When you ponder all of the adjectives regularly applied to modern movie stars, or, more specifically, the characters they play, you might suggest "handsome" or "mysterious" or "funny" as top contenders.
But rarely does one hear of a thespian being all that swashbuckling nowadays. It was a term very much applied to a certain strata of actor back in the 1930s, an age when films featuring grander-than-grand swordsmen and swaggerers captured the fancy of a public looking for cinematic escape. And it was a starry sphere very much occupied by Tyrone Power.
The celebrity and cinema swashbucklery were pretty much synonymous, thanks to his gallant turn in "The Mask of Zorro" and a number of the box office favorites that unspooled from the 1930s through '50s. The Hollywood Museum is looking back on the actor's adventurous roles, with an exhibit called "Tyrone Power: Man, Myth & Movie Idol."
It's on the second floor of the landmark Max Factor building near Hollywood & Highland through Jan. 11, 2015.
Look for goodies from his "Zorro" role, including embroidered trousers, as well as his "suit of lights" matador suit from "Blood and Sand" and a hat from "Captain from Castile."
Script's from "The Razor's Edge," "Love Is News," and "In Old Chicago" are also part of the comprehensive look-back. Private mementos and photographs are also in the cases, and gowns worn by some of the actor's co-stars.
The retrospective, which is in honor of the centennial of the swashbuckler's birth year, came together with the help of Tyrone Power, Jr., the star's son. (Update: The Movie Memories Foundation also gave great assist with the exhibit.)
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If you're a film fan of that golden era, bet you'll find a favorite flick or two heralded in the display. If you're an actor looking to take on a more adventurous, even swashbucklean manner, when it comes to the parts you'd love to get, perhaps studying Mr. Power's easy bravery on screen is step one in this particular handbook.
