Sunday, October 31, 2010

The Final Conclusion - Best Actress 1939

About the field: This was a legendary year for Best Picture and pretty great for Best Actress. And I can say this very easily. I was so happy to (re-)watch these performances and movies. I liked them all, though sometimes I was a bit disappointed as that nominee is praised everywhere. So that was the only disappointing thing here, but that performance grew on me a bit. My #5 may not have belonged to this category, but actually there wasn't any other Best Actress performance I would have nominated instead of her. #4 was very good, though a bit uneven, I was mesmerized by #2 and #1 (big surprise) REALLY blew my socks off. This was one of the easiest rankings so far, though I believed (before starting) that it would be much more difficult. But let's just see the results (which are not surprising if you read my reviews):

This was a heartwarming and charming performance, which wasn't full of opportunities, but Garson did her best in my opinion and was able to show her immense charisma for the first time on screen. Leading or supporting? Doesn't really matter. 
I saw a performance that disappointed me to a degree (mostly because the movie is so horrid), but there are extremely strong scenes so I really cannot say that I did not enjoy it (and it considerably grew on me). I did not find her as great as everyone else, but she's quite good.

This performance is also quite unusual as it basically consists of two different performances.I can say that I was impressed by Garbo once again and she gave an excellent performance full of charm, humor and her grabbing persona.
In a movie, which was her personal favorite, Dunne was able to create a lively, charming, emotional and lovely performance, which might be a bit slow for others, but I was a total sucker for this one. Excellent, intelligent work.

Do I need to explain this? We can be grateful for the miracle that was born on-screen 71 years ago. I could go on and on, I could write a novel as long as Gone with the Wind itself about her, but I just wrap up by saying that I was overwhelmed, entertained, delighted, amazed, moved, amused and mesmerized by Vivien Leigh.

So I can proudly announce
that my winner is (hands down)...
Vivien Leigh 
in 
Gone With the Wind

Tears of a WINNER! :-)

So my next year: I thought it would be very uncertain and I had more years to pick from after all, but somehow life decided it for me. This year is very often talked about but mostly only two of the nominees (especially one). So the clues:
  • #1 hated loss
  • Far From Heaven: The Origin
  • Deglam forever!
I think huge fans found it out from the first clue immediately. :-)

5 comments:

Fritz said...

Well, certainly no surprise about the winner! Your love for Dunne surprised me but since you are a fan, you obviously appreciate her turn more than I do.

And for the next year, my instincts tell me that this can only be 1954!

dinasztie said...

Yes, I really appreciated Dunne more than you did. You said that you did not like her that much, didn't you? I guess the truth might be somewhere between us. XD

joe burns said...

Surprising, I thought Davis would do better.



It could have been 54, but I think your 2nd clue doesn't support that. I really don't know then,

Louis Morgan said...

Good job. Even if the winner was predetermined and so was Garson in My opinion, the rest of them were not, and your ranking did actually have some surprise.

Next must be 1954, since what you wrote on Joe's Blog, also the clues go:

Judy Garland is the hated loss
Far From Heaven's inspiration Magnificent Obsession. And of course Grace Kelly being unglamorous.

dinasztie said...

Yes, the results surprised even me. Before I thought that Garbo will be 2nd, Dunne 4th, but it was the other way.

And yes, it's 1954, I don't mind telling you. I thought that Joe would find out as he's a big Judy Garland fan.