Paulette Godard
In my opinion Paulette Godard is the most beautiful woman ever on screen, particularly in Modern Times.
Do you agree?
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MovieChat Forums > Modern Times (1936) Discussion > Paulette Godard
I teach college classes. One of my students, a 20 year-old, watched it and asked: "Who was that actress?" I said Paulette Goddard, why? He said she was hot. He said she did not seem to dress and wear makeup like older actresses. I said, hey, I agree. I know she is dead now, but I fell in love with her. I have to say she look fantastic wearing and old dress, barefoot, and with her hair hanging. Oh my goodness!
shareRight on.
shareCan't say 100%, but the scene with her stealing bananas from the boat and throwing them to homeless children blew me away.
There's also some crazy music that plays when she's on screen (very similar to "Indiana Jones" theme - what is it, by the way, a weird coincidence?).
Thanks for any further comment in advance.
I just saw "Modern Times" for the first time. As great as Chaplin is, I was really stricken by Paulette Goddard. What a beauty, and what expressions and phsyical acting ability! I understand that she was one of the finalists for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind". In spite of Vivien Leigh's tour-de-force performance, some people still believe that Goddard should have gotten the role.
shareI saw Modern Times for the first time today and had never seen Paulette Goddard in anything else but I couldn't get over how, uh, "modern" she looked for a movie made in 1936. I think she and Courtney Cox look a lot alike.
"Ruprect! Do you want me to get the genital cuff?"
Yes she looks very much like her
shareShe is way hotter then Courtney Cox.
Truthfully, I don't find Ms. Cox to be that terribly stunning. She's nice but not a head turner.
Paulette Goddard in Modern Times might resemble Courteney Cox, but she looks JUST LIKE Molly Shannon. This is tough to believe, since Ms. Shannon is not considered a spectacular screen beauty, but don't take my word for it. Watch MT again and see if you don't agree.
shareI thought the same thing! Actually, i think she looked more like a mix between Molly Shannon and Natalie Portman. But yeah, she's unbelievably gorgeous. I was so distracted every second she was on screen because she's so beautiful.
shareHi, AntiJohn, we "met" in the Chaplin boards.
A thing or two you might like to know about Paulette Goddard:
(1) She was married to Chaplin for a few years; they divorced amicably, not long after they filmed "The Great Dictator" together.
(2) Paulette Goddard was the top candidate to play Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind," but producer David O. Selznick ended up choosing British actress (and wife of Laurence Olivier) Vivien Leigh for the part, and the rest, as they say, is history! (Miss Goddard's screen test as Scarlett still survives; a scene was shot featuring her and Melvin Douglas--as Ashley Wilkes, which ultimately went to Leslie Howard in the movie--and it was quite good. Makes one wonder what kind of status and success GWTW would have had, had Leigh been unavailable and Goddard had gone on to be the star. My guess is that GWTW came out nearly perfect and that Selznick made the right choice with Leigh--but who knows? There was nothing wrong with Paulette Goddard, either!)
(PS) I should have read the rest of this thread before "schooling" you re: Goddard and "Gone With the Wind!" But I've kept the comment intact, since I did say some things on the subject that the other poster didn't.
Whatever you do, DO NOT read this sig--ACKKK!!! TOO LATE!!!
I think Paulette Goddard looks like Nicole Kidman in this movie.
shareYeah. She is one of beautiful women I've ever seen in my life.
I also thought about starting a thread because of her. She looks georgeous in this movie, totally different from the other women in 1920/1930s movies. She is kind of a wild animal. Its the first time i get aroused from a girl in a black&white movie of that age. I can understand Chaplin for marrying her !
shareI was struck by the same thing. I think that part of this attraction is due to her hair style. Most of the time, her hair is hanging down straight with a minimum of styling. It makes her look strangely contemporary. Later, during that fantasy sequence of she and Chaplain in their dream house, her hair is "marcelled" in a 1930's style and she looks more old-fashioned.
Also, her expressions and body language are very expressive, almost savage at times. This is also closer to today's acting styles, especially for women.
I think she was supposed to be almost "savage" in this film - look at the conditions she is living in with her sisters and father - resorting to stealing food, not just for her family, but for others living in similar conditions. It's a great comment on the "modern times" - we tend to think we are at our most civilized at the current time, or at least civilization has advanced, but even in our modern civilization, many have to resort to 'savage' behavior to survive.
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