What d'ya think? Is Bob as advertised, or could the studios have possibly exaggerated his height just a tad? Egads, tell me it isn't so!
In the movie The Big House (1930), the scene wherein Bob is checking into prison and his vital statistics are being gathered, his height is read off as being 5' 11". Could it be so? Hmm.
The studios tended to add an inch or two to all their male stars, particularly if it got their height over 6'. That was a very tall man in the 1930s. Gable's height was listed the same as Bob's. They are very close to the same height, depending upon the angle, in Forsaking All Others (1934). And since I've thought for ages that Gable was more like 5' 10" to 5' 11", I guess I'll have to go with Bob's height as being under 6' as well. I think Bob may have been a tad taller than Gable, winning by a neck!! (Sorry, I just couldn't resist it.)
It's really not that all this matters a whole heck of a lot. It doesn't lessen Bob's stature a bit, and that's what really counts.
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4 comments:
Maybe they fudged George's numbers. He always looked like a big dude you wouldn't want to find in an alleyway to me.
Bill Powell has also been described as 6' and also 5'11". So, I got out The Last of Mrs Cheyney last night and watched it again so I could see them side by side. Bob appears to be slightly taller than Bill. It could be posture, as Bill's is more relaxed, but I truly think Bob was slightly taller than Bill. I think 6' was Bob's actual height. He always appeared taller than Roz Russell and she was 5'8" and usually was in heels. When you stand next to someone who is 6'3" or 6'4" EVERYBODY looks short.
I think they also describe Bob as being 5'11" in Fugitive Lovers. I still think he was 6'. :)
Carrie! May the ghost of George Sanders be the worse image you encounter in a dark alleyway!!
Debbie...good point about Roz. There were a limited number of stars who could be paired with her, even when she was only allowed to wear flats! I tend to agree with you on 6' as his adult height. Hey, he might even have been 6'1", when he was a youth. Speaking from experience, we all get shorter as we age. That long neck he had as a youth does become more average as he ages!
I promise not to pick on Bob in my next post...
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