5. ERROL FLYNN (1909-1959)
I think the problem I have with Errol Flynn is I do not care much for the swashbuckler type film that he was famous for in the late 1930s and early 1940s. He was the bad boy Russell Crowe of his day, but I just could never get into Flynn. His personal life and problems I think were much more interesting than any film he ever made.
4. JAMES DEAN (1931-1955)
This may be a controversial view to have, but I feel that actor James Dean was famous because he died. I do not think he would have had the staying power to make it in Hollywood. Yes, he made four popular films, but I still prefer other actors of his day like Paul Newman and Steve McQueen much more. Dean had a look that is forever frozen in time because of his death. He had the look, but I did not see the ability so much.
3. VICTOR MATURE (1913-1999)
Again, I feel that Victor Mature was another actor who made it because of his looks. He made some interesting movies and some pretty bad movies. Has anyone ever seen "Red,Hot,And Blue"(1949) with Mature and Betty Hutton - a real stinker of a movie. As Mature aged, he kept his looks for most of his life but his movie career basically ended by the 1960s. He was perfect person to play Samson in "Samson And Delilah"(1949) with Susan Hayward, but I could not see Victor Mature playing Hamlet.
2. WARREN BEATTY (born 1937)
I have seen interviews through the years that Warren Beatty has done, and personally I just do not like the man. I have tried to sit through a Warren Beatty movie - everything from "Bonnie And Clyde" (1967) to "Dick Tracy"(1990), and I just can not do it. Beatty looks like he does not care what the audiences think. A lot of people flocked to his movies back in the day, but he has been mostly retired since 2000. Maybe it's for the best, if his personality is anything I think it is like - he probably does not want to be viewed as an aging actor who once made it big in tinsel town.
1. RICHARD BURTON (1925-1984)
There are people I see in my every day life that make my skin just itch. Richard Burton is one of those people on the screen who when I see him, I feel dirty and have to itch. Burton just looks simply dirty to me. Even just seeing him on film, I picture his breath smelling like the dinner and booze he had the night before. There has never been a movie I have been able to sit through with him in it. Like many of the stars I picked for the list, Burton was very popular in Hollywood, and his marriage to Elizabeth Taylor was more legendary than any movie he made. However, I do not understand his appeal. Yes, he was British but there were much better British actors out there from Laurence Olivier to James Mason. That is why I picked Richard Burton as the most overrated actor I know...
Any comments...opinions...additions to the list?
I agree with your comments on Dean. However, Burton did some great work in the 60s, along with some dreck. Wonderful in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and I like him in Beckett and The Night of the Iquana. Too often he is bombastic though. I'm not sure anyone thinks that highly of Mature or Beatty as actors though, so I don't know if one could consider them over-rated. Mature was self-effacing about his talent. But Beatty strikes me as someone very full of himself.
ReplyDeleteMy list was not scientific at all. I agree with you about Mature and Beatty - I think I considered them overrated due to their draw on audiences. They sold movie tickets in their day!
ReplyDeleteH'm. I'm on board with Beatty and Dean, and on the fence about Burton.
ReplyDeleteI disagree about Flynn and Mature. In fact, far from being overrated I think both are rather underrated as actors. For Flynn I would cite the panache and intelligence he brought to the action roles and his work in "The Dawn Patrol". Victor Mature could bring it in the right circumstances such as "Cry of the City", "My Darling Clementine" and "Kiss of Death".
Totally agreed Errol Flynn was underrated. If you watch him in the Thank You Lucky Star as cameo, you will see he could sing and dance. And as a fun-loving guy, he was a natural comedian. But he was typecast and never had chance to develop his potential. His fencing coach Ralph Faulkner stated, "Many people underrated Errol ... but he never failed to amaze me. In those days, he had a memory like an elephant... The way his brain worked and the way he handled himself with a sword, made it clear to me there was more to him than met the eye. There'll never be another quite like him." According to Faulkner, Errol made those hard fencing scenes look easy.
