Betsy Palmer

There's something enormously appealing about Betsy Palmer and her role in The Tin Star (1957) -- a strong woman, dedicated to raising her young son under extremely trying circumstances, who is also warm and giving: something like Janet Leigh and Corinne Calvet in those other Anthony Mann westerns The Naked Spur (1953) and The Far Country (1954). And Jean Arthur in Shane (1953) is from the same mold: strong, enduring, modest, not shooting her mouth off in any fashion. And all the more attractive for it. Remarkably, all blondes of a type you just never see on screen anymore. Of course, this is just me being sexist, because women -- every woman -- has the right to be just as objectionable and repellent as the worst man history ever created. And they prove it regularly in movies. In fact, you don't expect to see a blonde on screen today without looking for her private parts (that clip of Sharon Stone) or seeing her thrust them back into some guy's crotch (Miley Cyrus).