MovieChat Forums > Julie Andrews Discussion > How big a star was she in her prime?

How big a star was she in her prime?


My mom tells me she wasn't that big at all. Nothing compared to Audrey Hepburn. Is that right?

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From Mary Poppins (1964) until the release of Star! (1968), Julie Andrews was considered the most guaranteed female box office attraction in the world. She actually topped the Quigley exhibitors' box office poll for two successive years (1966 & 1967), a feat that Audrey Hepburn never accomplished.

http://www.reelclassics.com/Articles/General/quigleytop10-article.htm


Audrey Hepburn was a star of the first magnitude. But there's no question that the blockbuster revenues generated by Mary Poppins, The Sound Of Music and Hawaii placed Andrews in the same category.

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Thanks. I'll have to tell my mom. Too bad her star power dropped so quickly after that.

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Andrews was a big success due to her the nature of the films she made,so of course she would be box-office for a lonely 2 years. There is a reason WHY she was not bankable after MP and SOM(and perhaps one or two others) I could say the same thing about Mark Hamill because he starred in STAR WARS,then...?
After that,most of the feature-films she made were directed by her husband.

Audrey Hepburn,on the other hand was almost akin to Liz Taylor in her popularity and screen maganistism. It was Audrey who retired early to pursue other things. Moms sometimes do know best.

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Andrews was a big success due to her the nature of the films she made,so of course she would be box-office for a lonely 2 years.

2 lonely years? You'll learn not to pay any attenton to Simpleminded; one of these days she'll actually learn to read.

As the page I linked made clear, motion picture exhibitors ranked Julie Andrews among the top five box office stars for four successive years, and she was at the top of that list twice (in 1966 & 1967). And this was not the opinion of fans; this was the conclusion of motion picture businessmen.

By the end of 1968 it was obvious her days as a box office attraction were over, and the suddenness of her fall was surprising (especially to those who liked Star!). But from 1964 thru 1967 there's no question she was box office gold.

We should also take into account that Andrews had been an acclaimed star on Broadway since 1954's The Boy Friend (thru My Fair Lady in 1956 to Camelot in 1960) and headlined two highly honored TV specials, Cinderella (1957) and Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall (1962).

Andrews was, and continues to be, a star of the first magnitude. She's also one of the classiest and most respected people in show business.

Here's proof of just how imbedded Julie Andrews' name had become in mid 60s popular culture - in 1967, Stanley Donen directed the classic "be careful what you wish for" comic farce Bedazzled; two "magic" words had to be spoken before the main character (played by Dudley Moore) had his wishes granted. And what were the two "magic" words?

"Julie Andrews."

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murph24
You've been blasted off the Streisand board by other posters, so you come here to the Andrews board.
If a star is truly bankable and not a flavor of the year, one/two films would not be the demise of their career. Films are not Broadway,so that is not relevant.
You and your co-horts on this board are in denial.

The other posters on this board remind me of little old ladies with their hair in a bun,or outdated-pageboy, and granny=glasses,who watch the Disney channel when not feeding their tolerant cats,the only creatures willing to offer them unconditional love.
It would serve you to refrain from futher interaction on subjects that are out of your realm.

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If a star is truly bankable and not a flavor of the year, one/two films would not be the demise of their career.

Who said anything about the "demise" of a career? Julie Andrews' film career didn't come to an end in 1968; in fact, she was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar (for Victor/Victoria) fourteen years after Star! The only thing the latter film changed was Andrews' successful run at the box office. Prior to 1968, ALL of her movies had turned a profit - and three of them weren't just profitable, they were the most successful films of their respective years (Mary Poppins in 1964, The Sound Of Music in 1965 and Hawaii in 1966). However, after studios lost huge amounts of money on Star! and Darling Lili, they no longer saw Andrews as a guarantee of profitability. But that didn't mean her film career was over; just her days as a box office powerhouse.

And I think you'd better change the dosage of whatever medication you're taking, because your perception of reality has hit a new low. I haven't been "blasted" off of ANY board - never have been, and never will be.

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