Somewhere in the middle of those two periods wasSleeping Beauty, based on a centuries-old fairytale.

Her memorable character design helps ensure shes even more iconic, too.

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4J.J.

Sunset Boulevard - 1950 - poster

Image via Paramount Pictures

Its an approach that makes Desmond a fascinating character, and an inevitably unforgettable one.

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Robert Walker as Bruno Anthony smiling widely in Strangers on a Train (1951)

Image via Warner Bros.

Cast Placeholder Image

Blended image of Bette Davis next to her name in white letters.

Orson Welles aiming his gun at someone off-camera in Touch of Evil

Image via Universal Pictures

Maleficent with her raven in Sleeping Beauty

Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Godzilla towering over a populated area on a smoky night

Image via Toho

The Ladykillers - 1955

Image via The Rank Organisation

Sweet Smell of Success - 1957 (2)

Image via United Artists

Lee J. Cobb as Johnny Friendly looking intently ahead in On the Waterfront (1954)

Image via Columbia Pictures

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Norma Desmond gesturing dramatically in Sunset Boulevard

Image via Paramount Pictures

“Preacher” Harry Powell with “Love” written on his fingers in The Night of the Hunter

Image via United Artists

Sunset Boulevard

The Night of the Hunter

Godzilla