The Final Conclusion - Best Actress 1962

1962

So the much anticipated ranking is:

5. Lee Remick in Days of Wine and Roses

Although Lee Remick is overshadowed in many ways, she's just excellent as Kirsten, a pathetic woman, a real victim. Her story is very heartbreaking and you don't get any fun out of it but Remick's realism in this part is really impressive. A great performance that should be much more frequently talked about.

4. Geraldine Page in Sweet Bird of Youth

I would kill to see this performance on the stage but instead I have to make do with a great motion picture performance that's nothing short of excellent. Geraldine Page makes Alexandra a very fascinating character and she single-handedly makes the movie worthy of watching. This work is a real treat. Truly-truly memorable effort by a great actress.

3. Katharine Hepburn in Long Day's Journey Into Night

I must say that I was thouroughly impressed by the performance of Katharine Hepburn. Although there's something in me that prevented me from totally embrace it, I still find her truly amazing in her part. As Mary Tyrone, she's just chilling and really disturbing but she never overplays Mary's broken personality. Fantastic work.

2.Anne Bancroft in The Miracle Worker

I was totally amazed by Anne Bancroft's star-making turn as Annie Sullivan, the determined and tough teacher. Anne Bancroft created a multi-layered fascinating character that is a real joy to watch. Her beauty shines through the screen and it's effect is just astonishing. I was taken by this work and I can only praise her for this. It's kind of cheesy to say it's a miracle but for me, it is.

1. Bette Davis in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

This is an iconic performance and rightfully so. It's both delicious and shocking, funny and disgusting. Bette's brilliance is at (another) peak here and she's really unforgettable. No matter what she does on the screen, it's going to be something that you'll never ever forget. She nails each and every nuance of Baby Jane and the result is a fantastic, dazzling and intense work by a brilliant actress.

So I can proudly announce

the winner is...

Bette Davis

in

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Who gets the last laugh?

Final thoughts: A really great year (the highest grades overall) but somehow I wasn't that blown away. All of these ladies were great but somehow I didn't enjoy this year as much as I expected to. Still, a wonderful year with great performances. The ranking was very difficult for me but I hopw to have made the right decision. I wasn't very sure but eventually, this seemed like the best alternative.

Omissions: Jeanne Moreau in Jules et Jim; Anna Magnani in Mamma Roma; Shelley Winters in Lolita

About the next year: It's no secret that it will be 1943. :)

What do you think?

Bette Davis in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Bette Davis received her last Oscar nomination for playing the iconic role of 'Baby' Jane Hudson, a forgotten child star in What Eve Happened to Baby Jane? There are some fun stories going on about this nomination of Bette Davis. Apparently, she wanted to win desperately and she was actually the front-runner so she had no false. When she lost eventually, she felt a cold hand on her shoulder and heard the sentence "Sorry. I have an Oscar to accept". That hand belonged to Bette Davis' arch enemy and her co-star Joan Crawford. I guess this is just a lovely anecdote but I don't rule out that this actually happened. Poor Bette, I guess she was a close second. The fact that she had a campy exploitation movie must have ruined her chances.

As I said, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? is a very campy movie but it's sort of fun. It's a little bit too exaggerated version of Sunset Boulevard but it is a classic on its own right. It's full of suspense, great scenes, memorable lines and such. I think Victor Buono was quite good in his role and probably deserved his nomination. However, writing about these facts seems so unnecessary as this movie is really about Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. I bet it must have been (it still is) a real treat to watch these divas fighting. This was a big fight which was won by Bette but Joan could even make a defeat look like a win.

Sometimes I have a really hard time writing about Bette Davis. Sure, she's become one of my favorite actresses (thanks to these reviews) and I got to know much more of her legendary work and yet I don't have the words to describe her talent. No, she's not beautiful and glamorous like Joan Crawford but she had such real, enourmous acting abilities plus a real interesting personality. I don't know but these old-school superstars seem so much more interesting than our new celebrities (that's another reason why Liz Taylor's death was such a big loss). And we won't ever know their secret.

