Vivien Leigh, “I don’t think men are all that important!”

Vivien Leigh answering to New Yorker critic Kenneth Tynan in 1958 #vivienleigh #oldhollywood #50s #moviestar #actress #classichollywood #metoo

[@janined5784]

I love it when she laughed at his question! That man is so full of his own imagined importance. What a scream.

[@WVgirl1959]

Isn't that the truth.❤

[@kohlach437]

@@WVgirl1959❤❤😂😂😂😊

[@ronniebishop2496]

Isn’t he an over the top screwball, trying to play Rhett Butler for the world. Where do they find these nut jobs.

[@lnl3237]

She was so restrained. Kept thinking of her line as Scarlett O'Hara, "Oh, if I just wasn't a lady, what wouldn't I tell that varmint!"

[@ronniebishop2496]

Wasn’t he what we call a narcissist?

[@Lena-dear]

He got it completely wrong, I'd say a star is someone who can convince everyone in the audience that they need her, not the other way round!

[@miovicdina7706]

Exactly

[@moongoddess1962]

I agree with you....he has it so wrong...that's why she laughed ...he is an idiot

[@5050TM]

I think it can work both ways, depending on the actor.

[@foothillgirl7989]

Narcissist interviewer

[@grawakendream8980]

he's a jackass

[@luvleeana]

A gay man asking an incredibly skilled actress a question like that was comical.. and she laughed at the insinuation… loved her❤❤❤

[@VenusEvan_1885]

And she lied, men were very important to her, infact she left her child for a man 😂🤣

[@iamgermane]

Love how English women can play women from the Southern USA with ease. Ever notice that? It is a language thing. It is tuff of them to play someone from the Midwest...

[@Moluccan56]

@@iamgermaneThe southern accent has it’s roots in England English.

[@iamgermane]

@@Moluccan56 Yes some real native speakers in the American States of North and South Carolina almost sound British.

[@Moluccan56]

@@iamgermane Oh, my goodness, the Carolina accent is so strong! Earl Scruggs was from North Carolina, you could cut his accent with a knife!

[@christiejensen1606]

Miss Vivien Leigh was ahead of her time

[@conniepfannerstill817]

She was bipolar and had mental health issues her entire life.

[@graceg4996]

@@conniepfannerstill817which makes her even more amazing because she overcame those obstacles 🎉

[@americanwoman445]

​@conniepfannerstill817 No, she was an alcoholic, a functioning one. She might have had spans of time where she would dry out but alcoholism distorts your personality not just while your drinking or hungover.

[@aacmove]

​@@americanwoman445 where is your evidence to refute the fact that she was bipolar? "She suffered numerous bouts of mania and depression, nervous breakdowns, and periods of incoherence. She also experienced paranoia and exhibited angry outbursts on sets, which led others to view her as being very difficult to work with. At the time, most did not know that the root of her behavior was a debilitating mental illness".

[@wendyramirez3350]

In love with his own voice, he doesn't even look at her...

[@yasminenazarine1629]

That's what I say 😂😂

[@WVgirl1959]

A star is one that can convince you that they are the person they are portraying.

[@abhiwagh2312]

That's a good actor, not a star, star is the one with the most popularity or charisma, style , or some characteristic that is attractive about them which pulls more and more people to the theatres. In her case it is her lively and innocent eyes that he is describing that sort of makes men believe that she needs them in a heroic way to save her from her distress and be her saviour , same way beauty and the beast was something that appealed to women, made them believe as a saviour, who wanted to save someone like the cursed prince from his distress and sorrow.

[@donnaatienza8001]

aww she was so so fabulous indeed

[@Anon204-h8u]

She was unequivocally beautiful even then

[@laurasteinmetz7684]

Obviously HIS definition of a 'star' is a beautiful woman who needs him.

[@selmahare]

He’s clearly gay! He’s just one of those who resents beautiful women because he’d like to be one. Jealousy, that’s what it’s called. I have had the displeasure of meeting gay men like him.

[@luanasouza3245]

"My goodness, Ken!" 😂😂😂

[@leeanneyoungman8028]

Hahaha 😅

[@nicolasripoll7974]

​@@leeanneyoungman8028?

[@LisaEllis-rt3xh]

Exactly, he is a twit.

[@consciousnessrenaissance7804]

She was 100% right

[@jamesfreeman2258]

She answered with class and decisively what is surely a egoistic male question.

[@HC-cb4yp]

And a pretty suspicious male at that...

[@elsestrell4168]

​@@HC-cb4yp😮😂😅

[@silencemeviolateme6076]

​@@HC-cb4ypsuspicious?

[@garyspence2128]

I think folks refer to his manner as being zesty. Why is he looking up when he should be looking at Vivian??

