.
“I’d like to kiss ya, but I just washed ma hair.”
“But you are, Blanche. You are in that chair.”
“Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy…”
Continuing our recently-minted tradition, do not proceed past the Giant Duck unless you are ready for the answers.
The Cast:
1. Katharine Hepburn
2. Myrna Loy
3. Clark Gable
4. Laurence Olivier
5. Marlon Brando
6. Joan Crawford
7. Gary Cooper
8. Maggie Smith
9. Barbara Stanwyck
10. Bette Davis
Please sound off in the comments concerning your thoughts on the preceding randomness. How many did you get? Do you feel astonishingly old if your got them all? What are your favorite movies that featured these actors? Do you find it shameful that I know so many movie quotes? So many roads to choose. The world is your oyster, shuck it like you meant it…
Cheers.
Categories: Movies
Bonnywood Manor 
I missed numbers 2 and seven. I don’t really have favourite movies with them – I know them because those are the movies of my mom’s generation and I watched many of them with her. She was a difficult person but that was one of our few links.
Fun post. 🙂
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I’m not sure of your particular movie interests, but if I may be so bold to suggest a few for 2 and 7: Myrna is great in the “Thin Man” movies, and for Gary, in addition to the two I mentioned in the hints, perhaps you could try “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town” and “Ball of Fire”…
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Thanks. 🙂
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I did get them all and yes, I do feel incredibly old, damnit!
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We’re not old, we’re vintage. Good to hear from you!
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Despite excellent clues, Lawrence was my only stumper. I just didn’t see him in that photo!
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Admittedly, the Laurence snap was a toughie. But I had to use it once I found it, just to see who would get it. I’m a little mean sometimes… 😉
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I knew 2 until I went past the big duck and then I realised that, of course, I knew them all ;O)
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Everything is always different once you’ve passed a big duck… 😉
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There’s a film in there somewhere 😉
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Love the clues. The hanger gave me Crawford. Olivier stumped me too.
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The expression on Joan’s face and all that hair? The sight of THAT will teach a kid to behave and use the right hangers…
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I got nine out of ten. Kicking myself that I didn’t guess Myrna! I should have done because she has very distinctive eyes.
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To be fair, Myrna looks a bit more Bohemian in that shot than she normally does.But yes, once you figure out the eyes, it gets a little easier…
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Do I get extra points for knowing that it is the seriously underrated Lee Remick with Jack Lemmon at the top?
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Of course! We’ll replace that answer with the Myra bit and say you got a perfect score!
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You are too kind. 🙂
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hah! Guess I don’t recognize many stars from the past. I only got 3 – Katherine, Marlon, & Joan…and I thought #7 was Paul Newman! 🙂
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Me too. Are we SURE #7 isn’t Paul Newman??
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Barbara: Sounds like somebody might need to do a little bit of catching up on late-night movies. Just kidding. I intentionally picked some tricky pics just so it would be more challenging. Thanks for playing!
Melanie: Yep, I’m sure. 😉
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Okay: Others are guessing and putting their guesses right out there for everyone to see and steal…so here’s my (non-stolen) answers: 1. Katharine Hepburn. 2. Ann Pennington? I haven’t a tiny clue. 3. Clark Gable (sorry, the clues made that one easy, the picture? I’d never have guessed). 4.Laurence Olivier 5. Marlon Brando. 6. Joan? Is that YOU??? Gawd. 7. Going with Paul Newman. Those eyes… 8. The incomparable Maggie Smith. 9. Barbara Stanwyck 10. Bette Davis (and wow what a picture. I’d NEVER ever have guessed she was ever that pretty…)
Okay I went past the duck and found I’d only missed TWO. Two and seven. Huh. I never knew Mr. Cooper had such gorgeous peepers, and I never watched much of the work of the second ‘nominee’ up there, so how would I know? I guessed. Wrongly. My bad.
Heh. This was great! Thanks!
