Akemi Tani and Delores Faith were impressive dark beauties. Coleen Gray at age 38 was one hot mama. Memorable space scenery, spaceship, and a rare sci-fi story set mostly on an asteroid make for a truly enjoyable experience.
When you watch films from this period, it seems that half the beauties resemble Marilyn Monroe, and the other half resemble Elizabeth Taylor. The female lead for this movie falls into the Taylor camp.
Monroe has never done a lot for me, but Taylor in her prime was as gorgeous as they come. No wonder they tried to copy her look so often.
"He was running around like a rooster in a barnyard full of ducks."--Pat Novak
Even though she wasn't very attractive later, I would have to say that Davis, with those classic eyes, was quite the looker when she was young. It is very interesting how some people, both male and female, age very well, while others lose it all as soon as they get that first wrinkle.
"He was running around like a rooster in a barnyard full of ducks."--Pat Novak
Some men, when young, aren't completely superficial. An intelligent woman such as Davis would have had multiple suitors. Her smoking and drinking must have greatly accelerated her aging.
Just a couple of weeks ago I was discussing the effect smoking had on prematurely aging people, especially actresses, on the Amanda Blake board. I was very surprised when I did a little research and saw that many young actresses persist in smoking to this day.
Setting aside the fact that smoking helped kill so many classic actors and actresses, you'd think that vanity alone would convince them to kick the habit. Another poster on that board called into question my assertion that smoking results in premature aging, but I don't think there is any doubt. I didn't think about it at the time, but you're right--all that drinking can't be good for your appearance, either.
"He was running around like a rooster in a barnyard full of ducks."--Pat Novak
Apparently smoking is very acceptable in acting and supermodel circles. The only other segments of American society that still has high rates of nicotine usage is amongst the working class and some young adults.
A mystery since these artistic folks would certainly want to prolong their careers as long as possible.
I think Amanda Blake hit the bottle pretty hard, too. Killer combination.
Nowadays we're more used to the artificially young - actresses like Nicole Kidman distort their features with surgery and injections that removes wrinkles and wattles but fail at convincing us they aren't getting old.
In real life I think most women can figure on looking more or less like Barbara Bush by the time they hit retirement age. In the real world Blake, and moreso Bette Davis, are the rule rather than the exception.
Was Miss Kitty a madam or a prostitute? I don't think the show ever was very explicit about it, but in real life her 'girls' wouldn't have been there just to talk to lonely cowboys. Making a living on your back is going to take something out of you, too.