MovieChat Forums > Crisis (1950) Discussion > Gilbert Roland

Gilbert Roland

posted 18 years ago by swanky7611
16 replies | jump to latest

Gilbert Roland was one good looking man, that black hair, olive skin, hazel eyes and jaw line, whew! He was what they call now a 'Hunk' but from the 50's. He and Cary Grant were the best looking actors in that movie. All this time I thought he was french just found out through this site he was mexican born. It also says he was 6 foot tall, he didn't look that tall to me in the movie, I would say 5' 10" if I were to guess. I don't know much about his career except I saw him one time in a movie musical called 'The French Line' on TCM, guess that is where I got my confusion over his country of origin. Looks like he lived a long life, till 89.

[–] wpbc1945 18 years ago

Hey T,

Didn't expect to see you here. Our mutual friend recommended this film to me and I was checking it out. I would agree that Gilbert Roland would have qualified as a hearthrob or hunk as you put it during his prime in the fifties. He did a good movie filmed in south Louisiana called "Thunder Bay" with Jimmy Stewart about oil men vs. local shrimp fishermen. It was pretty good. Mr. Roland was especially good in his role. He was very suave.

Hope things are going well for you.

M

[–] swanky7611 18 years ago

Hi Mac,
Long time no hear. Thanks for the tidbits on Gilbert. I caught part of the Crisis movie last week, from what I saw it was a nail biter. I will have to look for Thunder Bay when it shows on TCM.Did he play a Cajun in Thunder Bay,is that the correct term?
thanks,
Tom

[–] wpbc1945 18 years ago

Hey Tom,

You posed an interesting question? I never really thought about whether they were Cajun. I think that is a correct term. South Louisiana is a "melting pot" of sorts. Many of the people in the fishing industry are Cajuns (descendants of French ancestry that mixed with various groups down here). We have lots of nationalities around here. French, Italian, Hungarian, German, and probably lots of others. Around New Orleans, there is a large African American population as well as Vietnamese and Hispanic populations.

Didn't mean to go off on a geography lesson. But yes, those would be considered Cajuns. Lots of Italian (not just French) in the mix though.

I noticed that you liked Gilbert. You would probably like Thunder Bay. He spends most of the movie with his shirt open. I have to admit, he looked good with the hairy chest going on. One website I saw referred to him and the "grand-daddy on all fur". I guess he was one of the first men to sport a hairy chest for a movie. Back in the fifties, stars were often required to shave their chests for shirtless scenes. So silly. I think a hairy chest is very masculine in a man. I wish I had more. :-)

Good to hear from you. Try to see Thunder Bay. It is a good movie and Gilbert's performance is very good too. :-)

Take care,

Mac

[–] swanky7611 18 years ago

Mac,
Sorry its taken me so long to respond but spring has sprung in the north east and I have been outdoors most of the weekend doing yard work and just enjoying the beautiful weather. Hope you had a nice Easter.
No doubt about it Gilbert was a very handsome man. That is weird about the 50's with men with hairy chests not showing them much. I guess it goes along with the culture of the times. I will have to look for that movie Thunder Bay if they show it on TCM. So whats your background if you don't mind me asking? Are you an ethnic mix like the people of New Orleans?
Well, its a beautiful evening here in the high 60's and sunny, I think I will go out on my patio and enjoy some of it before the sun goes down.
later,
Tom

[–] wpbc1945 18 years ago

Hey Tom,

Don't worry about the delay in response. We all have lives outside of these boards (don't we?????) :-) Just kidding. We had a very nice Easter with most of the family at our house for a big meal. We are in a drought in SE Louisiana. We have had any rain for 20 days and little before that. With all of the dust and pollen in the air, people can't get over these allergy attacks. We have them "with a vengence" down here. Thankfully the heat hasn't gotten too bad just yet.

I have never understood the "no chest hair" thing from the early movie days. Sometime during the forties or fifties they must have let those rules go. Some of the World War 2 movies might show a shirtless hairy chested man. Some of the early stars like John Payne was shaved during early shirtless scenes and had lots of chest hair later. At least Mr. Roland was man enough to not let them force him to shave his "badge of honor". I seem to remember reading that early censors found chest hair too "provocative". If they could only see movies now!!! Even today there seems to be a fashion attitude against body hair on men. I think that is really dumb. I think chest hair is very attractive on men. I wish I had way more of it. My chest hair is thin and hard to see unless I am wet. What are your thoughts on the issue?

