Applejack made a great suggestion, so I thought I’d follow up on it. As a fun exercise, I’ll give a list of classic Hollywood actors and you tell me which DC heroes or villains they would be perfect casting for. This time, I thought I’d mix it up and add some music and comedy stars to go along with the dramatic actors, so here we go:
Susan Hayward (ca. 1952)
Tyrone Power (ca. 1940)
Betty Grable (ca. 1943)
Groucho Marx (ca. 1937)
Ginger Rogers (ca, 1936)
Richard Widmark (ca. 1947)
Tyrone Power would do well as Batman. He played Zorro too, so it’d only be fitting.
Groucho Marx…Joker, maybe? The glasses and 'stache would need to go and camera trickery would need to be utilized to make him appear taller.
Clark Gable could’ve been a decent Superman.
Susan Heyward, Wonder Woman. Look at the photo below. That’s perfect WW casting as Diana appeared then.
is still curious what Orson Welles’ Batman movie would’ve been like
and I’ll add one
7: Jayne Mansfield (1956) Power Girl
Richard Widmark would have to be the Joker. Tommy Udo from A Touch of Evil is the Joker.
What do we think would be a good role for Peter Lorre?
How about the Scarecrow?
If the character existed in his day, I bet Humphrey Bogart would have nailed The Question.
I absolutely love this thread. Keep them coming guys!
Jules Feifer in his book on superheroes said that Fred Mcmurry was the model for the body of the original Captain Marvel.
Jimmy Stuart based on Destry Rides Again or any movie western hero Vigilante. Depends how serious you want the movie to be. And when older was in a lot of westerns
Like Bogart as Question.
How about Lon Chaney Jr as Wildcat? I could see him in the boxing ring.
Cyd Charisse as Catwoman.
Lucille Ball as Harley Quinn
Burt Lancaster was a acrobat. Watch the Crimson Pirate. What is DC version of Daredevil? He is not a Batman Type.
James Cagney as the Golden Age Atom
Marilyn Manroe forBlack Canary
Vivian Leigh or Ava Gardner as Zatanna
Judy Holliday as Harley Quinn
Lena Horne as Vixen
Sidney Potier as Mr Terrific
Jack Lemmon as Joker
Robert Michum or Rock Hudson as Superman
Lauren Becall as Lois Lane
Yul Brynner as Lex Luthor
Broderick Crawford as Perry White
Tony Curtis as Jimmy Olson
Claude Rains as Osymandius
Peter O Toole as John Constantine
David Niven as Arthur Pennyworth
Alfred not Arthur of course
Peter Lorre as Hugo Strange.
Peter Cushing as Ra’s Al Guhl
Marty Feldman as Riddler
Boris Karlof as Scarecrow
Vincent Price as The Phantom Stranger
Humphrey Bogart as The Spectre (imagine him as Jim Corrigan)
Whoa! You folks have some great casting notions! Thanks for the responses. I didn’t really see Susan Hayward as Wonder Woman, but seeing that picture of her, yes! If she did play the part, how about her battling Maureen O’Hara as Giganta? If there’s anything more formidable than a cheesed-off Maureen O’Hara, it would be a 50-foot, cheesed-off Maureen O’Hara!
And how about Doom Patrol? I could probably see:
Lon Chaney Jr. as Cliff Steele
Paulette Goddard as Crazy Jane
Van Johnson as Larry Trainor
Evelyn Ankers as Rita Farr
Claude Rains as Niles Caulder
Rita Hayworth as Madame Rouge
Burt Lancaster…he would have been a pretty damn great Superman I think.
Loves me some Burt Lancaster.
Gregory Peck – Batman
Clint Walker – Superman
Paul Newman – Hal Jordan (obviously if you know HJ’s creation history)
Tyrone Power – Two Face
Heddy Lamar – Wonder Woman
Johnny Weissmuller – Aquaman
Joel Mcrea – Jay Garrick
Marlon Brando – Vandal Savage
Mickey Rooney – Golden Age Atom
Montgomery Clift – John Constantine
Troy Donahue – Barry Allen
Paul Robeson – John Stewart
James Edwards – Black Manta
George Sanders – Lex Luthor
Buster Crabbe – Golden Age Hawkman
Bette Davis – Magpie
Ester Williams as Mera
How about Edward G. Robinson? I’m thinking maybe Perry White.
Also, John Wayne as Hal Jordan, or maybe Superman.
I could see a younger Orson Welles as Batman, or an older one as Lex Luthor or Vandal Savage or somebody like that.