DeleteExcept for Burton, the other four actors were rarely given challenging roles (and Dean wasn't around long enough to get a chance at being versatile). That said, there's no doubt Burton did squander his talent.
ReplyDeleteI say your list is solid.
Also, like Mature and Beatty, Tony Curtis had his particular draw on moviegoers way back when, so he could be considered overrated, too.
I think where this list will be challenged is the exact definition of "overrated". I considered overrated by the movies they made and yet the draw they had.
ReplyDeleteI flirted with putting Tony Curtis on the list, but he made some great roles in The Defiant Ones and Some Like It Hot.
he was also along with Lancaster brilliant in Sweet Smell of Success
DeleteI agree on all but Richard Burton. Completely disagree on your #1 pick. How about Peter O'Toole (major ham)?
ReplyDeleteI have to say, too, that I'm not sure Errol Flynn or Victor Mature are at the top of anyone's list as great actors...so are they really over-rated?
Like I said before, I do not think anyone thinks that Victor Mature is a great thespian, but his movies were overrated in that they made tons of money for the studio.
ReplyDeleteDavid, I always enjoy reading these kinds of list. Actually, I think Flynn was underrated--he was highly versatile, having done swashbucklers, comedies, war films, Westerns, and drama. He gave some fine performances, too, as in THE FORSYTE WOMAN. Until he started slumming in the late 1960s, I think Burton was one of the best actors of his generation.
ReplyDeleteI am soooo glad to see your post. Although I don't agree with you re: Burton's acting, I completely agree with you about the others, especially in regards to Beatty.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post and I'm looking forward to seeing more viewpoints.
P.S. Tony Curtis - absolutely love him in "The Sweet Smell of Success". I think he shows amazing talent in that film.
I agree vehemently with all 5. Perhaps especially Dean. He mumbled and stumbled and his performance in Giant was pathetic. His popularity astounds me!! To dress and play the part of a mumble mouth punk--takes NO talent at all. If one cannot be understood, one has failed the most fundamental aspect of acting.
DeletePeople always grow larger than life with an early death. It happens over and over again
DeleteI very much like the idea of your list.
ReplyDeleteIn the case of Errol Flynn, I've only seen three of his films, so I can't really agree or disagree with you.
We'll never know with James Dean. I enjoyed the three films he did make, though.
I like Victor Mature, so I disagree with you about him.
Beatty, I agree with you wholeheartedly. I don't like the man at all. I've read a few things that he was mentioned in, and he just seems very pompous to me. Maybe I'm wrong, and perhaps he's a very decent fellow, but he's not my cup of tea.
I've only seen one picture with Richard Burton in it, and that was Staircase (1969). I really enjoyed that picture. So I don't really know if he was overrated or not.
Like I said, love your idea.
I have a overrated actress list I may do next month - which may get me blacklisted among classic movie fans...
ReplyDeleteWow. I thought I was the only one in the world who wasn't completely enthralled with James Dean. He's ok looking and all, but I've never cared for his movies, and have also read he was a colossal ass. Not a fan of Beatty either.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to read your actress list....
Born in the early 1960's, Errol Flynn was probably the number one Hollywood icon to myself and my friends. John Wayne was big, but Flynn seemed larger than Hollywood itself. He represented everything that Hollywood seemed to be then, and most certainly surpassed what Hollywood has dwindled to today. To this day, I still do searches for his movies on TCM Classics (John Wayne too), and I basically can care less about most of today's leading actors. I will NEVER entertain the notion that he was a top five overrated actor // Tom C.
ReplyDeleteTotally agreed with you. Errol Flynn, if anything, was underrated, never overrated. He was so frustrated for not being appreciated as an actor, which was a great source of his unhappiness. I don't know how much this reviewer knows about Flynn. Even as an individual Flynn was underrated. He had more depth than people understood. His autobiography is the best place to know him. I must say I love him never blindly but as an educated fan.
