From The Past To Now: Grace Kelly to Gwyneth Paltrow

I know I haven't done a from the past to now post in awhile but considering today is If It's Tuesday, Then It Must Be Grace Kelly, I figured this would be the perfect time to do one. Especially since Grace is the past portion. I chose Gwyneth Paltrow as the modern choice. There may not be too many similarities between the two other than the obvious blonde hair. But when Paltrow started her career, it was apparent that studios and agents were trying to groom her as the next Grace Kelly. So I will give my insight on why I think there is a small connection from the past to now with these two women.

THE SWAN

HIGH NOON

DIAL M FOR MURDER

BEST ACTRESS WINNER (THE COUNTRY GIRL)

Of course everyone knows the Grace Kelly story. Born and raised in Philadelphia to a blue blood family, she struck out on her own to show that she could do it without her family's connections. Some modeling work and some bit parts paved the way for a most glorious run in film beginning with High Noon (1952). She was 23. Next up was the film Mogambo that paired her with Hollywood legend Clark Gable. Grace held her own with the larger than life Gable. The next three years would be Grace's finest years. She would appear in three of Alfred Hitchcock's films: To Catch A Thief with Cary Grant, Rear Window with Jimmy Stewart and Dial M For Murder with Ray Milland. She would score a Best Actress Oscar for The Country Girl in 1954. Grace would end her film career in 1956 with High Society. She would marry Prince Rainier of Monaco in a fairytale wedding. Grace became a princess and her marriage to the Prince yielded three children. Sadly Grace's life came to a tragic end in 1982 with that fateful car crash at the young age of 52.

SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE (BEST ACTRESS WINNER)

THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY

EMMA

IRON MAN 2

Now Gwyneth's path is a little different than Grace's but they do share some common traits. While Paltrow did not come from a wealthy family, her parents were widely known in the film industry. Blythe Danner and Bruce Paltrow. She picked up her passion of acting from her parents at an early age. By the time she was 19, she was appearing in bit parts in films like Shout, Hook and Malice. It took a role in the thriller Seven that put her on the map so to speak. It also lead to her dating and engagement to co-star Brad Pitt. Pitt was no Prince Rainier but he was rising through the ranks to become one of Hollywood's top stars. Actually once their relationship soured in 1997, Paltrow career got busy and she became quite prolific. Turns in English dramas such as Emma, Sliding Doors, Great Expectations, Talented Mr. Ripley (where she looked positively gorgeous and rivals Grace with this inventive thriller) and Shakespeare in Love (which landed her an Oscar for Best Actress) solidified her career. She even starred in the remake of Dial M For Murder called A Perfect Murder. The remake doesn't hold a candle to the original but Gwyneth was game in her role. Now proving she could do accents in her sleep, Paltrow has since scored in major blockbusters such as the Iron Man films and Austin Powers 3. She would marry musician Chris Martin and they have two children. And she has recently launched a singing career.

So that's my spiel on these two women as I noted some slight similarities. I know as far as looks go, most people might say no way, but I was looking at their career path and films that they did. Would love to hear everyone thoughts.

From The Past To Now: Vivien Leigh to Keira Knightley

For this month's from the past to now series, where I compare a classic film actor/actress with a modern one, I've chosen Classic Movie Goddess of the month Vivien Leigh and current star Keira Knightley. Both are talented actresses that are favorites of mine. Quantity is not one of the common factors though. Leigh only made 19 films in her still impressive career. At age 25 Knightley has already made close to 30 films. One of their shared traits is their number of period films they have made. Leigh made five, which would be 1/4 of her total film output. Knightley, so far has starred in 8 period films in her young career. So I will focus on these two wonderful actresses for this post.

ANNA KARENINA

FIRE OVER ENGLAND

GONE WITH THE WIND

THAT HAMILTON WOMAN

Viv's five period films include Gone With The Wind (1939), Anna Karenina (1948), Caesar and Cleopatra (1945), That Hamilton Woman (1941), and Fire Over England (1937). That's an impressive list right there if she never made any other films. I mean she did win an Oscar for Gone With The Wind. In fact, Viv won 2 Oscars on 2 nominations (the other film being A Streetcar Named Desire). She was 2 for 2. Anyway, her other four period films showed how much at ease she was playing in these costume epics. Not too many actresses could handle these types of roles or do them consistently. I know more people remember Elizabeth Taylor when she played Cleopatra but Leigh gives a pretty good performance herself as the Queen of the Nile. I was more than impressed with her take on Cleopatra.  And let's not forget her take on Anna Karenina, following in the footsteps of the legendary Great Garbo, who had played the same role 14 years earlier than Vivien. I thought Viv did just a good as job as Garbo did but I think both sides are split 50/50. Garbo has her fans while Leigh has hers. But Vivien's role as Emma Lady Hamilton in That Hamilton Woman is all hers. No comparisons to other actresses, this is Vivien's all the way. She gave an excellent performance and looked beautiful as ever. And I've yet to see Fire Over England so I can't critique it, but I imagine she is top notch as usual.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN

