"13"

Over the course of movie history, there have been the great actresses, women who light up the screen with charisma and character, like Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, and Meryl Streep. There have also been women whose special gifts had more to do with the sexual allure they projected. Hey fellas, you must have noticed them, right? Brace yourselves then- here are our picks for the top twenty female cinematic sex symbols of all time. (Drum roll). 

Katharine Hepburn, whose birthday falls today, remains the only actor or actress to be awarded four Oscars. Yes, Meryl has long since surpassed her on nominations, but Kate still leads on wins. Few people now realize that by the end of 1938, after just six years in Hollywood, pundits were saying Kate was all washed up. In 1939, the year many point to as Hollywood’s finest, Kate didn’t have a single movie credit.  True, she got her first break early enough, as talking pictures in the early ‘30s were always searching for young, attractive Broadway-bred comers who could actually speak. Kate made an auspicious debut in 1932’s “A Bill Of Divorcement," opposite the aging, alcoholic John Barrymore (who played her father).

Gary Cooper was born 113 years ago today, and while he'll always be remembered as the man who played their favorite cowboy or hero, many also recall him simply as the man with THAT FACE. (Just ask my wife!) When he broke into the movie scene in the mid-late '20s, talking pictures were still 2-3 years away. While Coop's arresting looks and "aw shucks" manner would have guaranteed him a solid career in silents, he had a nice baritone voice that only made him more appealing when talking pictures finally arrived. So as the talkies took off, so did Coop's career. The product of an authentic western upbringing in Montana, Coop represented something singularly American to his audience, and they loved him for it. Pair that with an understated style and a face that would force any cowgirl to stop a galloping mustang in its tracks, and you've got yourself a true Hollywood Legend who lives on in our dreams.

Late last night, one of Hollywood’s old guard passed away in his home, surround ed by his family. Mickey Rooney was 93.  Though he would later become known as one of Hollywood's premier character actors, in his youth, Rooney was the box office draw, playing the plucky protagonist in a series of “Andy Hardy” films. From 1939 to 1941, America couldn’t get enough of Rooney’s eager face.  All of that changed with the coming of World War II, when Mickey joined the effort. In fact he may have signed up in part to get a break from playing those enthusiastic, spunky, can-do characters; Rooney once said of those years, “I was a 13-year-old boy for 30 years.”

Though the celebratory pomp won't literally explode (with a 21-cannon salute!) until her "Official" birthday in June, it’s today that Queen Elizabeth II actually turns 90, and she shows no signs of slowing down. Her Majesty still rides horses, carries out Investitures (those big ceremonies where diplomats and Rolling Stone singers become Knights), and brightens over 400 engagements each year with her little-legged corgis and big hats. 

“Noah,” starring Russell Crowe and a Pentateuchal God punishing the wicked with about 45 minutes of world-destroying CGI, opens today. While you could go blow money on this floating mess of animalia, we recommend you skip it, and watch a better Biblical movie – “The 10 Commandments” (1956), directed by the King of Spectacle Films, Cecil B. DeMille.  “Commandments” retells the Biblical tale of Moses, from his float down a river, to becoming a prince of Egypt, to his successful career as a prophet. It’s a film worthy of the record-breaking $13.5M budget it eventually received. It was to be DeMille’s magnum opus, and he treated it as such. When studio bean-counters complained about spiraling costs, DeMille asked if he should stop filming and make “The Five Commandments” instead.

You can’t help but be moved by the tragic life of actress Gene Tierney. Though endowed with astonishing beauty and talent that won her early fame, a series of misfortunes would eventually bring her to the brink of suicide.

There’s a certain brand of comedy that’s prevalent today. Do I really need to describe it? Four letter words and graphic, gross-out jokes come fast and furious, and admittedly, often it’s all very funny. Nothing wrong with it, when it’s done reasonably well. But as a steady diet? I don’t know about you, but I get indigestion.