What qualities do Hollywood film stars of the past have that modern ones don't have?

Fans of Hollywood often seem to speak with great respect and reverence about Hollywood film stars of the past. Do you think that these old stars possess a certain type of quality that sets them apart from today's generation?





For example, what do you think makes actresses like Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn or Ava Gardner so special?





Could one argue that modern stars like Megan Fox, Lindsay Lohan or Angelina Jolie are just as glamorous?|||Old times actresses had





Grace, Beauty, Talent, Intelligence, and very very lady like, being sexy but never slutty.





Those girls besides Angelina, have looks but no talent(Megan Fox). Or Talent (Lindsey) but lacks respect for herself. So modern stars don't have it like the older ones, besides were living in a different era and looks matter more then talent these days.|||I love Old Hollywood. My fav actress is Bette Davis.


I think that the culture at large was not as trashy and accepting of just anything old thing as "entertainment" so the actors/actresses were forced to act with some sort of class and the movies made were profound, unlike "Transformers." =P


Although MGM's logo was "Art for Art's Sake" the art they made was not garbage, and same went for other studios.|||Hollywood film stars of the past maintained a slightly better image in terms of dignity, perfection and character. At the same time, they had personality and were not entirely associated with superficiality (even if they were superficial).





But generally, I find hollywood film stars of the past were in a unique position under the circumstances. It was a time when media, society and culture were extremely different, and celebrity status was more exclusive. Today, a lot of people can look like celebrities but before, celebrity image was probably more unattainable and the general public were entertained and more appreciative of them especially since their private lives were probably not as publicised.





I would rate Angelina Jolie more of a hollywood film star of this time due to her personality and her acting roles, but I would not rate Lindsay Lohan or Megan Fox as being in the same league - I feel their fame is more to do with media publicity and how sex sells than a successful career in films.





I also think that the rest of the Hollywood industry plays a part i.e. directors and producers... the quality of commercial feature films are just not the same as they used to be, and it doesn't reflect on the actors very well either!