21 y.o. Bill Holden
Amazing to see Bill Holden so young...probably 20 while filming. Such star power at a young age. Easy to see why he became a star.
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21 years old and impossibly handsome!
Although handsome, he looked old for his age. It may possibly be his voice, I don't know. He was beautiful until the drinking took his looks quickly.
shareI don't think Holden looked old at all -- in fact, he looks so incredibly young in this movie that he's almost unrecognizable, practically a kid. What makes him seem older than his age is that voice of his. The guy had already mastered the art of delivery, and he sounds at least like someone in his 30s.
There, daddy, do I get a gold star?
I agree! I almost didn't recognize him at all. William Holden looks young and, i agree, almost unrecognizable. It was his voice that made me double check the cast list. Holden's voice is the same! I say this and think the earliest films I've seen him in are from 1950 (Sunset Blvd. and Born Yesterday).
shareI agree with you and gnolti. I didn't even realize that Joe Bonaparte was William Holden until late in the movie. Then I watched it over several times and still didn't recognize him. I knew it was, indeed, him when I checked his history on IMDB. Of course, your comment cements it.
shareEven though it was the drinking that took a toll on his looks, his weathered, lined face matched his gravelly, somber voice. This is the third film I've seen pre-1950s, and I vastly prefer his dissipated features, because they gave him character and made him interesting-handsome, rather than boyishly handsome. But it is a shocker seeing him look so young and untested in Golden Boy (and even I Wanted Wings)!
shareHe looked young in this film, it was probably the drinking that aged him prematurely. By the late 40s he started looking much older than he was.
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