I don't mind your asking about my background at all. My dad's side of the family is of German ancestry with a good bit of Irish and one full blooded American Indian (Cherokee). My mom's side is Irish, English, and a touch of Scotland. We think that dad's family might be related to some of the pioneer settlers that settled in east Teneesee and Georgia. If you have ever been to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (our favorite place on earth), the Cades Cove area has some families that share our last name. We don't know if it's the same family and records don't go back into the early 1820's.

Tom, I didn't mean to rattle on so badly. Sorry.

Aren't these lovely "patio evenings" of spring wonderful? I go outside for at least an hour every evening. In a few months, the heat will get too bad to enjoy it much.

Take care. Give me your thoughts on all this when time permits.

Mac

[–] swanky7611 18 years ago

Mac,
hope you got some relief from the dry spell you are having down there. We got ours on saturday, it rained and rained. We needed it but since I work M-F it does spoil the weekend a bit.
I see you do have some knowledge of your family history. I never was into it, thought it a bore until a few years ago. My sister was trying to get herself and her daughter registered with the DAR and she was talking about it and I gave her some info she missed, I guess I must have been paying attention more than I realized when the grandparents were talking.
I have never been to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park but I have been through the area before and it is quite beautiful. I also love Ashville NC where Biltmore is located, very very beautiful area. It is amazing when you do research on your family history how it ties in so much with american history and what was going on in Europe and why they immigrated here. I watched a program one time on Appalachia and they said the English brought over the Scotch/Irish to settle in the mountains because they were a hardy lot of people and fighters and could defend their land from the indians if they had to.
Your ethnic mixture is pretty much white bread except for the Cherokee. I hear having indian blood contributes to high cheekbones, resistance to poison ivy and a complexion that is capable of a deep tan. Are these just myths or is that true in your case? Do you know where in germany your fathers german roots are from? My fathers german side is from Pfortzheim Grand Duchy of Baden. They immigrated in 1829 to New York then settled in Philadelphia.
Well, I guess this is way off topic as far as movies and actors are concerned. I got chatty myself.
talk again,
Tom

[–] wpbc1945 18 years ago

Tom,

Thanks for your response. We finally did get one brief shower on Friday afternoon, but nothing close to breaking the drought. We are hoping for more tomorrow.

Ashville NC is beautiful and I love the Biltmore Estate and Gradens. I haven't been in many years, but we visited there several times and I loved the restaurant they had on the estate grounds (called the Deer Park if my memory serves me correctly).

I don't know if the factors you mentioned are myths, but I can assure you that I didn't inherit any of those characteristics. My great-great grandmother was a full blooded Cherokee princess (whatever that means), but only one of my grandmothers daughters possess the darker skin and high cheekbones. No, I am strictly German/Irish/English. I don't tan well, my cheekbones are average, and I don't handle poison ivy well. I wish I could tan. When I was young, I did tan and godd run around with my shirt off during summer days. But the trips to Florida came back to haunt me. I had a skin cancer at age 30 that had to be cut out of my shoulder. Nothing uncommon, but the doctor told me that it was just from early years of being outside without my shirt. I dislike the scar on my shoulder, but I have very little occasion to be outside shirtless these days unless I'm washing the Expedition.

I don't know where in Germany my ancestors came from. I will ask my dad if he knows. We have had a few family members interested in geneology, but I'm not too interested either.

Thanks for being chatty. Tell me a little about your physical characeristics.

Enjoyed the visit.

Mac

[–] swanky7611 18 years ago

Hi Mac,
It is beautiful out here, but the pollen is getting to me today. I have been pretty good but I guess today was just too breezy and the trees are really budding out now. From what I have been told since there are so many oak trees in the area they have the most irritating pollen for allergy sufferers.
As far as my appearance I have been told that I look like Tab Hunter, Troy Donahue and Mark-Paul Gosselaar at different times from different people. I didnt know who Tab Hunter or Troy Donahue were when I was told that so I had to look them up. Personally I think I don't look very much like anyone of them alone, except I am clean cut, wholesome all american looking with blond hair, atheletic build and tall,(6' 2" short by your standards).
When I was in college a guy across the hall from me was from South Africa and he said I looked like I was from there. He told me the ethnic mixture of the white population is mostly english and dutch which is about 60 percent of what I am. So there you go. I personally like the exotic look or mediterranean look, that appeals to me. Did you ever get a chance to finish reading Art Gelien's autobiography? I thought it was very well written and an amazing amount of detail in there.
talk again,
T

