Short subjects... (I mean short actors)

[Phillyrich]

I like Alan Ladd. I was surprised to learn "Shane" was only 5 feet 5 inches tall. He seemed to act "bigger." He was paired with Veronica in Noir partly for the height issue, as she was barely 5 feet tall.

Cagney and Edward G Robinson played iconic gangsters and they both were about 5'5"---but they did project as BIGGER men. I wonder if they used some tricks, maybe lifts in their shoes in some scenes? Barbara Stanwyck also played taller than she was.

Ginger Rogers was pretty short against the 5'9" Astaire, and when Rita Hayworth was paired with Astaire she was almost as tall as him. Gene Kelly was about 5'7" and also had shorter leading ladies, or staging to help him.

Has anyone written on this subject?

[momsne]

Randy Newman in his song "Short People."

Short people got no reason
Short people got no reason
Short people got no reason
To live

They got little hands
Little eyes
They walk around
Tellin' great big lies
They got little noses
And tiny little teeth
They wear platform shoes
On their nasty little feet

Well, I don't want no short people
Don't want no short people
Don't want no short people
`Round here

Short people are just the same
As you and I
(A fool such as I)
All men are brothers
Until the day they die
(It's a wonderful world)

Short people got nobody
Short people got nobody
Short people got nobody
To love

They got little baby legs
That stand so low
You got to pick em up
Just to say hello
They got little cars
That go beep, beep, beep
They got little voices
Goin' peep, peep, peep
They got grubby little fingers
And dirty little minds
They're gonna get you every time
Well, I don't want no short people
Don't want no short people
Don't want no short people
'Round here

[Donald Binks]

When I visited Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood a couple of years back, I found a lot of people looking at names and footprints of people I had never heard of. Trouble was, whilst they were trying to get to these, they were obliterating the more important impressions I wished to see. One of the things I noticed was how small some of these impressions were. I particularly remember how small John Barrymore's feet were.

[Wm. Charles Morrow]

The actress Helen Vinson, who was 5' 7", commented on this. On her IMDb page she's quoted as saying: "Hollywood seemed to be an absolute sea of short men. Robinson, Muni, James Cagney and George Raft all had to stand on boxes when they acted with me." I don't recall where I read it, but somewhere Vinson remarked that Joel McCrea was the best-looking man she worked with; he was over 6' 2." Maybe she just had a thing for tall guys.

[Frederica]

The actress Helen Vinson, who was 5' 7", commented on this. On her IMDb page she's quoted as saying: "Hollywood seemed to be an absolute sea of short men. Robinson, Muni, James Cagney and George Raft all had to stand on boxes when they acted with me." I don't recall where I read it, but somewhere Vinson remarked that Joel McCrea was the best-looking man she worked with; he was over 6' 2." Maybe she just had a thing for tall guys.

Buster Keaton was petite. He seemed to recognize that being paired with strapping male costars was inherently funny, but his leading ladies were invariably teeny.

[Brooksie]

I've seen a picture of Bogart using lifts in his shoes during Casablanca. He was not particularly short, but at 5 foot 7, Ingrid Bergman was particularly tall.

[mwalls]

I never thought of Barbara Stanwyck as being short. How tall was she?

[Phillyrich]

Stanwyck is "listed" at imdb at 5'5". I wonder if that's true.

Edward G Robinson is listed at imdb at 5'7"--that can't be true. He's shorter by 2 or 3 inches.
Cagney listed at 5' 61/2". Exaggeration, I'd say.

[maliejandra]

Since I am rather short (4'10") I love that so many Hollywood actors and actresses were short too. I've read that both Gloria Swanson and Bessie Love were the shortest and around my height. Mary Pickford was about 5' tall.

As far as men go, the shortest leading man I've come across is Mickey Rooney who stood 5'3" in his heyday. I imagine he's probably shrunk a bit by now.

[odinthor]

Bobby Vernon--according to IMDB--was 5'2"; Ben Turpin was 5'4"; Chaplin, 5'5".

[Roseha]

Buster Keaton was petite. He seemed to recognize that being paired with strapping male costars was inherently funny, but his leading ladies were invariably teeny.

I've thought of that myself, most of them were very petite and dark haired, with the exception of Phyllis Haver in the Balloonatic, and to a lesser extent Kathryn McGuire, who seemed about his height. I did see McGuire in a Lupino Lane film at a Silent Clowns event in New York, and she definitely seemed taller than him.

I've seen a picture of Bogart using lifts in his shoes during Casablanca. He was not particularly short, but at 5 foot 7, Ingrid Bergman was particularly tall.

So was Bacall taller than Bogart then? As a model you would think she was but for some reason I don't remember noticing.

By the way, in November I went to a preview of the auction at Bonhams in New York City, called "What Dreams Are Made Of", and saw a costume Cary Grant was said to have worn in The Howards of Virginia. It was way smaller than I would have expected - he must not have been a large man.

[Frederica]

So was Bacall taller than Bogart then? As a model you would think she was but for some reason I don't remember noticing.

I think she was, by an inch or so.

By the way, in November I went to a preview of the auction at Bonhams in New York City, called "What Dreams Are Made Of", and saw a costume Cary Grant was said to have worn in The Howards of Virginia. It was way smaller than I would have expected - he must not have been a large man.

I've seen costumes for Clint Eastwood and John Wayne, both of whom are/were tall men, but they were obviously not carrying around a lot of extra weight when they wore them. The Fashion Institute of Design has an annual exhibit of costumes from the last year's films, which I always try to see--there are inevitably some sizing surprises there.

[greta de groat]

I saw Garbo's dress from Gosta Berling at the Filmhuset in Stockholm, and she certainly wasn't a big woman by today's standards.

greta

[Brooksie]

I saw Garbo's dress from Gosta Berling at the Filmhuset in Stockholm, and she certainly wasn't a big woman by today's standards.

greta

And yet I saw one of Garbo's gowns alongside one of Clara Bow's and one of Mae West's, and couldn't help thinking what a giant she must have seemed at the time. It must be part of the reason why she was thought to have such large feet - by the standards of the day, she did.