If I held a poll about what's Bette's greatest performance, I imagine it would be a very close one between Baby Jane and Margo Channing. Although I prefer Margo, I don't think I like Baby Jane much less. Both works are true testaments of Bette's huge talent and they are iconic from the first minute to the last. Each and every moment is so strong and memorable. I mean how can you forget Bette singing a stupid song as if she was 5 years old or the way she says "You didn't eat your dindin". Yes, this must seem crazy if you haven't seen the movie. However, if you watch it you'll see how sick and disturbing it really looks on the screen.

Baby Jane Hudson is nothing more than a mentally unstable drunk. And Bette shows this so brutally and depressingly. What always amazes me is that she's both a tragic and a comic character. I laughed out loud many times at her bitchiness (or I guess it goes way beyond Bette's regular bitchiness) and cruelty. However, there's such devastating reality. This performance is mostly criticised because Bette is overacting it. But I always thought? WASN'T THAT THE POINT? Baby Jane was a person of theatrical screams, laughter and basically a five-year-old trapped in a middle-aged body.

However, I felt a kind of sadistic joy when I saw her being mean to Joan's character, Blanche. That horrible laugh when she gets Blanche's reaction to her special gourmet dindin is just wonderful. It's no wonder that it became an iconic moment of film history. Once you see that, you just won't forget it, for sure. But she also nails the scenes where she has to imitate Joan's voice. She's so hysterical there. The "evil side of Jane is shown excellently by Bette and she really brings the suspense to the screen.

And yes, it was devastating to watch Baby Jane struggle and suffer. There's a heart-breaking scene where Jane is standing in front of the mirror and she realizes how old and ugly she's become. It was really painful. Just like her "performances" with Victor Buono's character. Because of these moments (and the ending) I always felt that in the end Jane turned out to be the victim instead of Blanche. I'm not saying why exactly but thos who have seen the movie know it very well. Jane is mentally ill and she's holding onto her childhood and her stardom that never really existed. Bette showed a heart-breaking portrayal of child stars and how horrible their life can become (and it happened way before such things were mentioned). Just look over the names of these child stars: Tatum O'Neal, Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor, Judy Garland. Their early stardom ended in addiction and/or way too early death. Bette fearlessly showed these things in a rather exaggerated but extremely shocking way.

This is an iconic performance and rightfully so. It's both delicious and shocking, funny and disgusting. Bette's brilliance is at (another) peak here and she's really unforgettable. No matter what she does on the screen, it's going to be something that you'll never ever forget. She nails each and every nuance of Baby Jane and the result is a fantastic, dazzling and intense work by a brilliant actress.

What do you think?

The Next Year

1962

So the nominees were:

• Anne Bancroft in The Miracle Worker
• Bette Davis in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?
• Katharine Hepburn in Long Day's Journey Into Night
• Geraldine Page in Sweet Bird of Youth
• Lee Remick in Days of Wine and Roses

A legendary year that looks WOW! Which one of these brilliant actresses will get my vote?

What do you think? What's your ranking? What's your prediction for my ranking?

The Final Conclusion - Best Actress 1944

1944

So the much anticipated ranking is:

5. Bette Davis in Mr. Skeffington

Many might disagree with me but I think that Bette Davis was excellent in Mr. Skeffington. Her over-the-top acting, her insane and brave choices all worked well with me. Even after I finished watching the movie, I was under the effect of Bette's great performance. Although it's not her best work, it's camp done very well.

4. Greer Garson in Mrs. Parkington

I can say that I was so pleasantly surprised and impressed by this performance of the wonderful Greer Garson. Although she did not blow me away totally, I was utterly mesmerized by her unique presence and talent. Garson illuminates the screen with her radiant self and charisma and she creates a wonderful performance as Susie Parkington.

3. Ingrid Bergman in Gaslight

Ingrid Bergman gives an extremely memorable performance as Paula a terrified woman on the edge of a total nervous breakdown. Although this is not the type of Bergman's performance that I love obsessedly, I would feel ashamed if I didn't praise her for this work of hers as much as I can. Ingrid's portrayal of this woman is brilliant and really haunting.