[–] wpbc1945 18 years ago

Hey Tom,

The evenings are really beautiful. Our days have gotten pretty warm (upper 80's) and the evenings are in the upper 60's. I LOVE "patio time" during this part of the year. I may wash down the house this weekend and get a little sun. I can promise you that oak trees are BAD with pollen as well as pine trees. We have a live oak in the front and another oak in the back. Everything budded out alot earlier down here. We are on the end of our pollen season.

Based on what you told me--you must be one handsome devil!!!! :-) I'll bet you have broken a few hearts. Tab was the epitome of wholesome good looks and that guy still looks great. I would kill for that physique. That chest was awesome. I like the clean cut look in a man. It's the way guys should look. My hair has gone from blonde to ash brown over the years, but I highlight it with a blonde color. I like it short with a little spike. The first time one of my friend's wife saw me, she exclaimed "You look ten years younger!!!" I could tell my friend got a little jealous. I can't imagine why. His wife is pretty, but she gets on my last nerve. I am very pleased with my gym results. My arms and chest are "getting there". At 37, I look better than I did at 24. One lucky thing I have going, I don't look 37.

You're right about the Mediterranean look. There is something VERY sexy about it. It's true for both genders too. One of the most handsome men in Hollywood these days is Raul Bova. I first saw him in "Under the Tuscan Sun" with Diane Lane. His eyes were sparkling. He was very handsome and he looked good with her. I think she is very beautiful in a different kind of way. She is my favorite actress these days. I recently purchased a DVD concert of Andre Rieu--the Dutch orchestra leader doing a concert in Cortona in Tuscany. They panned the audience often and I have never seen so many beautiful dark tanned women with dark beautiful eyes in my life. The men were equally handsome.

Didn't mean to run on quite so long, but I have enjoyed the conversation. For someone so handsome, you're really nice. Just teasing.... :-)

Take care and don't let those allergies get you down.

Mac

[–] swanky7611 18 years ago

Now don't stereo type, Good looking people can be nice and not stuck on themselves. But from my experience people generally are envious of someone who is goodlooking and are looking to find flaws in their personality as if to say, 'See they aren't all that'. People do expect one to be a certain way based on their looks, but that is understandable thats human nature. Everyone needs to make an effort to try and put aside stereotypes and let the real person come through, that is the real challenge. I certainly have been guilty of that myself. When I was in middle school through college I only wanted to socialize with like people and that is a shame because you miss out on many worthwhile people. After all if you only socialize with people from the same experiences, looks, ect, what do you learn from them? It still is a challenge for me to step outside my comfort zone so to speak and socialize with people of different backgrounds and experiences, but I try.
From your description of yourself Mac, you sound not as bad looking as you indicated earlier. As I said before we can be our own worst critics. I am glad to hear with you getting older it is getting better. That is certainly one advantage of getting older, some things do improve.
Well again off topic. I have to find something relevant for us to discuss. I know I have one for Terry but don't know if he would be receptive. I certainly don't mean to antagonize him in any way or cause any uncomfortable feelings. I read a few years ago a biography of sorts, (it was really his journal published posthumously) about a writer from England named Christopher Isherwood and want to know what he knows of him. He hasn't responed back to me in weeks, should I contact him?
thanks,
T

[–] wpbc1945 18 years ago

Hey Tom,

I was just joking about the good looking nice people thing. I know that looks have NOTHING to do with whether a person is nice. I know plenty of good looking people that are even more beautiful on the inside. Also, don't get the impression I am down on myself or don't like my looks. I got to self-confidence point a little later in life, but I got there. I am very satisfied with my looks--they're not bad at all. I love FINALLY being able to look good it a tight t-shirt. Like I mentioned before, married women love me. I just don't have those model quality looks--but hell, very few people do. I am my own worst critic though. We all are. I just couldn't resist ribbing you a little when you said you looked like Tab Hunter. I have determined in our conversation they have have much finer, deeper qualities than just good looks.

As far as better topics to discuss, tell me more of your favorite stars--classic or modern. You already mentioned one of my favorites on this post--Cary Grant. Who was more suave and sophisticated than him? I am curious to know which leading men you liked. I know that you thought Gilbert Roland was handsome. What do you think of William Holden? We watched Picnic a few nights ago. Give me some more names and your thoughts. Women too of course.

