KINGS ROW
Modern Screen, Dec 1954
For ten years these stalwart standard-bearers of sex appeal have been unchallenged champs. All the bright young men haven't unseated them yet -- and they may reign for ten more. Long Live the Kings!
TYRONE POWER Too good looking as a boy, Ty acquired hardness in the Marine Corps, added maturity in his early forties to become a screen lover more to be mauled than mothered. Should the star of The Long Gray Line ever ask the ladies of the nation to welcome him into their living rooms via TV, he'll be asking a lot. No woman of any age will ever get a good night's sleep again.
Burt Lancaster His training as a circus acrobat gives Burt more animal appeal than anything in Hollywood- with the possible exception of Alan Ladd, Lassie, and Jerry Lewis' monkey-shines. The reaction to Gabriel's Horn is expected to be a stampede, with a herd of females of the species longing to invade any jungle that holds Burt.
Gregory Peck People may blame Greg for occasionally seeming to forget that he has a wife -- but it's hard to blame the girls for not reminding him. In a dark room, a white spotlight or in Moby Dick , Peck's voice is more penetrating to the feminine subconscious than a bath in My Sin and his wistful, moody face, like Jimmy Stewart's, calls out every female instinct known to man.
Clark Gable The giant from Cadiz, Ohio, still swaggers at the age of 53, swashbuckling his way through Soldier of Fortune. He was mobbed by teenagers recently while shopping for socks at Saks, and there seems no doubt that the Clark Gable of 1954 is Clark Gable. His off-screen romantic-hero life does no harm -- but then, what could?
William Holden Oscar winner, perfect father, never a playboy, Bill is walking proof that if you ignore a couple of million females long enough they'll be your slaves. Bridges at Toko-Ri may bring him another Oscar; his very happy marriage has brought him peace, prosperity and a reputation as one Hollywood star who really means it when he says he doesn't believe in divorce.
John Wayne American girls don't much mind if the star of The Conqueror marries Latin Pilar Palette. Duke's fascinating combination of bigness, a dash of rascality and a liberal dose of extreme nonchalance make his appeal so great that if all the men in his home state did as well with the ladies there'd be a mass migration to Iowa
Robert Taylor This vigorous newly-wed will no doubt have the distinction of being one of the few leading men who can say goodbye to Grace Kelly when Quentin Durward is finished -- and forget her. At forty-three Bob has achieved more conquests with a profile than most lads can behind draw blinds -- and been a gentleman throughout.
Gary Cooper Once, at the height of his career, he was reputed to have asked a gas station attendant where he could find a date. He was even more confused later about his marital situation. Now he and Rocky seem to understand it, but no one else does. The girls swooning over Vera Cruz don't want to understand. They're content to swoon.