THE DUCHESS

KING ARTHUR

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Keira's contributions to the period film genre is a little more action packed. Half her films are of the swashbuckling kind, thanks to the three Pirates movies and King Arthur. And while those films didn't require a lot of acting per se, Knightley showed an amazing ability to be quite centered and self reliant. Didn't have to wait on a man to come save her. And she was only 17 when she first played Elizabeth Swann in the first Pirates movie, showing great poise at such a young age. Now as Elizabeth Bennett in the updated Pride and Prejudice, she got a great part and more than delivered with a wonderful performance. This was a plum role for Keira and she did not disappoint. I did not see her 2007 film Silk which cast her as a 19th century woman betrothed to a silkworm smuggler. I didn't hear too many rave reviews about it either. But Keira would bounce back with 2008's The Duchess, which I did see and thought she gave one helluva performance. A chronicle of the life of 18th century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who was reviled for her extravagant political and personal life. The Duchess served to show that Keira was the go to woman for period films, without question. Oh and one more period film that she did early in her career was the 2001 British TV film Princess Of Thieves,which had her playing the daughter of Robin Hood. All in all Keira has amassed quite the collection of period films, rivaling that of Vivien Leigh. I thought it made a cool comparison to post about these two women. Would love to hear what everyone thinks.

A New Series: From The Past To Now - Jimmy Stewart and Tom Hanks

Here is the new series I mentioned last month I would be doing comparing an actor/actress from yesteryear to one of today. The first choice is Jimmy Stewart and Tom Hanks. And that these two men would be comparable is no surprise. Hanks quickly became a heir apparent to Jimmy thanks to his same everyday appeal. Both men had similar starts in their careers. Stewart would have bit parts in films such as Wife vs Secretary with top billed Clark Cable, Myrna Loy and Jean Harlow and Rose Marie with Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy before scoring leading roles in Vivacious Lady, You Can't Take It With You, and Made For Each Other. Hanks meanwhile got his start on TV in small roles on such series as Happy Days, Taxi and The Love Boat. He then moved on to lead on the comedy series Bosom Buddies. Humble beginnings for both men. Stewart would soon become a huge star thanks to such big films like Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, The Philadelphia Story (his only Oscar came here), Destry Rides Again, and The Shop Around The Corner. All coming while in his early 30's. A few years later would come the all time holiday classic It's A Wonderful Life. Hanks would have similar success at the same age with comedy hits such as Bachelor Party, Splash, The Money Pit, Dragnet and Big.


After playing such stalwart good guys, Stewart would soon turn over a new leaf during the 1950's by appearing in complicated westerns done by Anthony Mann and top notch thrillers by Hitchcock such as Vertigo and Rear Window. Stewart was at his best when working with these two highly respected directors. Hanks would get similar chances to shine with different types of films other than comedies. He would appear in such sterling dramas like Philadelphia (for which he won a Best Actor Oscar), Apollo 13, Forrest Gump (another Best  Actor Oscar) and Saving Private Ryan. Hanks would also appear in the hugely family animated series of films Toy Story. Hanks best films came under the direction of Ron Howard (yes Opie from The Andy Griffith Show) and Steven Spielberg. The only difference between the two men would be that Stewart appeared in about twenty westerns. So far Hanks has made not one single western. But Hanks did remake one of Jimmy's older films. He remade the sentimental classic The Shop Around The Corner into the likeable You've Got Mail.


Hanks would be constantly compared to Stewart thanks to his good guy, aw shucks demeanor and most film goers enjoyed both men's films. True there are a lot of non Hanks fans more so than non Stewart fans but you still can't help but see the connection between the two stars. And for the record I am a fan of both. So this is the start of a wonderful new series that I hope to being doing at least once a month. Everyone let me know what you think.