DeleteI feel that James Dean could have surpassed any actor ---dead or alive, and besides maybe you should do your homework. He starred in only "3" movies,and out of those three he was nominated for best actor for 2 of them,posthumously. No one has ever done that before or after. One thing I do agree with most of you that off screen he may have been a complete asshole, but we are not judging him for that. His acting ability was almost genius--I'm sure most of you will disagree with my opinion,but that's (O.K.). Here's a kid that came from a no where place in the midwest, pursued his craft,and hit it bigtime.Paul Newman & Steve McQueen were two of my favorites,and I still enjoy waching their movies.They were all cut from the same cloth.
ReplyDeleteRebel without a cause is with out a doubt the most overated pile of shit ever lol.. It was only viewed as good or as popular as it was because he died right before it came out . Rebel? Lol his character was just a typical goofy dorky teen who had no friends moving to a new place and was targeted by bullies .
DeleteI totally disagree on Errol Flynn. If anything, I believe him to be underrated. Errol was way more than a swashbuckler actor. As great of a hero role, Errol could play a villain equally as well. Errol was a natural born actor and one that could out-flank any of the actors of today! Just watch a Flynn film and you will understand.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you on all of these especially James Dean. He acted like a child in my opinion. I have seen all 3 movies he made and the only one I can tolerate is Rebel without a cause but the rest I can't stand. I doubt he would be huge if he lived, he didn't have talent like Clark Gable and Cary Grant.
ReplyDeleteErrol Flynn was underrated actor. He could be a great comedy actor with his natural wit and fun-loving personality. He was so easy on the eyes that might make people think he was merely a star. But he had depth, the real depth, as an intellectual. Hopefully, people will learn about him first before they judge him, since he has been haunted, even now, by a sensational and irresponsible press.
ReplyDeleteWhoever made this list must be super old. Most people alive today have no idea who any of these people are. Try making an updated list. One with people who are still alive & acting today
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, this blog is dedicated to classic Hollywood - not modern Hollywood. Hence the name "A Trip Down Memory Lane" and for your info I am 40.
ReplyDeleteBurton did some wonderful movies: 'The Spy Who Came In From the Cold,' 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' are two examples. And he did 'Boom!' and 'Exorcist II' two pieces of kak. As far as James Dean is concerned. All of his roles can be summed up in one sentence. "Inarticulate punk plays inarticulate punk
ReplyDeleteErrol Flynn was the original Bad A$$ on and off the screen.
ReplyDeleteAs for Dean he struck deep emotions in his performances that you obviously couldn't fathom. Another thing not only did Dean get the Tony on Broadway, he was considered for Steiger's role in "Oaklahoma", but he was too lean. Burton had good diction in "Shrew". Beattys Clyde was a likeable anti hero. Tony Curtis was a real Bad A$$ of the 40's along with James Coburn and Audie Murphy from WW2, not J. Wayne who didn't even sign up.
Richard Burton was an immensely gifted thespian with his best performance being i Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf. The guy was oscar nominated seven times. So unless you hate him for other reasons other than acting you don't have a logical explanation to say he's overrated. In fact they underrated him so much that despite being nominated many times they never gave him a statuette.
ReplyDeleteBurton was not popular in Hollywood.
DeleteRobert Redford has to be on there,he acts like the camera is on him all the time,real dud of an actor.
ReplyDeleteRichard burton was a great actor and many have under rated such as yourself.
ReplyDeleteI never got the James Dean thing. He was awful! A ham! I loved "East of Eden" only because of Raymond Massey. As for Errol Flynn, very under rated. I loved his moves. Can't say much about Burton as I have not seen his work. And Warren Beatty? Give me a break. He comes off as a jerk and has no talent whatsoever!
ReplyDeleteJust watched the 1949 movie, Samson and Delilah, directed by Cecil B DeMille and starring Victor Mature and Hedy Lamarr, not Susan Hayward, as you listed above. The movie was followed by a mini bio on Victor Mature. In this short recap of his movies and later life, the narrator commented on how Mature himself made fun of his limited acting ability. So perhaps were he alive today, he would agree with your assessment including him on your list of five.