2. Claudette Colbert in Since You Went Away

Although Claudette didn't have the screentime and the screenplay on her side, she still managed to deliver a very emotional and loveable performance as Mrs. Anne Hilton. Claudette's acting is not too sentimental and she's quite heartwrenching occasionally. Had she been given more, she would have been even more fantastic (and won the Oscar).

1. Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity

But I had to chose Stanwyck's diabolique performance as Phyllis Dietrichson. Stanwyck's performance as the manipulative, irresistable Phyllis Dietrichson is just pitch-perfect. From what I've seen this is absolutely the best work of this silver screen goddess who always blows me away with her wonderful presence and radiant talent. Breathtaking achievement

So I can proudly announce

that my winner is...

Barbara Stanwyck

in

Double Indemnity

Barbara hid a gun in case I picked someone else

Final thoughts: I so needed this year, especially after the awful 1957. All these five women gave fantastic performances and they all would have made worthy winner (except for maybe Bette). I said in my review about Ingrid Bergman that my #1 pick will be a difficult choice. It wasn't to tell the truth. After a while, it was very clear that I would give it to Barbara that scene behind the door is the most significant reason. I mean how could a scene be more brilliant. Ingrid is a great second. I loved Colbert more than it seemed from my review, I think. Garson, poor Garson is fourth once again even though I so loved her. Bette was the obvious fifth, she was the weakest one of this line up (as if I can ever use the word weak in a sentence with this year). Still, the best year so far, I really loved it. And it was great that I was able to cover it first. I usually don't care about it but now I wanted to be the first quite badly. :)

About the next year: I got requests, but I'm doing the next year because I'm really interested in it. It seems to be a great year and all the movies are available, right now. So I give clues:

• Comedy, THE box-office hit, period pieces

What do you think?

Bette Davis in Mr. Skeffington

Bette Davis received her seventh/eighth Best Actress nomination for playing Fanny Trellis in the movie Mr. Skeffington. 1944 is a very interesting year where I'm totally uncertain how the voting might have been. That fourth spot is the one that makes me really think. It was definitely between Greer Garson and Bette Davis. I guess, in the end, that they probably went with Bette as Greer was a very recent Oscar winner (though Bette had two) and Bette's movie was bigger and flashier than Greer's.

That doesn't mean that Mr. Skeffington was better than Mrs. Parking. Not at all. Mr. Skeffington could have been an amazing movie had the filmmakers realised that less is more sometimes. What I mean is that the movie wants to talk about the first half of the 20th century and it somehow becomes very shallow. It doesn't get a real depth and the story becomes boring after a while. Still, the performances are quite good: Claude Rains was excellent in the first half and he would get my Best Supporting Actor vote if it wasn't for Barry Fitzgerald. I really felt sorry for his character. He got all that hate from Fanny's brother. But why did he exactly hate Job? Job was actually very decent with that criminal. I guess the fact that he was called 'Job' had a lot to do with that.

Bette Davis was pretty much the (melo)drama queen. She's considered a real icon and (by many) the first lady of the American cinema. And yes, she was such a huge talent. Nobody could play those teary-eyed or vicious and bitchy characters more naturally than she did. These are the two characters she often played but quite usually, these types were mixed. That's when she got her Oscar nominations and that's what the case is with Mr. Skeffington. Fanny Trellis doesn't fall into both categories. Fanny is a very vain and quite conceited character who also has a hidden (extremely deep inside), sensitive self who quite rarely appears.

This performance of Bette is considered (by many) to be the weakest one of her Oscar nominated roles. I really disagree even though I might just understand the complaints against it. It's true that it's not even close to The Little Foxes and it's a billion miles away from All About Eve (but honestly, it rarely gets better than her in All About Eve). I would say that Fanny Trellis was not the most difficult and showy role of Bette.

First of all, I really felt that Bette Davis added very much depth to this character. Fanny is, above all, extremely vain. She always cares about the outside, how she looks, how her house looks, how her family life looks. Although Fanny enjoys all the money (or fortune) she gets from Job, I don't think that she's as greedy as Regina Giddens from The Little Foxes. Unlike Regina, Fanny doesn't covet constantly, she just feels that she's entitled to a fortune because she's Fanny Trellis, an idol, a noble lady and just Fanny. Bette showed Fanny's worries about her looks, her youth and her beauty and added small hints about what's going to happen in the end. In the end, it's so tragic and Bette's performance makes it even more heart-wrenching.