[@martinstace8201]

He is so obnoxiously camp...Vivien totally wipes the floor with his ego.

[@GdHr-oz5ph]

Wow. She was cool.❤

[@kellie-nd1yp]

She was ahead of the times! Bravo 👏👏👏👏Viven !

[@garypatterson2055]

She was said to be an articulate and sharp witted lady. Great actress and beauty of her time. He didn't know that he's conversing with a tiger. Also Vivien Leigh was unwell in this interview. ❤

[@clotasantana62]

That dude could not read the room. She laughed at his comments like - the audacity! And a very, very good actress. She was there to be interviewed and you can see the shift in her face when he mentions and compares other actresses.

[@joycegibbs5267]

he did that deliberately to get a reaction. Kenneth was a naughty bit 😂

[@tusharkumar8750]

She's one of the rare species in Actors who can overshadow Marlon Brando in a movie, I watched "A Streetcar Named Desire" and man 🙌🙌🙌

[@Daisnap]

She was brilliant in Streetcar. Spine-tinglingly raw.

[@irinacapsa6412]

She did not overshadow Brando in Streetcar named desire-he was alluring- couldn't take my eyes off him

[@anurag684]

She did. She entirely did ​@@irinacapsa6412

[@ViolettaD1485]

​@@irinacapsa6412I'd say they played off each other perfectly. The right love-hate chemistry.

[@abhiwagh2312]

​​@@irinacapsa6412agree. Marlon is too alluringly charismatic to be overshadowed.

[@ahlivetuhsidamaro150]

Thank you for saying that Vivian!!!!!

[@chercee]

Vivien.

[@blpellicore4937]

Omg who IS this guy? He's like a character straight out of an SNL skit.

[@HC-cb4yp]

Chauncey Pooftah Innatailpipe.

[@burizaemon9305]

he's a clown.... joking, he's a famous journalist from UK. Famous with controversial issues, tho...

[@MacNif]

He was the status quo then

[@blackswan4486]

He was the first person to say fuck on television.

[@engineeringartist4801]

His best William F. Buckley Jr. impression.

[@ahlivetuhsidamaro150]

It seems to me that this guy was closeted gay at the time and trying to convince himself and other women that women are not important.

[@miovicdina7706]

Good observation

[@Sean-dl8ym]

I thought the same thing! Or feeling envious of the women who could get all these men to desire them

[@Eidann63]

Definitely a possibility.

[@karinlawrence6500]

The root of Tynan's envy of Vivien Leigh was his desperate wish to be Larry's Lady Olivier.

[@selmahare]

Yep, the closeted camp types that have traditionally been very resentful of women.

[@YuLi-gx2ep]

He is being so rude to deminute and depreciate actresses work like this

[@ronniebishop2496]

Yes he’s a complete ass, crack hole and all.

[@janetmalcolm6191]

I think she got him back though!

[@jeanneann1]

Vivien Leigh is now my favorite actress. 😂

[@beesnort3163]

Love that she shut that idiot down!

[@yasminenazarine1629]

🤓🤓🤓🤓👍

[@HC-cb4yp]

"I don't think men are that terribly important..." That's MY kind of "feminism."

[@arthurmaestrini4350]

Vivien wasn't a feminist. Actually one of her greatests friends were Winston Churchill. Feminism is not exclusively about the 'women's rights'.

[@Victory_to_Ukr]

Said with that “Scarlett O’Hara” facial expression. 🎉

[@HC-cb4yp]

@@arthurmaestrini4350 Exactly.

[@alexos8741]

She left her child for a man 😂

[@levimatthew8911]

Ya what did men ever do in the world?🤦

[@nicolem889]

He doesn’t know what seduction is.

[@mitraavesta7548]

What the hell She doesn't need men , men needs her

[@elsestrell4168]

👏👏😊

[@JTD472]

It’s still a silly question, but that was his point. Men being convinced they need her. He’s not saying she needs to work for it or anything, just that her charm and looks and star quality convince men they need her.

[@jaimechapman9366]

Queen. ❤

[@frankiebowie6174]

She’s right- a star needs the admiration of men, women and children. Witness Mae West and Marilyn Monroe. Women admired them as much as men did. Perhaps for different reasons 😊

[@beni2380]

What a pri k. I love how she just laughed 😂

[@hyzercreek]

You're taking her quote out of context. She didnt say men aren't important. She said not only men are important. She said men women and children are important.

[@notrealatall196]

Not "she needs me". The audience feels like that they want her. Hes too egoistic to admit that.