ReplyDeleteIt is always amusing when someone likes to reduce lions to fleas, especially in the case of Dean and Beatty. Unfortunately, I believe your Republicanism
ReplyDeletemay be showing.
Michael Douglas. Period. He's been thrown nothing but softballs because of his father's legacy and his full head of hair. He's also short.
ReplyDeleteThey are almost all short. Not just short but tiny.
DeleteIf anything, Michael Douglas was stymied by his father, who was really, really overrated (his Vincent Van Gogh is exhibit A). If you saw Behind the Candelabra, you saw an actor disappear into his character. That's what it's all about.
ReplyDeleteI agree. He was terrific in Behind the Candelabra.
DeleteErrol flynn was an exvellent actor born for the cinema you are sooo wrong to put him on your list
ReplyDeleteI disagree about errol flynn he was a wonderful actor who is seriously underated you are soooo wrong
ReplyDeleteA pretty good list except for the inclusion of Errol Flynn. As for James Dean his legacy of three films, is not enough to achieve greatness.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to agree with the list and especially about Burton, whose style was Shakespearean and bombast, no matter what.
ReplyDeleteI liked V Mature a lot, all the
ReplyDeleteBiblical movies were blockbusters, not to mention, My darling Clementine, and two others I don't recall now.If The movie had a halfway decent plot , storyline, he did well. I thought his voice, passion and good looks were good enough for me, and so did many other people.
I don't understand how Marlon Brando did not make number one. He and James Dean have got to be the worst ever actors of all time.
ReplyDeleteI so agree with you. Both overacted terribly. I disagree about Flynn and Mature. Flynn was incredibly underrated. Mature only acted for the money and enjoyed a wonderful retirement.
DeleteAs for Burton, he just liked to hear himself talk.
You should add John Wayne. Beatty can't act his way out of a paper bag.
If you are admiring the acting, the actor is not doing it well. The best actors disappear into their roles. Meryl Streep is one who is always admired for her acting, but I have never found her believable. Among the classic Hollywood actors, Frederick March could always be seen acting.
ReplyDeleteErrol Flynn, John Wayne and several others always played themselves. Jack Nicholson fits into that category except for Prizzi's Honor. Tracy could never be seen acting, nor was Brando or Montgomery Clift. Another one who could be added to that list (perhaps a bit surprising) was Myrna Loy. She became the character, not the actor.
Cannot disagree more! When one “admires the acting,” one IS admiring how well the actor vanished into the role. One actor that immediately comes to mind for me is Tom Hulce. His portrayal of the mentally handicapped Dominick in “Dominick and Eugene,” or Mozart in “Amadeus” or the Shadowman in the film of the same name are pristine examples of an actor vanishing into the role. I have watch each more times than I can count and always, at some point in watching, stop and have to remind myself I’m watching an actor. THAT is admiring the actor’s acting.
DeleteGood list save Errol who was underrated, not overrated.
ReplyDeleteDean has never been easy for me to watch let alone turn him into an icon.
Steve McQueen seems overrated to me. He brought the same limited characteristics to every role he played. I give him credit for his stunt driving & some sort of cool vibe but I don't think he was a particularly good actor.
ReplyDeletesuggestion and addition. I would head a new list of the top 20 overrated actors beginning with Montgomery Clift in a Class by Himself. This Sad Sack was had a stature and presence that rivaled Don Knotts! I don't get how anyone no matter what your sexual persuasion is can find this man to have been handsome lacking any sex appeal or facial expression on ahead attached to a body that moved less than a mannequin. he was the kind of actor who was attached to a cast of grapes that could absolutely bring down a fine motion picture. it's a shame that he was even cast in the Young Lions when Dean Martin and Brando gave monumental performances.in fact a wire coat hanger would have been more dynamic then Cliffs Sad Sack of an empty suit. I must sound like I couldn't stand the guy. .. not true just couldn't watching him destroy a decent roll in virtually every film this Sad Sack was cast.
