The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1968
History was made here. You hear that? History, I tellz ya! But before we get into that, let’s recap the year.
Oliver! wins Best Picture, the best choice among a weak set of films. Almost all of them are good films, but none is really a “Best Picture.” Carol Reed won Best Director for the film, which, is a good decision based on the fact that him not winning for The Third Man is the worst Best Director snub of all time, according to me. Which, humorously enough, makes this the second biggest Best Director snub. Reed winning his well-deserved Oscar deprived Stanley Kubrick of his well-deserved Oscar for 2001: A Space Odyssey. It’s oddly poetic.
Cliff Robertson wins Best Actor for Charly, which is a good film and a decent performance, but not one that should have won, especially with Peter O’Toole never having won an Oscar (for amazing work in Lawrence of Arabia and Becket before this) and being so fucking great in The Lion in Winter. The choice is baffling. Then Best Supporting Actor was Jack Albertson for The Subject was Roses (which I talked about here), and Best Supporting Actress (which I talked about here) was Ruth Gordon for Rosemary’s Baby.
As for this category, it’s the only exact tie in Academy history. (The other acting tie was within 3 votes.) And since the two that tied were the #1 and #2 in the category, the only side effect was an extra Best Actress winner and Katharine Hepburn eventually having four Oscars. Which, as I’ve discovered, isn’t so bad. None of her wins is egregious. Even here, she managed to tie with the person who should have won.
BEST ACTRESS – 1968
And the nominees were…
Katharine Hepburn, The Lion in Winter
Patricia Neal, The Subject Was Roses
Vanessa Redgrave, Isadora
Barbra Streisand, Funny Girl
Joanne Woodward, Rachel, Rachel (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1960
This is one of the more infamous categories in Academy history. It’s widely regarded that the only reason Elizabeth Taylor won here was because she was going through a serious health scare at the time (not uncommon for her, sadly) and had a tracheotomy done. And the Academy, fearing that she’d die, gave this to her as sort of a tribute in case she’d never have the chance to win one again. It’s possible she’d have won anyway, but when even Shirley MacLaine publicly talks shit about the decision (everyone else does too), I think we can safely say that’s why she won. I felt we needed to get that out of the way now. It’s pretty open and shut, how this category should have gone.
As for the rest of the year, The Apartment wins Best Picture, a decision I love, Billy Wilder wins Best Director, a decision I like because I love the film, but don’t like based on who he beat (Hitchcock for Psycho. I talked about it here). Burt Lancaster wins his well-deserved Best Actor award for Elmer Gantry, and Shirley Jones also wins Best Supporting Actress for the film (which, is kind of okay, but, I’d have went with Janet Leigh here. But that’s just me). And Peter Ustinov wins Best Supporting Actor for Spartacus, which, considering he’s one of the premier character actors of all time (and was also in The Sundowners this year), this was without a doubt a great decision.
As for this category, it was always going to come down to Shirley MacLaine and Elizabeth Taylor. They were clearly the two best. Liz’s performance may have been a bit — much — maybe, for a win, but, she was good, so her winning isn’t that terrible a decision. And since Shirley MacLaine eventually got her Oscar, this isn’t as bad a decision as it could have been. So, ultimately, things worked out. But I think we can all agree that Shirley MacLaine should have won here. But, still, isn’t Liz just gorgeous in her movie?
BEST ACTRESS – 1960
And the nominees were…
Greer Garson, Sunrise at Campobello
Deborah Kerr, The Sundowners
Shirley MacLaine, The Apartment
Melina Mercouri, Never on Sunday
Elizabeth Taylor, BUtterfield 8 (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1955
I actually really like 1955 as a year, even though most people would probably see this as a blank year for the Academy. The five Best Picture choices were a pretty weak set overall (at least two of the choices probably shouldn’t have even been nominated), and, while I think they made the best decision, their decision was not really one that would stand out among the other films that have won in the category.
Marty wins Best Picture, which I think was the best decision based on the nominees. It’s a film I love a lot. But I’m under no illusions that this film would ever win outside of a year like this. Not that I care. Delbert Mann winning Best Director for the film (which I talked about here), is a decision I don’t think was totally necessary, but I understand it. So I guess that’s okay. Ernest Borgnine winning Best Actor this year (which I talked about here) is also a decision that I like, but only because my first choice, Frank Sinatra, already had an Oscar, So it kind of worked out in the end. Best Supporting Actor was Jack Lemmon for Mister Roberts, which I think is a great decision, and Best Supporting Actress was Jo Van Fleet for East of Eden, which, I haven’t fully made up my mind yet (but I’m about 95% sure I’m gonna go another way).