I think most people miss the great lines from Bette in this movie. It's true that she doesn't get to deliver many sarcastic one-liners but this character is still quite much fun. Although Fanny's not exactly bitchy, she's extremely proud and Bette always underlines this with her performance. It's interesting that Bette chose such a high-pitched voice for Fanny. Just like with Natalie Portman in Black Swan, the annoying voice served the character perfectly and it did not bother me at all.

I would say that Bette's best scene in this movie is the one where she confronts her brother after the wedding (and the weird honeymoon) with Job. There's so much emotion and tension there and I loved how Bette handled that scene. She was quite over-the-top but strangely, it all worked for me. Just like when Fanny learns some sad news. Bette got across Fanny's sorrow extremely well.

I would also have to mention the way Bette (and Fanny :D) plays with the men that are after Fanny. Bette is quite playful in those scenes and I loved that she added very much humor. It was really great to see her feel so easily in front of the camera.

So, to sum up, many might disagree with me but I think that Bette Davis was fantastic in Mr. Skeffington. Her over-the-top acting, her insane and brave choices all worked well with me. Even after I finished watchin the movie, I was under the effect of Bette's great performance. Although it's not her best work, it's worth watching.

As I said, I love doing this year so it's very painful to say that you have to give your final predictions now. :(

Ingrid's profile comes in a couple of hours but you have to wait until tomorrow for The Final Conclusion since I really have a lot to think about. The stronger year, the more difficult ranking.

The Next Year

1944

So the nominees were:

• Ingrid Bergman in Gaslight
• Claudette Colbert in Since You Went Away
• Bette Davis in Mr. Skeffington
• Greer Garson in Mrs. Parkington
• Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity

I can't wait to see all of the performances. It's going to be a tough battle between Bergman and Stanwyck and I haven't even seen the others who might just outdo both of them. Oh, so exciting! :)

What do you think? The predicting contest is on.

The Final Conclusion - Best Actress 1941

1941

The much anticipated ranking:

5. Joan Fontaine in Suspicion

This is a good performance by a great actress, who's unfortunately rarely talked about nowadays. Although Joan's achievement as Lina is quite uneven and a bit unimpressive, there's something interesting and enjoyable about her that makes you keep watching.

4. Greer Garson in Blossoms in the Dust

After all, I can say that this is a beautiful performance, which might a bit weak and rushed at times, but it's often very moving. Although it's quite forgotten nowadays, I think it shouldn't be, since it is one of the most lovely performances of a great talent. Although it may not be flawless, I still liked it a lot.

3. Olivia de Havilland in Hold Back the Dawn

Although sometimes Olivia's performance in this movie is a bit slow-paced, she's still able to be very impressive and loveable. I'm not saying that I was blown away, but I was quite impressed by her this time around. Well done.

2. Barbara Stanwyck in Ball of Fire

I can say that Barbara Stanwyck is just great as Sugarpuss O'Shea in Ball of Fire, and despite the fact that I did not expect that much from this performance and that the screentime was working against her, I was certainly really impressed by Barbara and wanted to see more of her.

1. Bette Davis in The Little Foxes

I can say after all, that Bette Davis gives one of her strongest and most memorable performances as Regina Giddens, the greedy Southern woman. She put all her experience and knowledge into it, worked hard, made it all look easy and created one of the greatest and most complex characters of the 1940s. An excellent, chilling work of a great actress. Bravo.

So I can proudly announce

that my winner is...

Bette Davis

in

The Little Foxes

You could at least stand up Bette! :)

Omissions:

• Barbara Stanwyck in The Lady Eve *My Pick*

Final thoughts: A very strong year. Ranking was quite easy this time, everything went smoothly, I'm quite sure about myself this time. And I like that. This was pretty much unpredictable, since I did not know myself what I would think about this year. Bette was the clear winner (predictably), but the others were very good too. Olivia was the pleasant surprise for me as I usually don't like her, but this time she really impressed me. She grew on me, really. Greer and Barbara (love her) were very-very good and Joan was simply good. After all, I was happy to do this year finally (and I wanted to do it for a while).

