The Final Conclusion - Best Actress 1959

About the field: I can again say that I saw brilliant performances by brilliant actresses. This was the second time that my pick was 100% obvious for me as I think that she was way ahead of the competition, giving one of the best performances ever. However I saw four fantastic performances and a so-so one. I enjoyed their acting immensely and this was probably one of the most versatile years. A woman having an ugly nervous breakdown, a possessive mother, a single woman, a nun and an unhappy actress. And I must also mention that they starred in excellent movies, two of them even must-see ones. And this was also the first time that I previously saw all the movies (well, I saw The Nun's Story when I was 7 and I only remember being horrified that Audrey's hair was cut). So here's my ranking (which was the easiest to make so far besides 1998):

5. Elizabeth Taylor in Suddenly, Last Summer

This performance needed over-the-topness and Elizabeth Taylor, but I felt that it was way too much for me and sometimes she got quite annoying. I said some bad things but still it's not that bad, just a missed opportunity far from being a disaster or a tragedy. Nice work but not enough from Elizabeth Taylor.



4. Doris Day in Pillow Talk

Doris Day never lets her performance be serious, but she takes the comedy part of it more than seriously. She's always in charge of the character technically as her acting mostly technical and you can see how carefully worked on and excellently crafted her peformance realy is.One of the greatest comedy performances ever.



3. Simone Signoret in Room at the Top

Simone Signoret is one of the greatest actresses ever and in Room at the Top she was able to put on an amazing performance, which I liked much more for the first time, but it was still fantastic to watch as she gave a really strong and memorable performance. Magnificent work by an extraordinary talent.



2. Katharine Hepburn in Suddenly, Last Summer

I lined up a great deal of arguments why this is not one of Kate Hepburn's worst performances but is one of her best works ever. in which she deals with all the possible difficulties of a performance with such ease and brilliance that she nearly makes it too easy, which might be true for her, but not an ordinary performer. Gutwrenching work.



1. Audrey Hepburn in The Nun's Story

A revelation: Audrey Hepburn gently amazes you, her dignity and grace on screen leaves you speechless and makes you think about her for a long time. Haunting, effective work and an amazing accomplishment by a true legend at her finest and one of the greatest performances that I have ever seen in my life. A real onscreen miracle.





So I can proudly announce that my winner for 1959 is...

Audrey Hepburn in The Nun's Story

Truly unforgettable work by an amazing actress.

I will do another year, which I will finish until next Monday. It's going to be a bit fast, but I won't be able to write until August. But we have a year and naturally I give you clues to find out:

• Who's the First Lady of movies?
  
  
• You Rang, M'Lady?
  
  
• My, your, his, her...
• It's all about women...

I will reveal the secret tomorrow, but until then I'm waiting for your thoughts, opinions and guesses of course.

Doris Day in Pillow Talk

Actress/singer Doris Day received her only Best Actress nomination to date for playing Jan Marrow, an interior decorator falling for Rock Hudson in the comedy Pillow Talk. This nomination is very much debated on forums as Doris Day was nominated for her comedy performance, while Marilyn Monroe was snubbed for her work in Some Like It Hot. I think that it is not worth arguing about this as I think they were both nomination-worthy. I think Day was not favored to win, however I believe she received many votes for she was a huge star giving a great comedy performance.

Pillow Talk is a GENIOUS romantic comedy about... sex. I think it's very brave for it's time as it nearly openly discusses this subject which was considered immoral to talk about in movies. No wonder that the brilliant, hilarious and HYSTERICAL screenplay won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar (in fact, this is one of the most deserved wins in this category). The acting is top-class in Pillow Talk including the always amazing Rock Hudson giving a great comedy performance and the supporting cast: Tony Randall and Thelma Ritter are so insanely funny, I think both deserved to win a supporting Oscar (even though I did not use to appreciate Ritter in this).And yes, there's the always charming Doris Day who's simply excellent and almost pitch-perfect as a woman having "bedroom problems".



Comedy performances are extremely hard to judge. You have to turn off your snobism, but also your enthusiasm. They are easy to be loved, but easy to be disliked too. Actually, when comedy acting is great, it seems better than acting in a serious, heavy drama, let's just face it. So I remain very sober while reviewing Day, who left a huge impact on me with her acting.



I don't really know her work (besides this one), however I find her to be immensly talented and a magnificently shining personality (that's why she must have been very difficult to work with, I have a feeling). And this charm (and her sense of humor) always helps her a lot during the movie. She's a professional entertainer knowing exactly when and how to do things to make the audience laugh. She's always in charge of the character technically as her acting mostly technical and you can see how carefully worked on and excellently crafted her peformance realy is.



Her line-readings are quite simply hysterical and she's probably the only one of her generation who could deliver the silliest sentences this very funny way (e.g. "don't mind my mind"). When I saw her being that brilliant in this, Irene Dunne, Rosalind Russell and Jean Arthur came to my mind. Day (just like the previously mentioned ladies) kicks ass in these battle of sexes comedies. She's the cheeky, confident and yet charming girl living next door, who turns from the sour spinster to be a passionate woman.