[@jasonmanuel590]

Its the year 2023 I'm watching streetcar dires she blowing my mind she is billance

[@personunknown491]

I love all our icons like Brando, Dean, Marylin, Gene Kelly but this was simply one of the most ELOQUENT way to completely insult someone lol that I've ever witnessed and I'm in love 🥲

[@nagolhayze9366]

Ken seems obsessed by men ... 🤦‍♂️

[@silencemeviolateme6076]

You seem obsessed with ken.

[@karllieck9064]

😂

[@AG-iu9lv]

Aren't most men? 😂

[@kathleenvargovich9539]

You think?

[@saarlooswolfhund6237]

The level between Vivien and this narcissistic man is like the golden sun vs a worm

[@teachersilviamontufo]

Amazing artist❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@lrose1046]

I adore her!

[@marieminshull1400]

She aged really well

[@walkingwithheather]

She didn't live long enough to 'age'.

[@trancos7641]

​@walkingwithheather well 56 is not young

[@ViolettaD1485]

Didn't get all those procedures, took mature roles in _Ship of Fools_and _Roman Spring,_ rather than trying to pretend she was still ingenue material.

[@chercee]

@@trancos7641 She was only 53.

[@doubleseven1078]

Ewwww this guy just ewwwww - NO WONDER she went OFF on him. She's a literal MASTER.

[@gilliesrebecca8101]

Beautiful, just beautiful

[@uggggggghhhhh]

Lmfao i kove that shes so dumbfounded by his question

[@kaylynnanson6231]

Ken got it backwards. A star can convince everyone that they are worthy of love and adoration. They're captivating. That's still the point today.

[@sofysixx]

Hermosa Vivien.❤

[@esraaelbassuony7051]

I didn't know that men can smoke in front of women at that time 😳 I always thought it as a bad thing for men to do SIR YOU ARE NO GENTLEMAN

[@Marcel_Audubon]

Nonsense

[@jelena7440]

What do you mean in front of women? At the time everyone smoked, both men and women.

[@esraaelbassuony7051]

@@jelena7440 sorry I had no idea .. I'm Egyptian, and it was very bad and Impolite for man to smoke in front of women or old people at that time

[@jelena7440]

@@esraaelbassuony7051 oh, my apologies than. I had no idea.

[@user-px3cv8sp8g]

In some movies it is depicted that men had a separate room where they went to smoke and drink, but during the time when this interview was filmed, almost everyone smoked and it was believed to be healthy. 😂

[@jeffscop]

I have NO fucking idea what he is talking about.

[@kathleenvargovich9539]

Neither does he.

[@torbergman6977]

Well someone's envious 😁😂😂. ❤️ Vivien.

[@walkingwithheather]

Love Vivien.

[@allthatjazz9000]

I miss when people spoke and looked like this!!! Now it's all "for meeeeeeeeee like iiiiiiiiiaaaaaii like personallyyyyyyyyy like... like I feeeeeeeel like"

[@eduardodifarnecio2336]

It’s what he imagines straight men are thinking but she set him straight alright

[@politecat4236]

The guy is Kenneth Tynan who criticised Vivien unjustly all thru out her stage career and only admitted he went too far after her death. Tynan adored Olivier but had no love for Vivien his wife and an equal but diffirent kind of talent!

[@saarlooswolfhund6237]

Because Tynan had an love affair with Olivier and he hated his wife

[@politecat4236]

@@saarlooswolfhund6237 man I need some sources

[@marymcsherry1965]

​@@saarlooswolfhund6237 Yes, Olivier was bisexual and had affairs with Danny Kaye, Marlon Brando and Noel Coward among others

[@user-qu4pe3mt9m]

Love her

[@trippyhop]

Kenneth Tynan hated her so much, and I’ve never understood why that is.

[@dora1980]

I think he was in love with her although he knew she was married.

[@karinlawrence6500]

Tynan envied Vivien Leigh. For years he seethed with envy because he longed to be Lady Olivier.

[@snootybaronet]

Today Ken would be arguing that Dylan Mulvaney is the ideal of womanhood, not Monroe, Garbo or Leigh.

[@zenw1464]

This man has it backwards. She and Garbo radiate an attraction that makes people want them.

[@user-sx6xb5nq9l]

She is born from natural actress

[@jaxh3449]

She was so beautiful ❤️

[@matthewgilmore4307]

Ken Tynan projecting

[@vanessaoconnor1539]

Omg she was just beautiful talented just classy

[@krisammeter3865]

What a Pratt!

[@31Alden]

Her laugh said it all. Brilliant. She was not only talented and beautiful, she was wise.

[@charlieputhstan]

I often confuse Kenneth Tynan (the interviewer) with Bosley Crowther and Rex Reed. All 3 were mean and evil, especially in their film and theater reviews of female actresses. I'm glad they're all dead. But Vivien and her work will always be timeless. She's a true star and that's why we're all adoring her today. Long Live the English Rose, Lady Olivier ❤❤❤

[@kathleenvargovich9539]

Oh dear! For everyone that died a thousand rose up to take their place.

