Let's take a look at the list of the lovely ladies who were nominated for Best Actress in 1950 shall we? And remember to read more entries in the 31 Days of Oscar Blogathon, which starts on February 1st.
Anne Baxter: All About Eve - Eve Harrington.
Rumor has it Miss Baxter went all Eve Harrington on the Academy's ass, demanding that she be nominated in the best actress category instead of best supporting, silly billy. Had she settled for the best supporting actress category, she might just have seen her name being called out that night. Everyone knows an Eve, the character of the ruthlessly ambitious bitch which Anne Baxter played to perfection. Maybe she lived the role a little too much for some though as she didn't even get a Golden Globe nomination for the part, while Judy Holliday got two for playing one role. How did that happen?
Awards won for the role:
...awkward.
Bette Davis: All About Eve - Margo Channing.
Claudette Colbert was already cast in the role of Margo Channing and was due to start filming before she suffered a severe back injury at the last minute, leaving the door open for Bette Davis to replace her and deliver a career best performance. Davis didn't have the best of success throughout the 40s and after a string of flops at the box office, it looked like her career had had it's day, making her amazing comeback performance in All About Eve all the more impressive.
Awards won for the role:
New York Film Critics Circle Awards: Best Actress.
Cannes Film Festival: Best Actress.
Judy Holliday: Born Yesterday - Billie Dawn.
Judy Holliday reprises her role of Billie Dawn, which she played on Broadway, for the film version, despite studio boss Harry Cohn's reluctance to cast a unknown. He needn't have worried. Holliday steals the film as the dumb blonde whose gangsta boyfriend wants her to be a little bit more cultured. It isn't long before she gains the confidence and knowledge to realise that he isn't up to any good and falls in love with her tutor. With a somewhat simple plot that leaves room for the wonderful script to shine, Holliday delivers some brilliant one liners that make this a comedy classic.
Awards won for the role:
Golden Globe Award: Best Actress - Musical or Comedy.
Jussie Award: Best Actress - Foreign Film.
Eleanor Parker: Caged - Marie Allen.
Eleanor Parker, better known to you and me as the Baroness in The Sound of Music, won rave reviews and critical acclaim for the role of young Marie Allen, who is arrested after a botched robbery with her young husband who is killed. This role sees her grow from an innocent and naive young bride into a bitter and hardened criminal in Caged. She even went as far as shaving off her hair for the role. In any other year, that Oscar would have had her name on it, but poor Eleanor was up against some stiff competition.
Awards won for the role:
Venice Film Festival: Best Actress.
Gloria Swanson: Sunset Boulevard - Norma Desmond
Mae West, Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer, Pola Negri and even Mary Pickford were all considered for the once in a lifetime role of Norma Desmond, that would eventually be given to Gloria Swanson. Sunset Boulevard tells the story of a forgotten silent film star who has become a recluse in her decaying Hollywood mansion. That is until a young writer turns up and promises to help her make a comeback, sorry, her 'return'. This film has it all; black comedy, a tragic love story, film noir, Hollywood satire and Gloria Swansons perfomance, which was universally acclaimed and has gone down in history as one of the most iconic roles of all time. She lived this part and the similarities between the two are eerie.
Awards won for the role:
Golden Globe Award: Best Actress - Drama.
Italian National Sydicate of Film Journalists: Best Actress.
Jussie Award: Best Actress - Foreign Film.
National Board of Review Motion Pictures: Best Actress.
And the winner is...
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Judy Holliday: Born Yesterday - Billie Dawn.
Holliday's win over Swanson and Davis is widely regarded as one of the Oscars biggest mistakes, but it really shouldn't be. The similar roles of Norma Desmond and Margo Channing seemed to cancel each other out, splitting the vote between them, which left the door wide open for Miss Holliday to claim her prize. In Born Yesterday, Holliday showed her immense acting ability, transforming the role of a generic dumb blonde into a real character with depth and sensitivity. She is sweet with a real genuine likability despite her stupidity and somewhat annoying voice. I think it's completely unfair to say that Holliday didn't deserve the award when she did. In fact, they all did and if there was ever a year that the prize should be tied then this was it. So far, there has only ever been one tie in academy history, in 1968 for best actress, when Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl and Kathryn Hepburn in The Lion In Winter tied the prize.
The winner should have been...
Gloria Swanson: Sunset Boulevard - Norma Desmond
This could have gone either to Gloria Swanson or Bette Davis and people would have been happy but for me, it's Swanson's performance that really deserved the award. Plus Davis should have won ten years later for her role in Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? But I won't go into that now. Swanson's performance was like nothing else; she captured the elegance, grace and style of the silent era, bringing it to life for us all to see and, more importantly, to hear. Swanson was the damsel in distress, the femme fatale, she was even the monster, perched in her chair ready to pounce. This was a once in a lifetime role and Swanson's last chance at Oscar glory. Desmond inspired countless parodies and homages, like Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway, which was a clear tribute to the women nominated this year, but none, no matter how good can compare to the incomparable Gloria Swanson.
