Were The Handsome Actors Of The 1940s Greater-Looking Guys Than Today's Handsome Actors?

I think the actors from days gone by had a kind of classy, polished-look handsomness. Today's actors look more ordinary. But for me as a female both have a different kind of appeal when looking at them.

I actually like both. What I will say is that one of the best looking men I ever saw was the actor Jeffrey Hunter, who sadly died quite young, but was in movies in the 50's & 60's, 70's era.

I think they were more handsome and refined looking, and also--everybody looks better in black and white!

Good question. There is no right answer as I am sure you know. But it is clear that the way the dressed and presented themselves is certainly much more intriguing than today.

Even the cigarette actually looked attractive back then. Now when I see people smoking they instantly lose a couple points in my book.

I think they were NOT more handsome...It is the clothing, the swagger, the lighting ( Yes check out the old movies and the lighting around the actor's eyes) It makes sense that with the proper lighting, and that they always seemed very tall, could be percieved as very handsome. But in the newer era there were... Brad Pitt , George Clooney, Mel Gibson, Patrick Swayze...well, just to name a few.

I say men back then were men unlike the metrosexual insanity of today. They also dressed much classier and looked handsome in the way they carried themselves. I do think in today's world we have a precious few who can compare, namely my absolute favorite George Clooney who easily could have fit into that old Hollywood era as well as he fits into our present time.

The actors of that era were handsome, but I don't know if they are more handsome. Depends on the actor I guess. I do notice a great difference in fitness level.

The male actors of the 40's and 50's, looked very soft without shirts, and the actors today seem to have more muscle and muscle definition.

Paul Simon says that "everything looks worse in black and white. " T.S. Elliot is dead, give the guy a break - he's very likeable.

The 1940s-there were a larger number of them, for one thing. And because there wasn't a media frenzy of photographers in actors's faces then giving them no privacy there was more of an allure to them. We didn't know what they were like out of sight of the public, off screen.

You can have a handsome face, but there is the whole persona to consider. Sometimes knowing too much of someone's personal life-particularily if it's negative-can be a negative. I'm sure there must have been nasty events going on during the studio era we don't know about, but because we don't know about them, they cannot affect the way we view the individual actors and actresses.

YES! Many of the actors back then had a certain charisma about them that made them so sexy. The actors today lack a lot of that.

They're not as "suave" or as charming of the men back then.

Hands down! My sister and I always talk about how we love the old movies simply because the men looked so handsome in their suits, so manly. They looked like grownups.

I think the moody black and white photos, poor light and low definition TV played a big part in the way people looked better looking on screen.

I don't think so. The glamour era of photography created alluring images through the use of body language and mood lighting which was more dramatic in B&W. Skin looked supple, lips full, eyes seductive, pensive, or aloof.

Profiles were more in vogue where one could visually trace the sensuous curves of the face, neck, and shoulders. It was powerful and provocative!

2 reasons.1. They are pictured in black and white. This sounds odd, but b/w photos can be quite sexy.2.

Perhaps you are pining for days gone by, when life had more honor to it. Those men seem more handsome because of the culture in which they lived.

I think that the men in the 40's were much more handsome than the men of today. They had a swagger and were very debonair...the stars of today are handsome, too, but not in the way the men of the past were.

I think because they were more unapproachable. The studio created a mistique about them. Photoplay magazine wrote stories about them to build up the mistique.

I beg to differ about today's actors. It depends what the male star is wearing. Take Jon Hamm of "Mad Men", put a 1940's suit on him and slick his hair back and he looks like Cary Grant.

I'd admit there are no great star builders like yesterday. They really groomed their stars to be absolute perfection on the screen. The truth be known, they were probably like today's stars privately (the media covered up a lot back then) The studio had a lot of control.

There was the code of decency. Nothing tarnished their stars images. Reality reigns in today's stars.

Men back then had couth. I believe they are world's apart from today's actors. They dressed nice, had manners, respect, and they were not getting locked up by the police every other day.

Its not that they are "Greater-looking" than the actors these day it's just...the way the presented themselves and they had sort of an...honest swagg about them that is very appealing. Clean cut...as my sister would say!

These days it is possible to capture people with "warts and all" because of digital technology so my answer is "NO" .. and simply that people are being viewed from too many angles and sometimes their worst angle.

Perhaps. But life moves on. And I am moving on with it.

I find men from the "Old Hollywood" era to be more alluring. Their lives were more private back then so not knowing all of their dirt and seeing them be the perfect men in the movie is more of a fantasy than the men of Hollywood today.

I love old movies especially those of charlie chaplin.. ^_^..yes! Some of the old actors are handsome but i'd still prefer the actors of today..for me, the handsome actors of today's generation are more handsome like johnny depp.

It's the black and white...i think this has been mentioned in the other answers. But tonally, with the right use of shadow/light almost anyone can look incredible.

Billy Dee Williams is the representative of handsome Actors of Today.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.