[@maryshannon7551]

The question reveals more about him than Vivian Lee.

[@gugurama9777]

Its incredible, they air a program with a host talking and.. smoking??!? :)))

[@Ann-st8et]

Thats how it was back then. Perfectly normal. Being an ex smoker of 19 years, thank goodness it isn't anymore! 🚬

[@yvonneplant9434]

Most people smoked when this was filmed.

[@allanhastings7688]

He didn't fathom how powerful a real lady is when the big screen released her beautiful & authoritive charm from the confines of local community.

[@DonnaBiegler]

Something about the cadence of her speech reminds me of Princess Diana in this interview.

[@fabion.7457]

Crazy how in the past actors sounded like they were acting even in real life

[@dora1980]

They do that nowadays too, it didn't happen only in the past.

[@nicolelillis2077]

​@@dora1980I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately, many of them are far more conceited and egotistical now, than back in Vivien's time. She had so much class and I think she was being very candid in this interview.☮️

[@mimosa27]

We miss you, Vivian

[@chercee]

Vivien.

[@angelablackthorne3026]

Her Received Pronunciation sounds so refined

[@rebeccam4397]

It's Heightened RP, which is fading out of existence. The queen spoke that way and King Charles does somewhat, but Prince William does not.

[@angelablackthorne3026]

That's how men respond to beauty. It's not anything the woman does! lol

[@2ToyBoys]

Vivien Leigh...that smile.

[@rickyparrilla2426]

Viven Lee played Scarlet O'Hara so damn good that every interview I see her in I think she's a real bitch when she isn't. That's a great actress for you! Lol.❤

[@shafinkhan7570]

She didnt mean it that way. The way the caption is emplying.

[@fido652]

He's pushing for something vulgar. A brilliant mind- and such a ghastly person.

[@madisona3907]

Who was that interviewer? Tool

[@MrBulky992]

I think he was the first person to say the "f" word on TV and it has been down hill ever since.

[@suziecreamcheese211]

Look at how he holds that cigarette.

[@janawall3306]

When i was a child i thought elizabeth taylor was vivien leigh.

[@havenhurstgroup]

That guy was really addicted to nicotine ! Sucking on that cig!

[@burizaemon9305]

and he died because of them...

[@irefi64]

This lady had some serious charisma and intelligence.

[@Violet-jp7cd]

I love how they had a flare in thier speech x

[@normanbrown9225]

ALL The GREAT ONES ARE, Gone With The WIND❤

[@outoforbit00]

He is describing himself been mesmerized.

[@imeldafay4368]

Good for her - Vivien Leigh - yes men are not all that important!❤❤

[@2Hearts3]

Vivian herself was a "good definition of a star." This guy was s ditz. She put his question down with impeccable poise.

[@conniepfannerstill817]

She had TB and when filming Elephant Walk in 1953 was hospitalized for a breakdown and had ECT electro shock treatment. She was a beautiful , talented actress , but had major heath issues. I loved her in Gone With The Wind.

[@babiegirl526]

its so hard to take him seriously omg

[@eviemarie73]

Hehe she did more in one movie than Garbo did in all of hers!

[@ToThoseWhoVanished]

That's blanche Dubois.

[@ashleebenedict6523]

She was all Scarlett O'Hara here, imo

[@PC1974]

Even in older age, she was still stunningly beautiful.

[@Birdmacher]

Different take: Ken’s repressed and projecting his own fantasies onto her.

[@boogherghostgreenslimy529]

OUCH!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣That gorgeous Sigma woman just handed his ass to him!!! LOL!!!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@freyareadstarot5277]

Miss Vivian was a Scorpio. Don't ever ask us the truth. He got owned!😂❤

[@oretteayton5262]

Umm…. I think what he meant was that a true actress can create an illusion basically. With regard to the idea of feeling needed, it simply reflects the male ego and desire to be the supporter. I don’t think his question was coming from a chauvinistic mindset, but rather the era…

[@tonyhill1264]

" Oh Ken, you are soooo gay! What must your husband say?"

[@flawless4477]

The fact that men aren’t even the main consumer of cinemas in that time

[@morganwhite2176]

He was saying something spot on, she missed it I think.

[@annaritaranalli1791]

Thanks

[@teresadbrownbrown3785]

Beautiful lady

[@user-cc9vz3ud9e]

Ken trapped in a world where the male gaze is simply THE GAZE.

[@samuelchristopher5451]

That's What A Woman, A Bombshell with Acumen! Julie Newmar the Same, that Sharp witt and Dominatrix Vibe, What more could U Ask For!

[@alphazerotactical1518]

Hottest woman in history