Rearrange the Top 50 Stars

Interesting concept - here are my picks

1. Humphrey Bogart 1. Jimmy Stewart
2. Cary Grant 2. Clark Gable
3. James Stewart 3. Humphrey Bogart
4. Marlon Brando 4. Marlon Brando
5. Fred Astaire 5. Cary Grant
6. Henry Fonda 6. Gary Cooper
7. Clark Gable 7. John Wayne
8. James Cagney 8. Fred Astaire
9. Spencer Tracy 9. Charlie Chaplin
10. Charles Chaplin 10. James Dean
11. Gary Cooper 11. James Cagney
12. Gregory Peck 12. Spencer Tracy
13. John Wayne 13. Henry Fonda
14. Laurence Olivier 14. Buster Keaton
15. Gene Kelly 15. The Marx Brothers
16. Orson Welles 16. Gene Kelly
17. Kirk Douglas 17. Sidney Poitier
18. James Dean 18. Orson Welles
19. Burt Lancaster 19. Gregory Peck
20. The Marx Brothers 20. Laurence Olivier
21. Buster Keaton 21. Kirk Douglas
22. Sidney Poitier 22. Burt Lancaster
23. Robert Mitchum 23. Robert Mitchum
24. Edward G. Robinson 24. EG Robinson
25. William Holden 25. William Holden


1. Katharine Hepburn 1. Katharine Hepburn
2. Elizabeth Taylor 2. Bette Davis
3. Bette Davis 3. Audrey Hepburn
4. Ingrid Bergman 4. Ingrid Bergman
5. Lillian Gish 5. Greta Garbo
6. Joan Crawford 6. Marilyn Monroe
7. Judy Garland 7. Elizabeth Taylor
8. Audrey Hepburn 8. Judy Garland
9. Greta Garbo 9. Marlene Dietrich
10. Marilyn Monroe 10. Joan Crawford
11. Marlene Dietrich 11. Barbara Stanwyck
12. Mae West 12. Claudette Colbert
13. Vivien Leigh 13. Grace Kelly
14. Barbara Stanwyck 14. Ginger Rogers
15. Carol Lombard 15. Mae West
16. Jean Harlow 16. Vivien Leigh
17. Shirley Temple 17. Lillian Gish
18. Rita Hayworth 18. Shirley Temple
19. Lauren Bacall 19. Rita Hayworth
20. Claudette Colbert 20. Lauren Bacall
21. Ginger Rogers 21. Sophia Loren
22. Grace Kelly 22. Jean Harlow
23. Sophia Loren 23. Carole Lombard
24. Mary Pickford 24. Mary Pickford
25. Ava Gardner 25. Ava Gardner


And if I could delete picks #25-20 from the list and replace them with my own, my picks would be:


ACTORS:
20. Charles Laughton (vs. Olivier, comparable in talent, and though Olivier's career was longer, I think the difference is that during the Hollywood “Golden Age,” Laughton’s work was quintessentially "American" in nature, whereas most all of Olivier’s early successes were done out of the UK, except Rebecca and Wuthering, of course)

21. Rudolph Valentino (It was between him, Doug Fairbanks, and Lon Chaney. All three were influential, but Valentino's legend precedes him. Arguably the first major "latin lover" sex symbol, whose classic films like The Sheik, untimely death and massive funeral, have all become the stuff of legends)

22. W.C. Fields (I was going to pick Harold Lloyd, but Fields really was an American original, as physically gifted as Chaplin, Keaton, or Lloyd during his heyday in the Silents, but also a brilliant verbal comedian with biting sarcasm and extremely dark humor, which is probably what he's best known for today)

23. Mickey Rooney (Literally in show business since he was in diapers, virtually invented the “teen idol,” and maintained a solid body of work into his old age. Maybe his still being alive hurt?)

24. Montgomery Clift (How could they include Brando and Dean but exclude Clift? That’s like having a Marx Brother movie with only Groucho and Harpo. Or like including Darth Vader and Han Solo on the Heroes/Villains AFI List and leaving out Skywalker. Oh, wait – that happened)

25. Alan Ladd (Shane would be enough of a reason by itself, but vs. Holden, while both were stars for comparable periods of time, Bill Holden never had Paramount resting on his shoulders the way Ladd did in the Forties. Paramount made a not-so-small fortune on Ladd’s name alone. Ladd was also criminally underrated as an actor)

ACTRESSES:
20. Greer Garson (Radiant, beautiful, talented, charming, warm, witty, one of MGM’s biggest stars in the 40s, and frankly hard to ignore all of those Oscar nominations. But, Mrs. Miniver, so crucial to the war effort, would be enough on its own. Greer vs. Claudette - I frankly never understood all of the love that came Colbert’s way)

21. Olivia de Havilland (Anyone else would have just been “Melanie Hamilton” or "Errol Flynn's girl" and grateful for that. But this boat-rocker had to go and press herself as a serious actress in films like The Snake Pit and Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte and also win two Best Actress Oscars in the process)

22. Dorothy Dandridge (Not just the first black Lead Actress Oscar nominee, but actually the first ever black Lead nominee, period. But she wasn’t just a token or a historical footnote – she was a movie star. A star who deserved better)

23. Natalie Wood (Mainly for her work in West Side Story, but anyone who can hold her own with Bette Davis, Edmund Gwenn, John Wayne, and James Dean, all before turning 18 means business. One of the few child stars whose career was actually helped by puberty, and probably the most egregious omission, along with Rooney)

24. Lana Turner (The original “sweater girl” vs. “America’s sweetheart”; I like Mary and understand her significance as the first “movie star” but I know I’m not alone in my skepticism of her actual abilities. As it is, along with Garland & Rooney, Lana helped to invent the “teen idol,” while becoming a pretty great actress in the process)

25. Deborah Kerr (Mainly for her unforgettable portrayal of Anna in The King & I and legendary From Here to Eternity beach scene; but six Oscar nominations without a win? Criminy. Ava was good, but what did she do, really…)