And then we have this category. This category was really only between two people, and, while I can understand why Anna Magnani won here — when you watch the performance, you can see why she would win — I still don’t get why they wouldn’t give it to Susan Hayward here. She’s been nominated a bunch of times by now, hasn’t won, is someone they’re clearly looking to give an Oscar, and she’s playing a type of character she excels at — the pitiful drunk. That’s her character. Plus, this is the first time she’s really nailed it and is really worth voting for. And you don’t give it to her? I don’t get it.
BEST ACTRESS – 1955
And the nominees were…
Susan Hayward, I’ll Cry Tomorrow
Katharine Hepburn, Summertime
Jennifer Jones, Love is a Many-Splendored Thing
Anna Magnani, The Rose Tattoo
Eleanor Parker, I’ll Cry Tomorrow (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1949
1949 is a pretty solid year. Good, not great. I think I’ve covered that in the categories I’ve done before. All the King’s Men wins Best Picture (probably the Best Choice of the bunch, but, for me, it was four of five 4-star films and no real 5-star film. There were three legit choices here), Best Actor for Broderick Crawford (which I talked about here) and Best Supporting Actress for Mercedes McCambridge. I understand the Best Picture, and completely agree with both of the acting decisions. Those were great decisions.
Then Best Director was Joseph L. Mankiewicz for A Letter to Three Wives, a decision that just baffles the shit out of me, which I talked about here. Then Best Supporting Actor was Dean Jagger for Twelve O’Clock High, which I just don’t get. At all. Ralph Richardson was clearly the vote there. So, in all, the year is pretty average. I agree with three of the six decisions, and can be swayed to liking a fourth. The other two make no sense to me, but, three of six leaning to four makes for a solid year. So that’s good.
Then there’s this category. What a weak category this is. I need to look for — actually, I kind of don’t. It’s really only two terrible nominees. And I’d gladly take one of the other two off if it meant a stronger set of nominees. Sacrifice one for the good of the many. But, just glancing at this year, I can see there weren’t any other performances, so it’s just the product of a weak year. I should feel lucky they managed three decent nominees. Regardless though — this one’s just a runaway. It’s not even close as to who deserved to win this.
BEST ACTRESS – 1949
And the nominees were…
Jeanne Crain, Pinky
Olivia de Havilland, The Heiress
Susan Hayward, My Foolish Heart
Deborah Kerr, Edward, My Son
Loretta Young, Come to the Stable (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1938
1938 is a year I will always consider weak, just because the Academy had an opportunity to grow past what they’d established already, and instead chose the safe route and give Best Picture to a film that too easy a choice. You Can’t Take It With You wins, which is an enjoyable film, but really not a step forward for the Academy. It’s not 1934 anymore. Frank Capra also won Best Director for it (talked about here).
The Best Pictures until this point were: two war epics, two musicals, a western, an ensemble prestige picture, a romantic comedy and three dramas (family, high seas/historical, and historical/biographical). They took a step in the right direction with It Happened One Night in 1934. Mutiny on the Bounty in ’35 wasn’t a bad choice. (I’d have gone for The Informer, but that’s me.) The Great Ziegfeld in ’36 is an easy winner. It’s big, cinematic, and everything that a Best Picture should be. After that, it seemed like they didn’t know what to do. The Life of Emile Zola was a weak choice, and seemed like them trying to continue the trend of historical dramas. And here, again it seems they didn’t know what to do, so they went back and tried to repeat what worked earlier. A lot of the decisions before the war ended seem that way. Apart from the easy choice films like Gone With the Wind, The Best Years of Our Lives — even Mrs. Miniver, they really don’t seem to know what to do, so they go back to earlier choices. So that’s why I don’t really like this year as a whole. Because a year starts with its Best Picture.
As for the rest of the year, Spencer Tracy wins his second consecutive Best Actor for Boys Town (which I talked about here), a performance I consider to be the single worst in the history of the Best Actor category, as well as the second or third worst decision all time in the category. It’s pretty horrendous. Then Best Supporting Actor was — you guessed it — Walter Brennan, for Kentucky, winning his second of three in five years. And Best Supporting Actress was Fay Bainter, for Jezebel, which is by default a good decision because she was nominated for Best Actress this year, and was really good there as well. So, in all, I probably only like two of the six decisions. And this category, I just disagree with completely. The only thing that I like about it is that this basically means that Scarlett O’Hara won two Oscars. That’s pretty cool.