ReplyDeleteSusan Hayward did not play Delilah. That gorgeous woman was Hedy Lamarr. She was also brilliant and an inventor.
ReplyDeleteironic you'd but burton and mature on the same list. they were together in "the robe" of course. now if you watch that again burton comes off as over the top and mature comes off as quite good. when it came out burton was supposed to be the great actor. don't you imagine that burton was a great stage actor, though? maybe his voice and presence made more of an impression on a stage and in person than on film. just a thought.
ReplyDeleteThat is exactly what Richard Burton was - a stage actor. It’s only since, I’d say, the late 1950s that actors didn’t get their initial start on stage & then transcend to film and/or TV. Burton was a strong stage actor, excelling in Shakespeare. His diction was stage trained. He brought that training to the screen.
DeleteSadly, what far too many younger people fail to understand is that acting has changed over the decades. What we may view today as campy or over the top from the 20-40s is merely vaudeville & other stage training trying to adapt to film. Then acting from the 50-60 was tailored for middle class small town people. The late 60s-1970s was for the more “modern” audience where racy and more outlandish things were being tested and accepted. The 80s-90s were trying to even everything from the previous decades out while adding in higher technology for the more advanced viewer. And today, we finally have reached a point where acting is started and ended from a digital (old word, film) stance. The acting is played to the camera only. The director and editor takes that and adapts it to the audience who will only view it as it was acted.
We simply cannot compare, say, acting from the 1920s with its strong vaudeville and other stage actors now performing to a camera only to actors of today that rarely know what it’s like to perform before a live audience (besides those present on a film or TV set). That audience cannot give an actor the immediate feedback that a live performance gives, not to mention the ability to do take after take - a luxury absent from stage performances.
No, to fully understand actors from the 20s thru now requires that one understands the full history of acting, stage and Hollywood and not just have watched some “old movies.”
The whole list should be thrown in the rubbish bin, with no Authority. Richard. Errol where born to Act, the other actors had their own ability great for what they needed to do. This list is just not credible. Being a Thespian myself this talking point is. Load of utter dogmatic RUBBISH!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you! 👍🏼
DeleteI have to 100% disagree w you on Errol Flynn. If you’ve only seen his swashbuckling films, you’re really not qualified to judge his talents. I’ve been a Flynn connoisseur since the late 1960s & can say I’ve seen nearly every film he’s ever made, including his “In the Wake of the Bounty” (an early version of Mutiny on the Bounty). He was a Cary Grant in that he excelled in both dramatic roles as well as comedic. His “Footsteps in the Dark” and “Gentleman Jim” were as good as Grant’s “Arsenic and Old Lace” or “Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House.”
ReplyDeleteSure, he did a lot of sword fighting films and sadly got stuck with that but he did some exceptionally fine dramatic films, again very much inline with Cary Grant such as, “Dawn Patrol,” “The Sisters” and “That Forsyth Woman.”
I strongly suggest you try and find his other films before labeling him just a swashbuckler.
James Dean owns the screen whenever he is on camera. I feel he would have been a star for decades. As for Beatty, he does seem like a jerk personally from what little I've heard, but I loved him in "Reds", "Bulworth", "All Fall Down" and "Bonnie & Clyde."
ReplyDeleteThat said, you've skewered Burton most deservedly! He is fine when he does voice-overs, as in "Zulu", but I can't bear him on screen.
What qualifications do you have for these judgments? They seem distinctly arbitrary, as if you're throwing out "hamburger helper" to fill space. Why, for example, would "good looks" be a reason to downgrade an actor. The public seems to like good-looking actors and actresses...they sell movies or is that some kind of betrayal of "art" in your mind? Not buying any of your choices.
ReplyDeleteI think you are spot on Dean. Premature death made him famous. He was the type women would fall in love with. Equating that with acting skills is absurd. Unfortunately, people tend to be politically correct when somebody is dead. I found it difficult to sit through Rebel. It was torture.
ReplyDelete