About the next year: It's going to be a very-very exciting and strong year, which I'm really looking forward to reviewing. I'm just saying the clues that are quotes from the movies.

• I just want to be perfect!
• Marriage is hard.
• I'm not feeling bad enough for you!

Bette Davis in The Little Foxes

Bette Davis received her fifth/sixth Best Actress nomination for playing Regina Giddens, a greedy and heartless Southern woman in William Wyler's Best Picture nominted classic, The Little Foxes. I really don't know what to think about her chances of winning that year. I can even imagine that she was the least likely to win. She was the only previous Oscar-winner of the line-up, she even had two of them. However, Bette was always a threat to win the award. If the rumour is true about Olivia being second, than I would say that Bette was fourth. Stanwyck had a great year, which I think gave her the edge over Bette. Still, we'll never know.

The Little Foxes is an excellent movie about greed. I remembered it being more of an ensemble movie, and I remembered much less of Davis. The screenplay (the work of Lilian Hellman) is simply terrific, full of great, memorable lines, and I think it should have won an Oscar. This story is so universal and it still hasn't lost its credibility. A brilliant job. Well, it's true that the authors write the best adaptations of their works. All the actors give very strong performances and I would say that Patricia Collinge even deserved the Oscar. Wright is also very good, though she's always a bit underwhelming.

However (I like using this term so much, I admit), The Little Fox is The Bette Davis show. I'll also admit that Davis was a brilliant actress. Although I dislike some of her movies/performances (I'd like to forget The Letter, for example), I still think she's marvelously talented and versatile. Moreover, she's versatile, even by playing basically two types of roles: the bitch and the tragic heroine. She gives different characteristics to all of them. Let me explain this: Margo Channing and Regina Giddens both belong to the bitchy group and yet the two characters cannot be more different. Regina is cold-hearted, even heartless, vicious, moneyed, greedy, manipulative and fake-nice. It's interesting that although these characters are highly unlikeable, they have an enormous popularity among people. What's the reason for that? I guess, it's basically two words: Bette Davis.

Regina is so realistic and hateful (quite rarely seen in a 40s movie), and this great achievement is 100% because of Bette. She even fell out with William Wyler because of her interpretation of Regina. Wyler wanted to make her more likeable (and it seems to have been the better decision at the time). This would have resulted in more love from the audience and probably even a third Oscar win for Bette. However, Bette made a right decision and by this she created one of the most memorable characters of the silver screen. Not only did she make Regina immortal, but she also put on a performance that so lacks the obvious 40s acting. While watching some 40s nominees and their overly sentimental acting, I seriously consider blowing my own brains out. With Bette, everythign went so smoothly.

From the very beginning, we can see that Regina is a very controlling woman. I read in Alex's review about the movie about Regina meaning queen in many languages, and it's really interesting. It was the best decision of Lillian hellman to name her Queen and by this, she showed Regina's superiority to her environment. I guess Bette also realised this and put this crucial thing into this performance, and by this, she created such a dazzling portrait of this woman.

Naturally, the bitchy line deliveries are dead on, still it's not the thign I like most about Bette in The Little Foxes. What I like the most, is the really wide range of emotions that Davis covers with her acting, and she's able to show so many faces of Regina. She's confident when she's negotiating with her stupid, greedy brothers, desperate when she has to achiveve everything she wants, and terrified when she has to face the conequences of her acts. She comes out triumphant out of all the battles and yet she somehow loses the war, because of her coldness. Actually, I feel that Regina had some love for her daughter, quite much I think. The reason for her actions is also the benefit of her child. Despite being very greedy, I don't think that Regina is that selfish. Davis showed so thrillingly that Regina wanted to give everything to her daughter which she did not have at her age. Their last scene together is really chilling: Regina asks Alexandra to sleep in her room and talk to her. Davis' face in this scene is unbelievably expressive and she blew me away.