BEST ACTRESS – 1938
And the nominees were…
Fay Bainter, White Banners
Bette Davis, Jezebel
Wendy Hiller, Pygmalion
Norma Shearer, Marie Antoinette
Margaret Sullavan, Three Comrades (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1934
1934. Wonderful year. This goes twofold for me, since my favorite film of all time was made this year. Every time I talk about this year, I make sure to note that there’s no way I can be subjective when my favorite film is involved. I just can’t. That’s the one place I refuse to do it. Fortunately, The Thin Man isn’t nominated here, so it won’t affect this category at all. Recapping the year is easy. It Happened One Night won everything. Picture, Director (talked about here), Actor (here), and, yes, Actress (writing too. First big five winner in history). But of all the categories of 1934, this one is the most interesting. For several reasons. The first is that this is one of the few categories for which the Academy announced the order of finish. Claudette Colbert won, Norma Shearer finished 2nd, and Bette Davis finished 3rd (QED, Grace Moore was last). The most important part about all this, though, is the Bette Davis nomination. Let me explain.
Bette Davis begged out of her Warner Bros. contract to make this film. They agreed because they assumed she was going to fail. But the film actually ended up being her breakthrough. And come Oscar time, when she got nomination buzz, Warners spitefully told people not to vote for her. And since the voting system wasn’t as, shall we say, objective, as it is now (votes were tabulated by the heads of the Academy. Warners was one. No bias at all, I’m sure), she wasn’t nominated. And her supporters, outraged, petitioned the Academy for a write-in vote. The outcry was large enough (probably because at that time the Oscars were small enough) that it actually worked. The Academy caved (kind of like when they caved in 2008 and started the 10 nominees), and this became one of only two years to ever feature a write-in vote (that counted).
It didn’t work out for Bette Davis (3rd), but the year after this, Hal Mohr actually won Best Cinematography for A Midsummer Night’s Dream without being nominated (which is great. He was the best there). But, this decision was strong enough to get several things to happen. First, it got the write-in ballot for two years. Then it got the Academy to change its voting practices. They handed over the entire voting and counting process to PriceWaterhouse (who still does it). And it also created that Oscar groundswell we know so well, especially when it comes to Best Actress, that got Bette Davis to win a slam dunk Oscar (considered a makeup Oscar) the year after this, for Dangerous. I’ll talk about that when I get to it, but for now, can you see how important 1934 is (even without The Thin Man)?
BEST ACTRESS – 1934
And the nominees were…
Claudette Colbert, It Happened One Night
Bette Davis, Of Human Bondage (write-in)
Grace Moore, One Night of Love
Norma Shearer, The Barretts of Wimpole Street (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1927-1928
1927-1928. The first Best Actress category ever. I’m excited.
The rest of this year is very — broad, shall we say. The Academy hadn’t honed their categories yet. For example, Best Picture was split into two separate categories. The first was “Outstanding Picture, Production,” which went to Wings, and the second was for “Unique or Artistic Production,” which went to Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans. Generally, Wings is regarded as the first Best Picture winner, which, seems strange. It should really be both films. However, the fact that they went with Wings over Sunrise is very telling. The went with “outstanding” production over “artistic” production. Perfect for explaining many of the decisions made over the years.
Similarly, Best Director was split into two separate categories, one for “Dramatic,” which went to Frank Borzage, for Seventh Heaven, and one for “Comedy,” which went to Lewis Milestone for Two Arabian Knights. And then, Best Actor went to Emil Jannings, considered the best dramatic silent film actor, for The Last Command as well as The Way of All Flesh, which is a lost film.
So that’s the first year of the Academy Awards. In all honesty, I think, in every category, the best possible decision was made. Especially this one. They did the right thing by nominating Janet Gaynor for all three of the films she made this year. Because, just by watching one of them, you can see why she won this. She was just incredible. You’re in for a real treat with her films.
BEST ACTRESS – 1927-1928
And the nominees were…
Louise Dresser, A Ship Comes In
Janet Gaynor, Seventh Heaven, Street Angel & Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
Gloria Swanson, Sadie Thompson (more…)
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