Why were (are, in some cases) the Silents so sexy? While every generation has its stars and its sex symbols, none can equal the Silents for sheer appeal. Some of the greatest sex symbols of all time, male and female, were born between 1925 and 1942. Is it that they came to redefine sexual norms after an era of sexual repression? Or is it that they were raised when, as some old fogeys would say, "men were men and women were women"? Or is it that they happened to dominate show business just before and during the sexual revolution?

For whatever reason, the Silents had (have) the juice. Here is a partial list. I'm ignoring the Silents' many teen idols (Elvis, Sal Mineo, Annette Funicello, Frankie Avalon, Sandra Dee) and just looking at their adult sex symbols:

1925 - Paul Newman, Gwen Verdon, Richard Burton
1926 - Marilyn Monroe (sexiest woman of all time)
1927 - Eartha Kitt, Janet Leigh, Roger Moore
1929 - Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly
1930 - Robert Wagner, Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood, Sean Connery
1931 - James Dean, Anne Bancroft, Angie Dickinson, Rita Moreno
1932 - Elizabeth Taylor
1933 - Julie Newmar
1934 - Sophia Loren
1935 - Donald Sutherland
1936 - Burt Reynolds, Robert Redford
1937 - Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, Jane Fonda
1938 - Natalie Wood
1939 - Marvin Gaye, Tina Turner
1940 - Al Pacino, Raquel Welch
1941 - Faye Dunaway, Nick Nolte, Ann-Margret, Julie Christie
1942 - Harrison Ford

That's quite a list. Boomers may have Farrah Fawcett and Michelle Pfeiffer, and Xers Angelina Jolie and George Clooney, but will any generation match the above list? Do they get more beautiful than Monroe, Hepburn, Kelly, Taylor, or Natalie Wood? And it's not just the women either - McQueen, Connery, Beatty, Pacino...Why do the Silents have such a disproportionate share of Hollywood's mojo?

Originally Posted by 1990

Why were (are, in some cases) the Silents so sexy? While every generation has its stars and its sex symbols, none can equal the Silents for sheer appeal. Some of the greatest sex symbols of all time, male and female, were born between 1925 and 1942. Is it that they came to redefine sexual norms after an era of sexual repression? Or is it that they were raised when, as some old fogeys would say, "men were men and women were women"? Or is it that they happened to dominate show business just before and during the sexual revolution?

For whatever reason, the Silents had (have) the juice. Here is a partial list. I'm ignoring the Silents' many teen idols (Elvis, Sal Mineo, Annette Funicello, Frankie Avalon, Sandra Dee) and just looking at their adult sex symbols:

1925 - Paul Newman, Gwen Verdon, Richard Burton
1926 - Marilyn Monroe (sexiest woman of all time)
1927 - Eartha Kitt, Janet Leigh, Roger Moore
1929 - Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly
1930 - Robert Wagner, Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood, Sean Connery
1931 - James Dean, Anne Bancroft, Angie Dickinson, Rita Moreno
1932 - Elizabeth Taylor
1933 - Julie Newmar
1934 - Sophia Loren
1935 - Donald Sutherland
1936 - Burt Reynolds, Robert Redford
1937 - Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, Jane Fonda
1938 - Natalie Wood
1939 - Marvin Gaye, Tina Turner
1940 - Al Pacino, Raquel Welch
1941 - Faye Dunaway, Nick Nolte, Ann-Margret, Julie Christie
1942 - Harrison Ford

That's quite a list. Boomers may have Farrah Fawcett and Michelle Pfeiffer, and Xers Angelina Jolie and George Clooney, but will any generation match the above list? Do they get more beautiful than Monroe, Hepburn, Kelly, Taylor, or Natalie Wood? And it's not just the women either - McQueen, Connery, Beatty, Pacino...Why do the Silents have such a disproportionate share of Hollywood's mojo?

Paul Newman is an asshole. He got me and my friends kicked out of a gymnasium some ten years ago 'cause he wanted to play.