Regarding Terry, I keep up with him pretty regularly. I don't know how to advice you on that one. Have you posted information about your question somewhere that he hasn't responded? He might be up to a question. I don't think he dislikes you or anything like that. He has some posts under actor Alan Ladd in the last day or two. The first two threads have his user id. Give him a try. he may have good information for you. He has had quite an interesting life.

Good talking to you. Don't take my little jokes too seriously--you handsome devil. ;-) (I know, I am pure smart-ass. Just in a good Southern way though. If you ever saw Steel Magnolias- Olympia Dukakis spoke the best one liner in that movie "Spoken like a true smart-ass".)

Take care buddy. PS - our drought is finally broken a little with 2 inches of rain yesterday. It was 51 degrees down here this morning--heavenly. Looking forward to patio time this evening with the cat.

Your friend,

Mac

[–] swanky7611 18 years ago

Mac,
Great weekend up here, hope you had a good one too.
As far as my favorite leading men from the classics, I would definately say hands down Cary Grant. As you said sophisticated, handsome, sense of humor,and a very good actor, he was the total package. Its a shame he never won an Oscar. I guess he was victim of a very handsome man who made it look too easy so he wasn't taken seriously. My favorite movie he did was Bringing Up Baby. He had such comedic timing I laugh every time I see that movie. My second favorite is Arsenic and Old Lace. The two old spinster Aunts remind me so much of my two old spinster great aunts too, may they rest in peace. And of course I loved North by Northwest. I am also a big Hitchcock fan. Other leading men of yesturyear Robert Taylor and Stewart Granger both I consider to be very classically handsome as apposed to All American good looks.
Its funny you mention Picinic, when I lived in California I took an acting class and the prof asked me to be Hal in their production. I related to him on an emotional level. Then this same prof asked me to be in Golden Boy. He thought the basic emotions I could relate to, but style for the character would be an acting stretch for me. I found the later role quite difficult and don't think I succeeded. I like William Holden in his roles from the 50's such as in Picinic, Sunset Blvd. I also like him in The world of Suzie Wong.
I liked that movie STeel Magnolias. It was funny and sad too a good combo. That is a memorable line the other is if you don't have anything nice to say then sit next to me. I think I am going to post something on Christopher Isherwood. Maybe Terry will see it and add his perspective.
Hope you had a good Monday.
Tom

[–] wpbc1945 18 years ago

Hey Tom,

We had a good weekend down here. Saturday night it rained from about 8:30p until morning. We got over four inches at the house. Very much needed. Sunday was spectacular and great patio time in the evenings.

It is hard to beat Cary Grant. I found his sophistication was a quality as attractive as his looks were. I liked Bring Up Baby too, but Arsenic and Old Lace just didn't do it for me. He was wonderful in An Affair to Remember. You made good choices in Robert Taylor and Stewart Granger. Robert Taylor was once referred to as "the man with the perfect profile". His face did look like a sculpture. Great bone structure. Stewart Granger was great in King Solomon's Mines with Deborah Kerr and The Prisoner of Zenda. Stewart always got plenty of shirtless time. I would also add George Montgomery. He was never quite as big a star, but he had the looks. Tyrone Power was an impressive looking man too.

I loved the story about you getting picked for the role of Hal. I'm sure you did much better than you think. Don't be critical of yourself (where did I hear that before??? :-) Ironically, I remember hearing on TCM that Bill Holden did like his performance in Picnic. He said he was ten years too old and Brando would have done a better job. I like Holden. He was great with Gloria Swanson. She or Bette Davis should have won the Oscar that year.

Steel Magnolias was great with all of the one-liners. My best friend in college was a concert pianist. His favorite line was from Tom Skerritt to Shirley McLaine at the groom's cake-- "Thanks Wheezer, nothin' like a good piece of ass." We laughed at that until we cried. The one you mentioned was my other favorite.

Hope you hear from Terry about your post. Check into this post once in a while and keep in touch.

Mac

[–] slipmahoney416 14 years ago

They have a thing called email.

You should try it.

[–] ausfi 11 years ago

Heh heh, I was just thinking that! I must say that I hardly read any of that, like I was eavesdropping.

[–] 11 years ago

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