Jacqueline's Top 5 Classic Hollywood Duos

I first met Jacqueline during a twentieth-century European undergraduate lecture at Macquarie University. It was clear that we were both history buffs and dedicated to our studies. It was a joy to discuss everything history with her and it has been a pleasure to see her bring her passion for the past to her teaching. After we both graduated from Macquarie, we started chatting about interests outside of our studies. It was around this time that I realised that Jacqueline and I share a passion for classic cinema and Hollywood. As you will soon see, my knowledge base doesn't come close to hers. For the past year, I have been bugging her to write something for my blog. My persistence has paid off. You're welcome, planet earth!

Cam: I couldn't resist getting my favourite classical actress in the post, Rita Hayworth

Duos, couples, twosomes, a pair. Whatever you call them, we humans seem to love them: strawberries and cream, yin and yang, gin and tonic, Ben and Jerrys. There is one particular type of duo that I particularly adore and that is the onscreen duo. The couple that lights up the silver screen again and again- the chemistry, the magic, the synchronisation. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are names that are forever entwined, just as their arms were as they danced about together across ten films. Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift were perhaps the most beautiful pair who graced films, with their soulful eyes, dark colouring and aloof personas available together over three films for the audience’s viewing pleasure. Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy were not only partners over nine films but also life partners for over a quarter of a century. Their beautiful final scene in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner never fails to bring a tear (or two!). Other real-life couples who often starred together include Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton (11 films), Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons (three films), Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford (four films), and Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh (three films). John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara were great cronies off-screen and were king and queen of the Wild West onscreen. Why haven’t I mentioned Rock Hudson and Doris Day as part of the great onscreen duos? Because I must admit I always think of them not as a duo, but as a trio. Let’s not forget that in each film Rock and Doris were in, Tony Randall was always right there with them (and if we’re honest, he was always stealing the show).

Top 5 Classic Hollywood Duos

1. Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland

Errol Flynn is my favourite actor to ever grace the silver screen, and Olivia de Havilland is my favourite actress to likewise bless us with her presence. It would make sense then that these two would make my ultimate dream team when it comes to onscreen duos. They starred in eight films together, the most famous and enduring of which is the 1938 Technicolor masterpiece The Adventures of Robin Hood. Errol is dashing, Olivia is beautiful, there are swordfights galore, a lot of witty dialogue, and a romance for the ages. What’s not to love? The first film this smashing duo made together was in 1935 and was the pirate swashbuckler Captain Blood, and was the first starring vehicle for both 25 year old Errol and 19 year old Olivia. By their next film The Charge of the Light Brigade, each was smitten with the other, but as Errol was married to French actress Lili Damita at the time, there wasn’t much poor Livvie could do. A succession of other swashbucklers and westerns followed, as well as the screwball comedy Four’s a Crowd, and the public just adored the couple together. Their last film, 1941’s They Died with Their Boots On was actually the first one I saw the pair in, and their chemistry and naturalness with each other is at its height. While the onscreen chemistry was certainly there, they public has been wondering for over 70 years about their off-screen relationship. In his autobiography My Wicked, Wicked Ways, Errol admits to being in love with Olivia, and she has given several interviews saying she was mad about him. Come on Olivia, won’t you tell us now?

2. Walter Pidgeon and Greer Garson

MGM famously claimed to have “more stars than there are in Heaven”, and two of these bright sparks were Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon. The genuine friendship felt between these two just radiates off the screen. It isn’t a passionate sizzling chemistry like Errol and Olivia, but instead a steadfast and gentle one. The most endearing aspect of their relationship was that the two remained life-long friends and were always there for each other; Walter once remarked that he had done eight movies with the delightful Greer and never had a bad word between them. Their first film together was the 1941 tear-jerking melodrama Blossoms in the Dust, where Walter’s patient and dependable presence perfectly balanced with Greer’s light-heartedness, as it would do to perfection across all their other films together. They tried out dramas together, sentimental films, biopics such as 1943’s Madame Curie, and even a comedic turn in Julia Misbehaves (with a teenaged Elizabeth Taylor and a gorgeous Peter Lawford). However their most enduring film is the 1942 patriotic wartime drama Mrs Miniver. Greer took home the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as dutiful British housewife Kay Miniver, and set a record for the longest Oscar acceptance speech. Winston Churchill himself claimed the film did more for the British war effort than a flotilla of destroyers. Greer and Walter sure knew how to make screen magic! One of their most interesting screen turns is 1949’s adaptation of John Galsworthy’s Forsyte Saga in That Forsyte Woman. Greer plays her usual charming and independent role, but it is Walter who plays against type as the bohemian and outcast painter. (Side note- Errol Flynn also plays against type as the stoic and domineering Soames Forsyte. Legend has it Walter and Errol were tired of being typecast and decided to swap roles themselves). My personal favourite of the eight films Greer and Walter made together is their last, Scandal at Scourie. It is an unassuming little film about a childless Protestant couple who decide to adopt at Catholic orphan girl in a small Canadian town. While it was never going to make it to the top of any great films list, its innocence is what makes it special. After 1953, the Garson-Pidgeon professional partnership came to an end, but their friendship continued until Walter’s death. I still have one question, if Greer Garson was known as the Duchess of MGM, does that make Walter the Duke? I think so.