Originally Posted by MichaelEaston

Paul Newman is an asshole. He got me and my friends kicked out of a gymnasium some ten years ago 'cause he wanted to play.

And why does that make himm an a-hole?

Originally Posted by sean '90

And why does that make himm an a-hole?

My mistake, he's of a higher caliber than I.

Originally Posted by 1990

Why were (are, in some cases) the Silents so sexy? While every generation has its stars and its sex symbols, none can equal the Silents for sheer appeal. Some of the greatest sex symbols of all time, male and female, were born between 1925 and 1942. Is it that they came to redefine sexual norms after an era of sexual repression? Or is it that they were raised when, as some old fogeys would say, "men were men and women were women"? Or is it that they happened to dominate show business just before and during the sexual revolution?

For whatever reason, the Silents had (have) the juice. Here is a partial list. I'm ignoring the Silents' many teen idols (Elvis, Sal Mineo, Annette Funicello, Frankie Avalon, Sandra Dee) and just looking at their adult sex symbols:

1925 - Paul Newman, Gwen Verdon, Richard Burton
1926 - Marilyn Monroe (sexiest woman of all time)
1927 - Eartha Kitt, Janet Leigh, Roger Moore
1929 - Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly
1930 - Robert Wagner, Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood, Sean Connery
1931 - James Dean, Anne Bancroft, Angie Dickinson, Rita Moreno
1932 - Elizabeth Taylor
1933 - Julie Newmar
1934 - Sophia Loren
1935 - Donald Sutherland
1936 - Burt Reynolds, Robert Redford
1937 - Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, Jane Fonda
1938 - Natalie Wood
1939 - Marvin Gaye, Tina Turner
1940 - Al Pacino, Raquel Welch
1941 - Faye Dunaway, Nick Nolte, Ann-Margret, Julie Christie
1942 - Harrison Ford

That's quite a list. Boomers may have Farrah Fawcett and Michelle Pfeiffer, and Xers Angelina Jolie and George Clooney, but will any generation match the above list? Do they get more beautiful than Monroe, Hepburn, Kelly, Taylor, or Natalie Wood? And it's not just the women either - McQueen, Connery, Beatty, Pacino...Why do the Silents have such a disproportionate share of Hollywood's mojo?

You forget Rock Hudson (1925), whose homosexuality was a huge surprise to so many.

How about GIs? Betty Grable, Celeste Holm, Lena Horne? Fred MacMurray? Jimmy Stewart? Cary Grant?

It could have been the sexual norms of the 1950s -- that men were to be men and women were to be women -- but no nudity or overt stuff on camera, please.

The Silent were the last generation to reach adulthood while the Hays Code was in effect. The ideal image was someone desirable for marriage -- not for the one-night stand. The Hays Code, I believed, forced people to be more witty about sexuality than they have had to be since the 1960s.

Wit is sexy; stupidity isn't.

Originally Posted by pbrower2a

It could have been the sexual norms of the 1950s -- that men were to be men and women were to be women -- but no nudity or overt stuff on camera, please.

The Silent were the last generation to reach adulthood while the Hays Code was in effect. The ideal image was someone desirable for marriage -- not for the one-night stand. The Hays Code, I believed, forced people to be more witty about sexuality than they have had to be since the 1960s.

Wit is sexy; stupidity isn't.

That last statement is spot-on!

Originally Posted by pbrower2a

It could have been the sexual norms of the 1950s -- that men were to be men and women were to be women -- but no nudity or overt stuff on camera, please.

The Silent were the last generation to reach adulthood while the Hays Code was in effect. The ideal image was someone desirable for marriage -- not for the one-night stand. The Hays Code, I believed, forced people to be more witty about sexuality than they have had to be since the 1960s.

Wit is sexy; stupidity isn't.

Agreed. Anyone ever seen "A Summer's Place" (1959)? It doesn't get much more tittilating or romantic than that, despite the fact that nothing more than passionate (closed-mouth) kisses were seen on-screen.