I'm throwing something together and I need suggestions. Who is your favorite Femme Fatale in film history and who would make the honorary mention list. Example: My #1 is Ava Gardner in THE KILLERS and rounding out my top five would be Ann Savage, Gene Tierney, Rita Hayworth, and Linda Fiorentino. Feel free to name more then five and the list doesn't need to be limited to the classics.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Femme Fatale Help Wanted
I'm throwing something together and I need suggestions. Who is your favorite Femme Fatale in film history and who would make the honorary mention list. Example: My #1 is Ava Gardner in THE KILLERS and rounding out my top five would be Ann Savage, Gene Tierney, Rita Hayworth, and Linda Fiorentino. Feel free to name more then five and the list doesn't need to be limited to the classics.
Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity in The Matrix, if that counts. I’m more into the kick-ass heroine than the sexy she-devil.
ReplyDeleteI like the ones you mention from the silver screen, too.
ReplyDeleteBut one of my personal Favourites is Beatrice Dalle in the now classic French film from 1986, Betty Blue.
One of the saddest love stories I have ever seen. Betty is not a femme fatale by intent. She is simply a living tragedy.
Sarah, I'm a big fan of Moss but I don't see Trinity as a Fatale. But her performance in Memento (2000) would make the grade. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteu.v.ray., I wouldn't have thought of BLUE. Merci.
No. 1 is Kathleen Turner in Body Heat. 2-5: Rachel Ward, Barbara Stanwyck, Rita Hatworth, & Veronica Lake.
ReplyDeleteA handful jump immediately to mind. You gotta consider Kathleen Turner in BODY HEAT. Also, Virginia Madsen in THE HOT SPOT, Barbara Stanwyck in DOUBLE INDEMNITY, Jane Greer in OUT OF THE PAST.
ReplyDeleteI liked Lauren Bacaul (Not spelled properly), and Rita Hayworth, but, I can't recall the name of the movies.
ReplyDeleteRita Hayworth and Barbara Stanwyck, for sure. Then probably Audrey Totter ("Imagine you needing ice cubes." That sure summed her up.) Ava Gardner and Lana Turner.
ReplyDeleteFrank, Virginia is underrated. Fine actress and Greer is a top choice.
ReplyDeleteRedbush, I have a feeling Hayworth's Gilda tops a lot of lists. She was also bewitching in The Lady from Shanghai.
Naomi, Ms. Totter is an excellent choice. Just checked Wikipedia and she's still alive at 91. Glad to see Ava made another list.
Barbara Stanwyck in DOUBLE...but also in REMEMBER THE NIGHT, the Macmurray team-up I prefer, and my favorite "feel-good" dark Xmas movie.
ReplyDeleteI've been doing a little research on femme fatales myself, so this gives me a good movie selection. Thank you all!
ReplyDeleteBarbara Stanwyck's DOUBLE performance is still a kick to watch.
ReplyDeleteHands down, no contest, #1 pick: Kathleen Turner in Body Heat
ReplyDelete#2 - Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction
#3 - Rebecca De Mornay in The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (& Risky Business, too)
#4 - Sharon Stone - Basic Instinct
#5 - Kim Novak - Vertigo
#6 - Kim Basinger in L.A. Confidential
#7 - Nicole Kidman in To Die For
Alyssa, Some good ideas for Netflix too.
ReplyDeleteKathleen, Little d and I watched L.A. Confidential two nights ago (her first time seeing it) and Kim pulls out all the stops doesn't she? Also that film to my surprise, had The Mentalist before he was a star. Heck, first time I saw the movie in the theater I didn't know who Russell Crowe was.
I would have forgotten Nicole too. Thanks.
Ingrid Bergman in Stromboli
ReplyDeleteand Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell in Gentlemen prefer Blondes.
OK, they may not have been meant as femme fatales, but at the age I was then, they were.
WOOW
ReplyDeletehttp://www.filmdiziizletr.com/2010/05/ask-i-memnu-74-bolum-izle-20-mayis-izle.html
1. Kim Basinger
ReplyDelete2. Rachel Ward
3. Kathleen Turner
4. Ava Gardner
5. Veronica Lake
6. Charlotte Rampling
7. Mary Astor
8. Jessica Rabbit
9. Lauren Bacall
10. Barbara Stanwyck
Dave, Heck, I was hanging MM posters on my wall when I was growing up.
ReplyDeleteAşk-ı Memnu 74. Bölüm izle - 20 Mayıs izle, What films did Ms. WOOW star in again?
Diane, And Kathleen makes the list twice with Jess Rabitt.
Gene Tierney In Leave Her To Heaven
ReplyDeleteYou can't go wrong with Carrie-Anne Moss and Kathleen Turner. But I've always had a soft spot for THE X-FILES Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson).
ReplyDeletePaul, Gene's a natural choice. Her LAURA is at the top of the list for many. And she has long been my pick for the best looking woman to ever set up shop in Hollywood.
ReplyDeleteGeorge, Kathleen's pulling ahead of the pack. Body Heat definitely packed a wallop.
Nobody picked Gloria Grahame?! D'hell? Crossfire? THE BIG HEAT? Takes my breath away.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I couldn't forget GG. The Wiki bio says:
ReplyDelete... she made her first film for MGM. Despite a featured role in It's a Wonderful Life (1946), MGM did not believe she had the potential for major success, and sold her contract to RKO Studios. Often cast in film noir projects, Grahame received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Crossfire (1947), and she won this award for her work in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952).
She certainly had one hell of a run after MGM foolishly dismissed her.
Well, the first draft of this message is being held hostage in a fight between my browser and IMDb's stupid ads. But I noted that some of my favorites not yet noted include:
ReplyDeleteJean Seberg in BREATHLESS
Elisabeth Shue in PALMETTO, where Gina Gerson is the Good Woman...the Other GG is more FF in BOUND or PICTURE CLAIRE, though the real FF in BOUND is Jennifer Tilly.
Meg Tilly is an unwilling FF in PSYCHO 2, and Natassia Kinski slightly less so in the remake of CAT PEOPLE (Simone Simon a little less yet in the original CAT PEOPLE).
Eihi Shiina is about as Fatale as a Femme gets, in AUDITION.
Evelyn Ankers is good in WEIRD WOMAN, an otherwise bad adaptatin of Fritz Leiber's CONJURE WIFE.
And Kathleen Turner might also be noted, however peripherally, for SERIAL MOM.
Todd, I can always count on you to go deep and find some forgotten gems. Evelyn Ankers and Eihi Shiina are fine choices and I can't believe I forgot my girl Gina in BOUND.
ReplyDelete