What do you think? Was Swanson robbed? Was Holliday the right choice? Or should one of the other ladies have been given the Oscar? Let me know what you think and remember to read more entries in the 31 Days of Oscar Blogathon, which starts on February 1st.
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Judy Holliday: Born Yesterday - Billie Dawn.
Holliday's win over Swanson and Davis is widely regarded as one of the Oscars biggest mistakes, but it really shouldn't be. The similar roles of Norma Desmond and Margo Channing seemed to cancel each other out, splitting the vote between them, which left the door wide open for Miss Holliday to claim her prize. In Born Yesterday, Holliday showed her immense acting ability, transforming the role of a generic dumb blonde into a real character with depth and sensitivity. She is sweet with a real genuine likability despite her stupidity and somewhat annoying voice. I think it's completely unfair to say that Holliday didn't deserve the award when she did. In fact, they all did and if there was ever a year that the prize should be tied then this was it. So far, there has only ever been one tie in academy history, in 1968 for best actress, when Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl and Kathryn Hepburn in The Lion In Winter tied the prize.
The winner should have been...
Gloria Swanson: Sunset Boulevard - Norma Desmond
This could have gone either to Gloria Swanson or Bette Davis and people would have been happy but for me, it's Swanson's performance that really deserved the award. Plus Davis should have won ten years later for her role in Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? But I won't go into that now. Swanson's performance was like nothing else; she captured the elegance, grace and style of the silent era, bringing it to life for us all to see and, more importantly, to hear. Swanson was the damsel in distress, the femme fatale, she was even the monster, perched in her chair ready to pounce. This was a once in a lifetime role and Swanson's last chance at Oscar glory. Desmond inspired countless parodies and homages, like Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway, which was a clear tribute to the women nominated this year, but none, no matter how good can compare to the incomparable Gloria Swanson.
What do you think? Was Swanson robbed? Was Holliday the right choice? Or should one of the other ladies have been given the Oscar? Let me know what you think and remember to read more entries in the 31 Days of Oscar Blogathon, which starts on February 1st.
Much as I love Judy Holliday in "Born Yesterday," I'd probably go with B.D. as Margo Channing - but not without an inner struggle - Gloria Swanson is magnificent as is everything about "Sunset Blvd." Would love to know your thoughts about B.D. not winning for "Baby Jane." I thought she deserved it for that one, hands down. What guts. What a performance. AND she had to contend with Joan Crawford while filming - no small thing, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteAs I said I would have been happy if Davis had won that night, because I just love her especially In Baby Jane. She was grotesque and haunting and was robbed! While maybe her performance was a little bit to much for some, I think she lost due to Crawford's campaigning for Anne Bancroft (where was she that night anyway?) but how true that is I suppose we'll never really know.
DeleteSunset Boulevard is the film I consider to be the best of all time. This way, Gloria should have won in my opinion. But I have to agree that Judy was great and very funny in Born Yesterday.
ReplyDeleteKisses!
I consider it one of the best films ever made as well, I think it's my personal favorite to be honest and yes, Gloria should have won. Thanks for commenting.
DeleteI saw in a documentary...either one about All About Eve or one about Bette Davis...that the fact that Anne Baxter was nominated as Best Actress rather than Best Supporting is why Davis lost. It screwed things up with voting.
ReplyDeleteHolliday does a great job, but I do think Swanson should have won the Oscar that year. She plays a crazy silent film star so well, and I wonder if her "film comeback" in the 1950s would have continued had she won.
I once had someone say, "Well Swanson didn't win, because her film made fun of Hollywood." Which is silly...because Born Yesterday makes fun of politics.
The awards are a mysterious thing.
I think I saw the same documentary, it split the vote, but I don't know how true that is, why would you vote for Baxter when you could vote for Davis, who was better by far. Davis said herself that she thinks she and Swanson had cancelled each other out.
DeleteI really think the award should have gone to Gloria Swanson, although Bette Davis would be a close second for me. (That silly Anne Bancroft!)
ReplyDeleteThanks for a terrific post.
thank you, you're completely right of course she should have won, but it was a really tough year.
DeleteThis is a tough one because Sunset Blvd is a much, much better FILM than Born Yesterday. I mean, it's like a b&w Godfather in that it's so gorgeous. Isolating the performances, though, I think I would have narrowed it to Holiday and Swanson, giving the nod to Judy. She was just so original in that role. I'm not taking anything away from Swanson, I just responded more to Holiday. I also realize I never saw Eleanor Parker's performance. Who knows? Maybe she would bowl me over and I'd change my retro vote. PS I have a cinema-mad friend who maintains that Anne Baxter ruined All About Eve, that it's the most undeserved nomination of all time. I'll have steer him to this post. He'll love it.
ReplyDelete