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I really like that picture of Gary. (The source movie is 1928’s “First Kiss”.) There’s just a glowing luminosity about it. There’s also a bit of lust-inducement, truth be told. Speaking of, that shot of Marlon? The smoldering look and the arm muscles and the sweat and…
Where was I going next?
Ah, the pic of Bette. She was really quite lovely in her younger days. I couldn’t find any trustworthy info on this photo, but if I had to guess I’d say it’s from the very early 1930s, possibly around the time she was doing “Cabin in the Cotton”, one of her first critically acclaimed performances. And the same movie where she utters the “wash ma hair” line I quoted above…
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I got them all. It was your clues that enabled this Olympian feat, naturally so the Chapeau is to you, maestro, not me 😉
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That’s really sweet, kiss kiss and all, but YOU were part of the inspiration for some of the clues, so now the Compliment Chapeau is back on your saintly head. As for me, I’m scrolling back up to take another gander at that Marlon photo…
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Hurrah! I do love wearing that hat …..
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This is how bad my attention span is, I’ve no idea how many I got, I was enjoying reading your clues too much. I will say that I got Maggie Smith the moment I saw her eyes. Is there any else in the world with those eyes? Also, I’m always thrown when I see Barbara Stanwyck in her younger years. What must her kids back at the ranch think when she poses like that?
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Two things: One, in my youthful days, I always wanted to be the recipient of “oh, those eyes” compliments. I would pose seductively for photos and hope for the best, but the response was usually along the lines of “I take it you eat a lot of cake.” Oh, well. Perhaps that’s why I’m almost always wearing sunglasses in current photos.
Two, I’ve never seen an episode of “The Big Valley”. I know OF it, like the fact that Bea Arthur stole Barbara’s hairdo for her later role in “Maude”, but other than that, nada. Sometimes I completely miss some of those cultural moments. Oh, well.
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Love the B&W pictures, and then I almost went blind when I saw the giant duck again. He needs to be deported to Toronto.
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Yes, I realize that the alarming duck really needs to be sequestered. I just can’t help it… 😉
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Not reading comments, but you’re on. Missed #2 (I’d forgotten Myrna), 7 (I really thought it was James Dean), and had no guess for #10. I’m pretty sure I missed these because I’m just too young to remember them. Uh huh.
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Of course you’re too young. So am I. We are mere babes in the woods, innocent young things gazing in wide-eyed wonder at how some of our (clearly older and should know better) fellow humans behave in such ridiculous ways… 😉
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Ah yes, I see you too are a dreamer.
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I did get them all, but I would’ve been kicked out of the Classic Movie Blog Association if I didn’t, so there’s that.
You chose gorgeous photos, by the way. It’s always hard to concentrate when there’s a photo of a young Gary Cooper in the vicinity, wouldn’t you say?
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I was SO hoping that you would catch this post, relishing what your response might be, and I’m thrilled that you were successful. (If you had stumbled with this one, then I would have failed as an adequate Curator of Celluloid. The shame would have been deep.)
As for Gary’s photo, his beguiling yet seemingly innocent sensuality has indeed distracted me from a blog post or two. Or forty-seven… 😉
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Would have missed Joan Crawford without the clues. Thought #7 was Paul Newman until I read the clues and #10 didn’t have a clue.
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It’s very interesting how many folks didn’t get #10 at all. I guess her performance in “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane” left a long-lasting impression that can’t be erased…
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I’m clearly far too young and the wrong side of the pond to have expected to have done well here. Never heard of Myrna, but wow, what an arresting photo. Got Clark, Marlon, Bette without clues, Laurence and Maggie with clues. Tried to get Grace Kelly out of Barbara. Anyway, THAT was fun. Off now to watch some Gary Cooper films…….
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Yes, it was a bit wretched of me to gear this little exercise toward ancient Americans with too much time on their hands. Perhaps I should do another one with a more international flair?
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