So, I can say after all, that Bette Davis gives one of her strongest and most memorable performances as Regina Giddens, the greedy Southern woman. She put all her experience and knowledge into it, worked hard, made it all look easy and created one of the greatest and most complex characters of the 1940s. An excellent, chilling work of a great actress. Bravo.

I know I said I would leave her last, but I just couldn't resist.

Time for the final predictions!

The Next Year

1941

So the nominees were:

• Bette Davis in The Little Foxes
• Olivia de Havilland in Hold Back the Dawn
• Joan Fontaine in Suspicion
• Greer Garson in Blossoms in the Dust
• Barbara Stanwyck in Ball of Fire

Oh, I always wanted to do this year! It's going to be so exciting. I've seen only two of the ladies yet (and I don't really remember them), so I'm very curious, even though I'm not a fan of any of these ladies. And for the very first time I only have actresses I have previously reviewed.

What do you think? What are your predictions for the contest?

BTW, I am going to France on Friday for some skiing and I'm coming back next Saturday, so I may only start reviewing then. I might post the first profile tomorrow, but it's quite uncertain.

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):

5. Greer Garson in Goodbye Mr Chips

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. 

4. Bette Davis in Dark Victory

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.

3. Greta Garbo in Ninotchka

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.

2. Irene Dunne in Love Affair

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.

1. Vivien Leigh in Gone With the Wind

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. :-)

Bette Davis in Dark Victory

Bette Davis received her fourth Best Actress nomination for playing Judith Traherne, a careless young socialite diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor in the melodrama Dark Victory. I really did not know until yesterday that Bette Davis was actually a serious threat to win over Vivien Leigh. But we all know who got the award after all. I guess Greta Garbo and Irene Dunne might have got some votes after their big losses to Luise Rainer.

Dark Victory is a quite a mediocre and not very credible melodrama. I just really wasn't able to fully concentrate and it never grabbed my attention. The lowest point in it is easily the awful screenplay: it's full of mistakes and lacks every reality, though the character of Bette Davis is worked out quite well. Everyone else is so one-dimensional and I always thought that they were just there to make Bette Davis look better. You might think that Humphrey Bogart is great, but he really did not have anything to work with. He was (along with Ronald Reagan) the most useless character.

Bette Davis is an interesting case for me. I really love her works late in her career (All about Eve or Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?), because there's so much irony, wit and deep human drama in them, but I feel rather mixed about her earlier films. I love Jezebel or Now, Voyager, but I couldn't stand The Letter for instance. In many ways she's just like Meryl Streep: sometimes she gives amazing performances in great movies and sometimes she's just too melodramatic in awful films. So I was extremely worried about Dark Victory. It's true that people seem to love it, but that was the case with The Letter too.

I'm not saying that I am as disappointed as I was with The Letter, but this wasn't enough for me either. This role is 100% Bette and it totally fits her, but there was something again that I was missing.

But back to the role: this is a pure tearjerker with predictable character development. You know exactly what's going to happen, when and how. There are no surprises in the whole movie or in Bette's performance. That's not totally her fault actually, as it's more due to the horrible screenplay which really doesn't let her be complex, despite giving a baity role.

In the beginning, Judith is a charming, but reckless young girl, throwing parties, riding on horses, chatting, having fun. Her world however turns upside down, when she gets to know that she has cancer. Bette Davis showed the reactions of this young woman quite well: first she's in denial because she's afraid, but she eventually finds peace and prepares for death calmly. This aspect of Bette's performance is flawless, in my opinion. She understood Judith's emotions perfectly and got them across quite easily to the audience.

And here comes a very big BUT: she never really grabbed my attention. I'm not saying that I was not moved by her occasionally, but sometimes I had to force myself to pay attention to her as sometimes she was a bit boring. I don't mind when a performance is overly dramatic (see my review of Vivien Leigh), but this was a bit too much sometimes. Those big tears sometimes really made me angry. I would have sold half of my kingdom for some subtlety.

