Cary Grant

Height is absurdly controversial within Kibbe so let’s look at some taller 20th century actors and extrapolate from there. Where movie scenes are pictured, I tried to only choose scenes in which the actors walk around, or better yet, are barefoot, to mitigate the possibility of one actor standing on a box or platform to look taller. Keep in mind angles are rarely perfect, everyone’s height fluctuates, and a 1% decrease in height due to the spine compressing effects of gravity is approximately 3/4” for someone who’s 6’3. I’m intentionally not discussing anyone’s ID. Y’all can do that in the comments!

Here’s James Stewart. His height is listed as 6’3 on his 1940 draft registration card, but you’ll need access to a database of US military records such as Ancestry.com to view the second page. I couldn’t find a reputable source listing him as anything less than 6’3. I suspect he was a little over 6’3 at his peak based on photographs and my 6’-6’2 relatives and friends. More pics here, here, here with allegedly 5’3 Jean Arthur, and here and here with Clark Gable who claimed 6’2 but who most sources list as 6’1.

Here’s James Stewart (right) with Gregory Peck (left), who’s also listed across many sources as 6’3. And here he is with Gary Cooper, also widely listed as 6’3. More photos of Stewart and Cooper here and here. Peck looks a tad shorter than Cooper and Stewart, but clearly they’re all tall men. Here’s Stewart with Cary Grant, who claimed 6’1, and Katharine Hepburn, listed as short as 5’7 and as tall as 5’9. The three starred together in The Philadelphia Story (1940). Stewart and Hepburn are pictured together in the film here. Hepburn and Grant had starred together in Bringing Up Baby (1938) and can be seen together here and here. Grant has a great barefoot scene in it, but I couldn’t find a good still that showed both him and Hepburn.

Here are Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman with a step between them. Bergman is typically listed as 5’9 and seemed self-conscious about her tall height as most women would’ve been in the 40s! She looks 5’9.5+ to me. Peck and Bergman starred in the 1945 Hitchcock film Spellbound and can be seen together here, here, and here. I haven’t seen Spellbound in a while, but would guess that she got to wear taller heels in it than she did with most of her leading men. Bergman is closer in height to Cary Grant who starred opposite her in Notorious (1946) and Indiscreet (1958). You can see them together here, here, here, and here.

For comparison, here are Grant and Audrey Hepburn in Charade (1963). Hepburn never wears anything taller than a kitten heel throughout the film if I remember correctly. Here are Grant and Hepburn seated side by side. There’s a scene in Charade in which Grant walks around barefoot after taking a shower and stands next to Hepburn that’s perfect for visualizing how tall she is. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a still. More photos of Hepburn with Grant here, here, here, and here instead. Audrey Hepburn had starred in Love in the Afternoon (1957) with Gary Cooper (6’3, remember?) a few years earlier. You can see the two of them together here, here, and, with Hepburn foregrounded but still apparently tall here.

For comparison, here’s Hepburn barefoot with Humphrey Bogart, usually listed as 5’8 though he claimed taller as did Lauren Bacall (whose listed heights are similar to Katharine Hepburn’s) on his behalf. Here’s Hepburn in flats with Bogart and director Billy Wilder on the set of Sabrina (1954). Bogart was rumored to wear lifts—and definitely stood on something to appear taller than his Casablanca (1942) costar Ingrid Bergman—so I won’t use too many examples of him. Here he is with Bacall, and again here. Here is Bacall with Gregory Peck, her Designing Women (1957) costar, for comparison. Also see them together here.

Peck and Audrey Hepburn had starred in Roman Holiday in 1953. You can see them together here, here (she’s in flats!), and here (for a better view of her shoes). How does Grace Kelly compare? Well, here are some pics of Kelly with the 6’3 crew: with Cooper, her High Noon (1952) costar here, with Stewart, her Rear Window (1954) costar here and here, and with Peck (and Jean Simmons) here. Kelly and Cary Grant (~6’1) both starred in To Catch a Thief (1955) as pictured here, here, and here. Here they are looking more casual.

Okay, I’m exhausted ha, but you can apply this method to other celebs you’re wondering about. If you can’t find military, medical, or costume department records, you might look at cars (dimensions can often be found) or architecture (step height, for example, is standardized in many countries since the late 20C). I’ve seen all the movies listed except Designing Women, but if you think I made any mistakes in selecting scenes, let me know! Hope the pics settle some debate. ;)

Edit: I’m on an old movie kick and discovered I overlooked a few Bergman-Cooper films I haven’t seen. They worked together on For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943) and Saratoga Trunk (1945) and can be seen here, here, and here. Bergman has the higher ground in the first two pics, but even when they’re both on level ground and wearing heels (he must be pushing 6’5 in those boots!), she looks tallll.