"Robert Taylor was not only a splendid actor in a wide variety of roles but one of the most handsome men in the western world"
About this Quote
There is a deliciously old-Hollywood double move in Audrey Meadows praising Robert Taylor: she elevates his craft, then immediately crowns his face. The line is engineered like a studio-era publicity still - professionalism framed by glamour - and that’s the point. Meadows isn’t just complimenting a colleague; she’s reproducing the value system of a film industry that sold talent and beauty as a single package, then pretended the first was the main event.
Notice the phrasing: “not only” signals virtue, breadth, work ethic. “A wide variety of roles” is the respectability clause, the part that lets admiration sound earned rather than swoony. Then she swivels to “one of the most handsome men in the western world,” a hyperbolic geography that’s half flirtation, half marketing copy. “Western world” isn’t a measurable category; it’s a cultural pedestal. It turns Taylor into an export-quality icon, the kind of man a studio could position as proof of American elegance.
The subtext is also about safety and status. Meadows, herself an actress navigating an industry allergic to women’s authority, gets to speak with certainty here because the compliment is “allowed”: praising a male star’s looks reads as playful, not threatening, while still asserting her insider credibility. It’s admiration, yes, but it’s also a tiny act of canon-making - the way Hollywood people keep the mythology intact, even when they’re being sincere.
Notice the phrasing: “not only” signals virtue, breadth, work ethic. “A wide variety of roles” is the respectability clause, the part that lets admiration sound earned rather than swoony. Then she swivels to “one of the most handsome men in the western world,” a hyperbolic geography that’s half flirtation, half marketing copy. “Western world” isn’t a measurable category; it’s a cultural pedestal. It turns Taylor into an export-quality icon, the kind of man a studio could position as proof of American elegance.
The subtext is also about safety and status. Meadows, herself an actress navigating an industry allergic to women’s authority, gets to speak with certainty here because the compliment is “allowed”: praising a male star’s looks reads as playful, not threatening, while still asserting her insider credibility. It’s admiration, yes, but it’s also a tiny act of canon-making - the way Hollywood people keep the mythology intact, even when they’re being sincere.
Quote Details
| Topic | Movie |
|---|
More Quotes by Audrey
Add to List