There are great and very memorable scenes though. Like the one where she discovers the truth at the doctor's office while watching her own case file or when she asks the singers to go on with the party, because "time doesn't sleep". These sequences really rocked and certainly impressed me and they made me rate her much more positively.

So to sum up, I saw a performance that disappointed me to a degree, but there are such strong scenes that I really cannot say that I did not enjoy it. I did not find her as great as everyone else, but she's quite good. My rating will be higher than you would think, but I find it reasonable.

So what do you think? Any thoughts or observations? I am EAGER and ANXIOUS to read the COMMENTS! :)

The Next Year

Now we are moving along with the next year, which is said to be the best year of movies ever. So it's quite understandable that I can't wait to see the performances and the films. Let's just start 1939.

1939

So the nominees were:

• Bette Davis in Dark Victory
• Irene Dunne in Love Affair
• Greta Garbo in Ninotchka
• Greer Garson in Goodbye, Mr Chips
• Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind*

So what are your predictions? Even I don't know what it will look like as I have seen only two of them. We'll see. I'm quite excited.

The Final Conclusion - Best Actress 1940

About the field: Although I thought that it was going to be very strong, it was actually quite weak, with only one truly outstanding performance (no surprise who I guess) and it was very easy to do this ranking. For me everything was so obvious about whom I liked and how much. Except for my #1 and #2 my feelings are leaning towards neutral. However this year was still better than 1998 (though then there were two unforgettable performances). We saw in 1940 a scared woman, a socialite, a killer wife and two confused girl. The overall quality of the movies was also very low, yet I enjoyed doing this year as it's so often talked about (IMO yes). So my ranking for this year is:

5. Martha Scott in Our Town

Yet, her lack of presence effects my opinion about her unfortunately. Her whole performance fails to become substantial or really impressive. It's true that she shines sometimes, but it was way not enough to have a lasting impression on someone. This performance is not much. I'm a bit sorry as this could have been so much more.

4. Bette Davis in The Letter
Overall it's not bad, however it's very inconsistent and uneven in its strenght. Here however, Davis also had to work with a mediocore material. Too bad as this is probably the only performance of Bette I was disappointed by.

3. Ginger Rogers in Kitty Foyle
I can say that she gave a very strong and memorable performance. She is truly great but I simply cannot overcome the fact that she's so uneven. A performance that could have been so great, but was damaged by the quality of the movie.

2. Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story
this is a very nice and entertaining performance, which may not be that deep, however it succeeds in pleasing the audience and most of all, in being funny and amusing. It's probably not the best performance of Kate Hepburn, but not her worst either. Great fun and nice entertainment.

1. Joan Fontaine in Rebecca
Such an obivous (and delightful) pick. She holds it together with her charm, beauty and immense talent and also, I don't really think that anyone could have played this character this well with such credibility. Fontaine definitely deserves the huge amount of love she gets for this performance. Viva Joan!

So my winner for this year is (by a landslide)...
Joan Fontaine in Rebecca
Hey Judith! Don't be pissed that Joan won and you didn't!

Bad news everyone: I'll be away until August so no blog entries until then. However I've already picked my next year and I have good news: all movies are online so we'll be able to discuss and (re-)watch them together. Naturally, I give you clues, which one it will be. These clues will be very easy, but let's see:

• People hearing without listening... Or the contrary?
• She's on fire... (sorry)
• Speaking. Oh sorry...
• NO-Way

And time to announce another winner of the prediction contest: Joe Burns, congratulations!

So what do you think? Guesses, opinions anyone?

P.S.: I would like to make my conscience clear, so that's why I made a bit of change here. I don't want to really explain it and I may regret this one too, but I was not satisfied with the original. First I thought that my doubt would disappear, but it did not unfortunately. I know that this is not fair, but I don't make excuses. So that's just how I feel.

Bette Davis in The Letter

Motion Picture legend Bette Davis received her fifth/fourth (her first nomination was a write-in one) Best Actress nomination for playing Leslie Corbie, woman killing her lover in the William Wyler melodrama, The Letter. My first clue of this year (Who's the First Lady of movies?) referred to the constant argument if Bette is the one or Katharine Hepburn. I don't have to (or want to) decide the question here, however if we held a debate on who's the biggest drama queen, it would last for about 2 seconds as it's obviously Bette Davis. She starred as strong and yet vulnerable women in countless movies always giving performances that still amaze a lot of people (including myself).

