[Tennessee Nana]

No there were shorter male stars back when..

My mother used to tell of reading that some male stars would stand on a box when standing next to a taller female star for scenes that called for them standing together..

and for one taller female (I think it might have been Sophia Loren) they dug a trench and had her walked down in it along side the shorter male to make him appear taller than she was..

this would have been the 1940/50s and it may have also been that the stars were the same height or he just an inch or 2 taller and they wanted the male to seem taller than the female..

[Nea Wood]

My mother used to tell of reading that some male stars would stand on a box when standing next to a taller female star

They called it a "manmaker." Someone on the set would call out, "Manmaker for so-and-so!" and they'd bring a box for the poor short actor to stand on.