Jan is a single woman and she says she likes it. We immediately know that naturally she doesn't, but Day never shows us the loneliness or isolation of her. She never lets her performance be serious, but she takes the comedy part of it more than seriously. Comedy is very hard to do as you need very much discipline and a skill of timing. Day's timing is more than wonderful: her lines blow up like fireworks and you just can't help bursting out in laughing.



Although she does not have the best jokes she gets the most out of her material. Her crying scene is the best part of her performance and it's really laugh-out-loud funny. Nobody (except for Jean Arthur) can cause as much laughter with crying as Doris Day. That sequence is nearly divine and should be taught at acting classes (I hope it is).



This performance is unfortunately not without it's flaw. Although it's great that she never lets drama get into the movie, she sometimes overdid the mannerisms of this spinster character. It does not help either that sometimes she's outdone by her brilliant co-stars. Although these are not serious problems, they ruin the whole picture a bit unfortunately.



Nevertheless, this was probably, not probably, definitely the most enjoyable nominated performance of the five, however it had some minor flaws which did not damage her overall achievement, only cooled my enthusiasm. It's no big deal however to declare that right now I've just scene one of the greatest comedy performances ever. Excellent job.

What do you think?

The Next Year

After a bit of rest after our previous, less talked about, but rich year, here's the next one, which is not ferquently mentioned either. But I can't help loving these years. When it's mentioned they mostly talk about the snub of Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot. Nevertheless, we have five world-famous superstars starring in classic movies. Yes, it's 1959 (Fritz guessed correctly).

Again we should try watching the movies together (and except for Pillow Talk), I can help you with that in case you haven't seen them. So let's enjoy the performances and the movies together.

So the nominees were:

• Doris Day in Pillow Talk
  
• Audrey Hepburn in The Nun's Story
• Katharine Hepburn in Suddenly Last Summer
• Simone Signoret in Room at the Top*
• Elizabeth Taylor in Suddenly Last Summer

I am also waiting for your fearless predictions, but that's just natural. :)

A Missed Opportunity for Warner Home Video

I was very pleased to read that Warner Home Video (WHV) will be releasing in July a box set called “Home Front Collection” featuring “Thank Your Lucky Stars” (1943), “Hollywood Canteen (1944) and “This is The Army” (1943). Pleased, but also thinking that a better collection could have been offered featuring the first two titles. Let me explain.

“Thank Your Lucky Stars” and “Hollywood Canteen” are Warner Bros. contributions to the all-star musical genre. These movies were a studio’s showcase of their biggest stars and contract players in musical numbers or comedy skits. There might be up two dozen (or more) stars in each movie.

Paramount did it with “Star Spangled Rhythm” (1942), M-G-M offered “Thousands Cheer” (1943), United Artists contributed “Stage Door Canteen” (1943) and Universal gave us “Follow the Boys” (1944).

They’re all hugely enjoyable, if incredibly corny. They show that Hollywood’s biggest stars are really just regular folks, ready to drop everything and help our armed forces by staging an elaborate show or benefit.

The Warner Bros; contributions are among the most enjoyable, especially “Thank Your Lucky Stars”, which is loaded with great songs and comedy, and showcases stars like Errol Flynn and Bette Davis as surprisingly capable song and dance performers. It’s one of my favorite movies. In fact, when WGN ran it one night against the 1975 Oscars, I passed on the annual ceremony and opted for “Thank Your Lucky Stars” instead. (I never did see Jack Nicholson or Louise Fletcher pick up their Oscars for “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”)

So I’m glad to see these titles coming out, but wish WHV had included them instead in an all-star musical box set. Besides the aforementioned “Hollywood Canteen” and “Thank Your Lucky Stars”, the set could include “Thousands Cheer” and two Warner Bros. entries that came after World War II, “It’s a Great Feeling” (1949) and “Starlift” (1951).

I thought such a box set was what WHV may have been planning, since they have already released most of Doris Day’s musicals, but “It’s a Great Feeling” was not among their earlier two box sets of Day titles. That’s another marvelously entertaining film, with gorgeous Technicolor and most of action taking place on the Warner Bros. back lot. We get to see such directors as Michael Curtiz, Raoul Walsh and King Vidor in amusing cameos, and fun glimpses of the studio back lot. What a marvelous time capsule of sights. Edward G. Robinson has a funny scene, and there’s a riotous Errol Flynn cameo. For film music fans, it’s a treat to see a sequence filmed on the Warner Bros. soundstage, where all those glorious musical scores of Korngold, Steiner and Waxman were recorded. We even get glimpses of the orchestra members. Look, there’s cellist Eleanor Slatkin, who performed the Korngold Cello Concerto in “Deception” (1946).

“Starlift” has not been seen anywhere, to the best of my knowledge, in decades. It’s one of the very few James Cagney screen appearances I’ve never seen. I don’t know if there are rights issues involved with this title, but a lot of film buffs would love to see “Starlift” and would spring for the box set just to get that title.

Kudos to WHV for at least releasing two of these all-star musical gems. It will also be nice to a see a restored “This is the Army”, which has been languishing in public domain hell for too long.

Still, I hope they will eventually get around to releasing “Thousands Cheer”, “It’s a Great Feeling” and “Starlift”, but what a lost opportunity to include a marvelous collection of all-star musicals in one box set.