The Letter is a very typical 1940s melodrama, which can be either a treat or a torture. This movie is a treat in the beginning, a torture in the middle and a semi-treat towards the end. William Wyler's directing style seems very dated today, even though he also made many classics (Mrs Miniver, The Best Years of Our Lives). The acting in this movie is the typical early overacting by the most of the cast and they add no real depth to the real character. James Stephenson got a Best Supporting Actor nom which might have been worthy, even though he's not THAT great in this movie.

All the actors got standard melodrama roles, including the great Bette. Unfortunately she does not get to be quite different from what she usually is. Her character lacks every originality, it seems as if the writers wanted to make it sure that the movie should be a success and that's why they gave something to Bette which she'd already done and was sure to be loved by the audience and the Academy. It just simply doesn't use the versatility of Bette Davis properly.

The performances of Bette Davis never disappointed me until now. Although I have to admit that she's far from being mediocore or bad in this movie, she simply did not give anything to me to rave about. This performance of hers has a massive fanbase, but I don't get it. Bette had many way better and more memorable performances than this one, say All about Eve, Jezebel or Now, Voyager. But it might be just me naturally.

Her first scene is the mostly praised above all, but the strength of that sequence is mostly due to the directing and the music, Bette actually doesn't do anything special, other than opening her eyes widely and being terrified. I mean, she shows all the emotions well, but in my humble opinion it was no big feat for Bette Davis. Also, there's also a constant weirdness about this character: she's so moody, gets teary so quickly, that it's so unreal and far from reality. I guess this is also due to the genre of the movie, however a bit of subtlety would not have hurt.

The short scenes at the prison are nothing special, she's just there and that's it. It's so unusual to see Bette not be as strong as she's in general. The big scene where the letter is shown to her was however solved by her very well. There I felt that it was Bette Davis and in fact showed how great she can be.

And yet her performance is not totally damaged by the weak material. Towards the ending, she becomes close to great and those are probably the strongest scenes of her whole achievement in this movie. I especially admired her in the scene where she (in fact) bends down in front of her lover's wife to get the letter. The fear and nervousness she shows, is simply amazing and probably saved her performance and the movie itself. All the emotions were displayed very well in those scenes and I was surely impressed.

I must also mention the very last scenes where she's confronted by her husband. She was also very strong and impressive there, if not brilliant. I think those scenes had the potential of being great, yet it did not live with all the opportunities, except for Davis who is very close to being amazing, you just simply cannot take your eyes off her. This is great to experience, but it also indicates how uneven her performance really is. It's never weak, I would not say that, but she was not constantly strong enough to grab my attention unfortunately.

I have to write down the same thing about Bette that I did with Elizabeth Taylor in Suddenly, Last Summer. Overall it's not bad, however it's very inconsistent and uneven in its strenght. Here however, Davis also had to work with a mediocore material (which was not true in Taylor's case). Too bad as this is probably the only performance of Bette I was disappointed by. The funny thing is though that right now I don't feel very disappointed, only neutral. She just (to quote the snobbish guy from the queue at the movie theatre in Annie Hall) did not hit me on a gut level, though Bette's craziest fans might want to hit me on a gut level right now.







To see The Letter click here.

So comments anyone? :)

The Next Year

Moving along with our next year, which is 1940 one of the most talked about races ever. The nominees cover a wide range, but now I stop talking. This time I will send links to the movies, which I hope will be useful to you (I cannot give you one to The Philadelphia Story but it's available on DVD I'm sure). Again, let's enjoy the movies and naturally, the performances of these iconic stars.



So the nominees were:

• Bette Davis in The Letter
• Joan Fontaine in Rebecca
• Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story
• Ginger Rogers in Kitty Foyle: The Natural History of a Woman
  
• Martha Scott in Our Town
  

So what are your predictions? It's time to share your fearless, gutsy predictions with me and the world.