Digital Johnny, Real Johnny

They used to be hot...

This entry has been a long time coming, mostly because this is actually the fourth time I've tried to write it. Whenever I was working on it, my browser and/or computer would crash or I'd just zone out and close the window like a fool. Anyway, the entry was supposed to be about the various American film icons of the 1940's and 1950's that I discovered were actually hot during my AMC-watching (American Movie Classics) phase, such as Marlon Brando . I guess I had never believed that they could meet my hotness-standards, mostly because I only knew them as older and less attractive and always just figured they were good looking for their era. However, it wasn't until I had to read something for Mass Comm 10 that I discovered the most shocking case of old-time hotness... John Wayne!

John Wayne was born in 1907, but didn't become a famous film star until his role as The Ringo Kid in Stagecoach (1939) when he was 32 years old . After that, John Wayne's popularity seemed to only increase with his age and corresponding weathering of his facial features, until he was the leathery, aged man that has come to epitomize the toughness and rugged individualism of the American cowboy/soldier . So, like I was saying, I had to read a John Wayne biography, and it turns out that at the time of his first starring role in a movie that flopped called The Big Trail (1930) , Wayne was a certifiable hottie. I know none of you believe me, so I submit these seldom-seen photos for your edification (or just your pleasure). Ouch!

P.S. Also devastatingly hot is Jonathan Rhys-Meyers in Bend It Like Beckham (2002) . I didn't even know he was in the movie until the first shot of him, and, I'll tell you folks, it was a damned good surprise.