The Most Endurable Movie Stars

Cary Grant, one of the greatest stars of all time.

Thousands of people have starred in Hollywood movies. Many have won awards and made lots of money. But how many have left their mark? How many are still remembered today? How many movie stars have an image that has stood the test of time?

ThreeMovieBuffs.com lists their top ten (actually we could only narrow it to eleven) most memorable male and female classic movie stars.

1. Cary Grant: The greatest romantic lead of all time, Grant charmed his leading ladies and audiences alike over his 30+ year career, moving between comedy, drama, and action, sometimes all in the same film. Nobody was a charming as Cary Grant. Legend has it that when he was told by a reporter that, “Everybody would like to be Cary Grant.” He replied, “So would I.”

2. Clark Gable: As Rhett Butler, Gable's immortality is assured. He also has an Oscar for the classic It Happened one Night and an image of being a man's man who women want and who men want to be like.

3. Humphrey Bogart: If Casablanca was the only movie Bogart ever appeared in, he would still be remembered today, but fortunately for us he made many, many other great films. Although he played the bad guy in many of his early films, in his later career he made a specialty of playing the tough guy with the heart of gold. A well-deserved Oscar came late in his career for his memorable role as Charlie in The African Queen.

4. James Cagney: The greatest gangster in pictures was also a versatile song-and-dance man who could play both drama and comedy. Whether shoving a grapefruit into Mae Clarke's face, hoofing exuberantly as George M. Cohan or yelling, "Made it Ma! Top of the World!" as psychopath Cody Jarrett in the final scene of White Heat, he will never be forgotten.

5. John Wayne: The king of his genre. Any film buff can imitate him. His image as a tough cowboy or soldier is second only to Chaplin’s Little Tramp.

6. Marlon Brando: His authentic intensity will never be matched.

7. Fred Astaire: Although he certainly didn't look like a movie star he was quite simply the most graceful man ever to grace the screen. His perfectionism and grueling rehearsal schedules became legendary, but he made it look oh so effortless.

8. Frank Sinatra: There was a time in the 1950s and early 60s when it was Frank’s world and everyone else was just living in it. Not only did he produce some of best songs during this period, but also a wide range of classic movies. And Sinatra was just as comfortable in a straight movie as he was in a musical. Putting out a Manchurian Candidate and a Von Ryan’s Express for every Robin and the Seven Hoods and Can-Can. No other singer, except perhaps Streisand has merged a movie and music career so successfully.

9. Jimmy Stewart: He didn’t have the looks or charm of Grant, nor the voice of Sinatra or Crosby, nor the dancing ability of Kelly or Astaire, but he had heart and sincerity that radiated through the screen. Stewart could take a blatantly sentimental script like Mr. Smith goes to Washington or It’s a Wonderful Life and make it ring true. He was the one of a kind everyman.

10. Gene Kelly: He starred in the most artistic musical of all time An American in Paris and the most entertaining Singin’ in the Rain.

11. Charlie Chaplin: The first worldwide movie star icon and a Hollywood genius. Although the Little Tramp never spoke in a movie and made his last real screen appearance back in 1936 in Modern Times he is still almost universally recognized today.

1. Katharine Hepburn: The grand dame of such classics as The African Queen, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and On Golden Pond.

2. Bette Davis: The greatest dramatic star of Hollywood's Golden Age she had a career like the great male stars. Every movie was a vehicle for Her. It was always Her name above the title. Audiences knew they would get their money's worth from Bette, especially when she played a bad girl.

3. Marilyn Monroe: Starred in one of the greatest comedies of all time, Some Like it Hot and has the most recognizable look of any actress in film history.

4. Judy Garland: Even without Dorothy Gale she is the greatest musical star bar none. Though ultimately a tragic figure there is eternal hope in her plaintive throbbing voice.

5. Elizabeth Taylor: From the innocence of National Velvet to the stunning beauty of A Place in the Sun and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, through the excesses of Cleopatra, to the vulgarity of Virginia Woolf Elizabeth Taylor was never anything but a star.

6. Rita Hayworth: The original love goddess who set a new standard for aggressive female sexuality in Gilda.

7. Ingrid Bergman: Her Ilsa in Casablanca is the greatest romantic leading lady role in movie history. A great beauty with brains and talent.

8. Barbra Streisand: One of the true originals of American entertainment. There's that voice, "Like Buttah." But she is also a truly gifted comic with great timing and a better-than-you-would-expect dramatic actress.

9. Jean Harlow: The original dumb blonde of the movies. She was sexy and ultra feminine but with a sassy street kid attitude just beneath the glamour puss trappings.

10. Grace Kelly: No other American Actress has ever been so beautifully regal. It’s hardly surprising that she went on to become a real princess. Her movie career only lasted five years, but memories of her will linger for many years to come.

11. Greta Garbo: One of the most beautiful and photogenic stars of them all. She created an enduring icon. When she said, "I vant to be alone" she created an enigmatic image that outlived her actual movie career by decades.