3. William Powell & Myrna Loy

Here they are folks, Nick and Nora Charles themselves. How could these two not make my list? This duo made so many films together – fourteen to be exact – and had such great chemistry that fans were convinced, utterly convinced, that they were married in real life. Sorry to dash anyone’s illusions, but they weren’t married; however like my previous couple, they remained lifelong friends. These two were an outstanding blend of charm, sophistication, wit, elegance and zaniness. Like all those cocktails they threw back in the Thin Man movies, they were a perfect concoction. Of their relationship, William commented “We weren’t acting. We were just two people in perfect harmony.” They made perfectly good films without each other, but it was like pumpkin pie without the pinch of nutmeg- something was just missing.  William Powell and Myrna Loy most famously teamed up to play detective Nick Charles and his socialite wife Nora (and let’s not forget Asta!) in the six Thin Man films from 1934 – 1947. As “Nicky” and “Mommy”, they created movie magic and some of the best detective films to grace the screen, each film containing glorious innuendos, witty repartee, slapstick scenarios, and copious amounts of alcohol. Aside from the Thin Man series, my favourite of their films is the 1936 screwball comedy Libeled Lady co-starring Spencer Tracy and Jean Harlow (who was in a relationship with Powell at the time, and later engaged to him before her untimely death). The film brilliantly allows William Powell to show off his physical comedy skills as he memorably attempts to go fly-fishing to impress Myrna Loy’s character. As always with this particular duo, laughs and hilarity ensue.

4. Clark Gable and Joan Crawford

Out of all of MGM’s stars in heaven, these two were the hottest; hot enough to nearly burn tinsel town to the ground. They were hot and heavy onscreen, and they were hot and heavy off-screen. The smouldering tension between the King of Hollywood and the most glamourous of leading ladies was a gossip columnist’s dream. Clark Gable and Joan Crawford made eight movies together during their time together at MGM, and movie-goers couldn’t get enough of them. The best of their films are those made in the pre-Code era, as they are filled with lots of passions, innuendos and a hoard of other intense moments showcasing the heat between the duo. By the making of their 1933 film Possessed, these two were engaged in an affair so scandalous that his wife and her husband were forced to approach Louis B. Mayer himself in order to seek help throwing cold water on the whole thing. At the time Joan was part of real Hollywood royalty, married to Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. making powerhouse silent screen couple Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford her in-laws. Clearly the man dubbed the King of Hollywood was more enticing than the Pickfair crowd. The affair between Gable and Crawford continued for years, and across several marriages for each of the stars. In their 1936 screwball comedy Love on the Run, the duo co-star with one of Crawford’s future husbands, Franchot Tone. Poor Franchot doesn’t know how to keep the girl in the film, and apparently didn’t know how to keep her from Gable in real life either. By the time Crawford’s MGM star waned and she made the transfer to Warner Bros., the Gable-Crawford affair was over, but the magic of it is there for us to watch time and time again.

5. Shirley Temple and Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson

This duo holds a very special place in my heart, and while not what you would typically think of under the phrase “film duo”, this little girl and this talented gentleman were one of the most innovative and special duos ever to appear together on the silver screen. Shirley Temple was the darling of America, beloved by FDR, protected by J. Edgar Hoover, and adored by millions across the world. Bill Robinson was a black vaudevillian who had appeared in a handful of [mainly RKO] films. What could these two possibly have in common? Dancing, ladies and gentlemen. The most glorious tap dancing. They first starred together in the 1934 film The Little Colonel where they famously tap dance up and down a flight of stairs together holding hands. Holding hands? Shocking! Shocking! In fact, it really was shocking to many audience members at the time, and in many states this scene was cut from the film entirely. It was the first time a white person and black person held hands on film. Legend has it that the whole thing came about during rehearsals when little Shirley was nervous about forgetting her steps so kind-hearted Bojangles held her hand to squeeze it to help her keep in time with her steps. Crew members freaked at the gesture, but good old Mrs Temple told them to get a hold of themselves, if it helped make her daughter feel comfortable then that’s all there was to it. They appeared in three more films together, The Littlest Rebel, Just Around the Corner and my favourite, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. As well as dancing in their films, they often sang songs together, such as the catchy little ditty “Polly Wolly Doodle” in The Littlest Rebel. This duo remained friends for the rest of their lives, and Shirley claimed in her autobiography that Bill was one of the best friends she ever had because they both knew what it was to feel utterly isolated in the industry. If you’re ever having a bad day just pop onto Youtube and watch these two dance up those steps. It’ll put a smile on that dial quicker than you can say “Polly Wolly Doodle”.