Modern Classic Beauty: Naomi Watts

Other than perhaps Rosamund Pike, no modern British woman personifies the term “English rose” better than Naomi Watts.  Over Here in Murka, we haven’t seen much of this fragile beauty (other than perhaps in Mulholland Drive  and the latest King Kong) , but I intend to rectify that now.

 

 

Exquisite.  And, like Rosamund Pike, an excellent actress.

 

Classic Beauty: Jan Sterling

I remember seeing Jan Sterling in a couple of movies — Ace In The Hole and The High And The Mighty — back when I was going through a 50s-movie craze.  The former was forgettable, the latter anything but, and it came as no surprise when I learned that she’d got an Oscar nomination for her performance in that one.

Anyway, that’s enough of the bio stuff.

Jan once told the story of traveling in Europe on her own (as a 16-year-old!) back in 1937.  At the end of the trip and needing funds to come home, her father sent her airfare to fly back.  However, on seeing some lingerie she liked in a shop window, she traded in the airfare to buy it, and with the leftover money booked a cheaper ticket aboard a steamship.

Midway through the voyage, she found out that the airfare had been for a flight on the Hindenburg.  So she was beautiful and lucky.

Anyway, here she is in some period-correct lingerie.

Gorgeous, in any period.

Classic Beauty: Sally Blane

I’ve spoken about Loretta Young and her sister Polly Ann before, and in the intro to the latter, I said the following:

Actor David Niven once described the Young sisters (Polly Ann, Elizabeth and Loretta) thus: “Each one was prettier than the others.”

So if I’ve looked at Loretta and Polly Ann, then where’s Elizabeth Young?

Here she is;  only she changed her stage name to Sally Blane.  In the early years:

And later on:

Good grief.  Small wonder that David Niven was so frequently a guest at the Young sisters’ house, the old dog.  Here he is with Loretta:

Classic Beauty: Diana Dors

It is difficult to read her biography without sorrow for Diana Dors’s career, which consisted mainly of exploitation, outright abuse (e.g. abortions forced on her by her lovers) and a succession of movie roles promised but never fulfilled.

Most of the above came from her appearance — although it must also be said that she was also a naughty, naughty girl — so let’s see what all the fuss was about.

Let’s look at the tout ensemble  now:

We’ll save the color pics for another time.