My Ranking of the '66 Molls

General goings on in the 1966 Batman World

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BAT 77
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My Ranking of the '66 Molls

Post by BAT 77 »

Inspired by Andy's VILLAINS - LOVE - LIKE - DISLIKE - HATE post (which I will get around to offer my take), I thought I would put together my own list of all the Molls. These are my personal takes, and I welcome everyone to post their own rankings.

THE BEST (TOP 5)

Blaze
Molly
Susie
Doe, Rae & Mimi
Pauline

MEMORABLE

Lydia Limpet
Josie Miller
Queenie
Lady Prudence
Pussycat
Mousey
Okie Annie
Legs
Shirley
Cleo Patrick
Calamity Jan

INTERESTING AS A CHARACTER, BUT THAT’S IT

Betsey Boldface
Baby Jane Towser
Miss Bacon
Nefertiti
Chickadee
Lisa
Neila

THEY’RE JUST EYE CANDY

Polly
Undine
Finella
Moth
Anna Gram
Cornelia
Florence of Arabia
Amanda
Millie Second

NO THANKS!

Venus
Jill
Maid Marilyn
Miss Clean
Glacia Glaze
Emerald
Eenie

WHO?

Rocket O’Rourke
Kitty & Catty
Evelina & Angelina
Lotus
Lila
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dell
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Re: My Ranking of the '66 Molls

Post by dell »

Cornelia on the "THEY’RE JUST EYE CANDY" list? You startled me with that one.
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Re: My Ranking of the '66 Molls

Post by BATWINGED HORNET »

THE BEST:

Lady Prudence
Pussycat
Blaze
Lisa (1st Mad Hatter arc)
Suzie

MEMORABLE:

Eenie
Lydia Limpet
Legs
Pauline
Chickadee
Neila

THE REST:

Largely forgettable or annoying.
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epaddon
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Re: My Ranking of the '66 Molls

Post by epaddon »

Have to disagree strongly on Finella as "just eye candy" because Julie Gregg gives a legitimately brilliant acting performance as a dippy Monroe type moll that is nothing at all like her actual persona was (which often can't be said of a lot of moll actresses who are basically being typecast). It's because that isn't her normal voice or persona that she ends up giving a performance that has a genuine satiric edge.
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dell
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Re: My Ranking of the '66 Molls

Post by dell »

I won't rate the molls as I feel much of their performance is due to what they were given by the writers. Yes, some of them are bad, Eenie is a good example. But many of them weren't given much to do as the focus was mainly on the villain. That's not the fault of the actress.
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High C
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Re: My Ranking of the '66 Molls

Post by High C »

dell wrote: Sat May 07, 2022 10:24 am Cornelia on the "THEY’RE JUST EYE CANDY" list? You startled me with that one.
Well-played.
'I thought Siren was perfect for Joan.'--Stanley Ralph Ross, writer of 'The Wail of the Siren'

My hobbies include gazing at the Siren and doing her bidding, evil or otherwise.

'She had a devastating, hypnotic effect on all the men.'--A schoolmate describing Joan Collins at age 17
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High C
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Re: My Ranking of the '66 Molls

Post by High C »

BAT 77, great idea for a thread, as is Andy's on the villains that inspired it. I need to respond in full in both.

But for now, I will say dell makes a good point. Yes, many moll actresses were given much less to work with. But as epaddon alluded to, what sets apart Julie Gregg's portrayal of Finella was her resume as a whole. After doing a lot of light comedy early on, she eventually did a lot of hour dramas, basically much more demanding fare. She didn't make a living playing ditzes. Finella proved to be a stretch for her and shows what acting chops she really had.

Again, much like beauty, the performance is in the eye of the beholder, but know this about Terry Moore as Venus. Her breathy Marilyn Monroe-style line readings weren't anything new. They literally had been a parlor trick at Hollywood parties for her and she even pulled out the impression years earlier as a mystery guest on 'What's My Line' with blindfolded panelist (as, of course, the panelists always were for the celebrity guest) Bennett Cerf musing, 'It CAN'T be.' The point is that was much less of a departure for her than Finella was for Julie.
'I thought Siren was perfect for Joan.'--Stanley Ralph Ross, writer of 'The Wail of the Siren'

My hobbies include gazing at the Siren and doing her bidding, evil or otherwise.

'She had a devastating, hypnotic effect on all the men.'--A schoolmate describing Joan Collins at age 17
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Re: My Ranking of the '66 Molls

Post by epaddon »

For those who want to get a true sense of what a great actress Julie Gregg was, a second season "Kojak" where she has a five minute scene as a drug addict going through withdrawal is one of the most compelling things I have ever seen and why she didn't get an Emmy for it I'll never know. That same episode coincidentally had another ex-Bat moll, Francine York playing a role you would expect her to play (a high-class madame) and demonstrating the difference between a typecast actress and one who had succeeded in showing her versatility.
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dell
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Re: My Ranking of the '66 Molls

Post by dell »

epaddon wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 1:31 pm For those who want to get a true sense of what a great actress Julie Gregg was, a second season "Kojak" where she has a five minute scene as a drug addict going through withdrawal is one of the most compelling things I have ever seen and why she didn't get an Emmy for it I'll never know. That same episode coincidentally had another ex-Bat moll, Francine York playing a role you would expect her to play (a high-class madame) and demonstrating the difference between a typecast actress and one who had succeeded in showing her versatility.
I think the reason she didn't get an Emmy was because she played a drug addict. They had rules about immoral behavior on tv back in the day. If you played an immoral character something really bad had to happen to you in the end. I think awarding an Emmy to a character who played a drug addict was not going to happen no matter how good the performance was.

There were other morality rules too. On the Dick Van Dyke show a married couple had to have separate beds even if they had kids. And there was the one foot on the floor rule too. For a show that had a number of bathroom scenes, did you ever see a toilet on the Brady Bunch?
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Re: My Ranking of the '66 Molls

Post by Dr. Shimel »

1975 (Kojak's second season) marked the first year of the Emmy for best guest appearance and they lumped comedy and drama together. Cloris Leachman and Zohra Lampert tied for the award that year, with Lampert's appearance coming in a Kojak episode where she played a Gypsy involved in a bank robbery.

I doubt that Gregg's performance as a drug addict was the reason she was snubbed. By 1975, the landscape had changed with regard to moral failings, etc. Besides, in that particular year, they only nominated three actresses--the other being two-time Oscar winner (not to mention Batman villain Ma Parker) Shelley Winters.
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Re: My Ranking of the '66 Molls

Post by BATWINGED HORNET »

dell wrote: Thu May 26, 2022 6:26 am There were other morality rules too. On the Dick Van Dyke show a married couple had to have separate beds even if they had kids.
That separate bed business was not across the board; The Munsters (1964-66), Green Acres (1965-71), Bewitched (1964-72), The Brady Bunch]/i] (1969-74) and many anthology dramas & soap-operas of the period had couples sharing the bed.
And there was the one foot on the floor rule too.


Not on any of the series I mentioned.
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Re: My Ranking of the '66 Molls

Post by Scott Sebring »

dell wrote: Thu May 26, 2022 6:26 am I think the reason she didn't get an Emmy was because she played a drug addict. They had rules about immoral behavior on tv back in the day. If you played an immoral character something really bad had to happen to you in the end. I think awarding an Emmy to a character who played a drug addict was not going to happen no matter how good the performance was.
Eartha Kitt was nominated back in 1966 for her performance as a drug-addicted jazz singer in "I Spy."
Having said that, I think we're starting to steer a bit off track of the original topic.
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