The Final Conclusion - Best Actress 1937

1937

So the much anticipated ranking is:

5. Luise Rainer in The Good Earth

This is a decent performance and I can really understand those who love it but I also understand the arguments against it. Still, Luise Rainer gives a very loveable and truly great performance as O-Lan which may not be for the ages but it is certainly very memorable and its emotional nature is truly impressive. Well done work with some incredible moments by a great actress.

4. Janet Gaynor in A Star is Born

I can say that Janet Gaynor is very good as Esther Blodgett/Vicki Lester but I can't say that she really is great. She's very charming, she's very loveable but the limits of her role prevented her from being truly outstanding in this part. As I said, she's really enjoyable but I couldn't help wanting a little bit more. It's lacking work but a good one, at least.

3. Barbara Stanwyck in Stella Dallas

This might be the weakest one of Barbara's nominated performances but I still enjoyed her work as Stella Dallas. Although the character is quite unlikely and even a little bit confusing, Barbara makes her so entertaining in a very weird way. I can't explain why I liked her this much but I was really blown away by some of the scenes.

2. Greta Garbo in Camille

I have to say that Garbo really succeeded in creating a very complex and likeable character and a great performance despite the fact that she obviously has her flaws. Still, Garbo's luminous presence and wonderful personality might make up for the weaker sequences. Overall, it's a great performance that I really liked, I am still feeling a bit strange about her.

1. Irene Dunne in The Awful Truth

When I almost gave up on 1937, along came Irene Dunne to charm me with this incredible performance as Lucy Warriner. Not only does she give, what I consider one of the funniest performances ever, but she also breaks your heart a little bit as you really start to care about Lucy and her life. It's really incredible work and it's 100% right what Cary Grant said about Irene.

So I can proudly announce

that my winner is...

Irene Dunne

in

The Awful Truth

Ready for your speech?

Final thoughts: A good year but not a great one. Irene was an easy winner and the ranking of the nominees was incredibly easy. Only Irene was truly fantastic but Barbara was really-really close to that. Garbo might have even inspired Maria Callas with this role but she left me a little bit colder. Luise was very nice but not enough and the same goes for Janet Gaynor. Overall, I liked this year but it wasn't outstanding in any way. Plus, I had to say goodbye to Barbara Stanwyck as I've written about all of her nominated performances and that makes me really sad. :(

About the next year: Wow, I looked for a special year to celebrate the first anniversary of the reviews and I found it. But before that, I'm doing a less special but interesting year. It's gonna be incredibly obvious after the clue :):

• I want to win! :@ GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH...
• I feel like a ..t on a .o. ..n ..o.!

What do you think?

Irene Dunne in The Awful Truth

Irene Dunne received her third Best Actress nomination for playing Lucy Warriner, a woman going through one of the funniest divorces in the history of movies in the Best Picture nominated classic comedy, The Awful Truth. It's such a scandal that Irene Dunne never won an Oscar, not even an Honorary one. With Barbara Stanwyck and Garbo they actually had the courage to admit having been crazy that they hadn't gave them awards. Dunne, however, was cheated in every possible way. I think she got closest to winning with I Remember Mama and The Awful Truth. I think she received many votes from Academy members and she might even have got ahead of Garbo though that's not very probable.

What can you expect from a movie in which two of your all-time favorite performers star? LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! The Awful Truth is one of my absolute favorite movies and the reason for it is that it has terrific actors giving terrific performances, a brilliant director, a great script and fabulous lines. I wish there were comedies like this nowadays and we wouldn't have to laugh at things like The Hangover (which is BTW good). The Best Director Oscar was richly deserved and it's a shame that the movie didn't win every award it was nominated for and that Cary Grant wasn't even nominated. Shame. I mean people love and remember this movie and what about The Life of Émile Zola?

Irene Dunne is a delightful presence and I love her so much. No matter what she does, she can't go wrong (OK, I had my problems with I Remember Mama) and I love that she could play any role. She could be a Sunday school teacher writing sexy novels, a caring mother, a heartbroken lover or you name it. In each and every role of hers you can observe what I call the Irene Dunne radiation, which can have fatal effects on you because you can easily get addicted to her and then you just can't get enough of her. I remember that after watching Love Affair, I watched two other movies of hers in a row. As you see, I'm a fan.

But if you're a huge fan, you get to worry if you dislike a certain performance of a favorite. And you're terrified if you don't like a performance that much for a second time. Ever since I saw her in The Awful Truth for the first time, I announced it to the whole world everywhere how brilliant she was. No imagine what a slap in the face it could have been if I hadn't liked her this time. However, it is a could have. I shouldn't have worried. She was just as good, if not better than the first time.

One word sums up this performance the best: laughter. Irene laughs, Cary laughs, you laugh. It's just fantastic how much laughter you can experience. Irene shows several ones: giggling, chukling, cackling and all of them are just brilliant. Just imagine the scene where Lucy gives a concert and Jerry falls with his chair. Irene's laugh after the song is so brilliantly timed and its so damn funny. She gradually cracked me up. First, I was smiling when Cary Grant fell, then I started laughing and when Irene laughed I almost died.

I must also mention Irene's brilliant singing. She could play with her voice so well and that's so immensely cool. I must say, though, that Irene's whole performance is very colorful and playful. I didn't feel that any of her work was forced or planned. Naturally, she was confident but this only helped her. She let herself go and played along with her co-stars and yet she held herself back from looking like an idiot. I think it was incredibly difficult to find the perfect balance with this character. Lucy is not a complicated personality but playing her is a very complicated and tricky task. Just imagine someone less talented than Irene as Lucy. It would have been a total disaster. I picture a remake (God forbid!) with for example Jennifer Aniston as Lucy. She's a good comedienne but I could never imagine her delivering the lines like Irene.

And yes, those line readings are brilliant. When Ralph Bellamy says he can't sleep at nights because he's so in love with her, Irene asks why doesn't he try hot milk. That's one of the funniest lines ever.

If you think that nothing funnier could come, there comes the scene where Lucy plays Jerry's sister. And Irene reaches the real highlight of her performance. That's the top and she just cannot go further, she reached the stars with this role. Moreover, the little drama that she adds to Lucy is also fantastic and it just makes her work even more amazing.

When I almost gave up on 1937, along came Irene Dunne to charm me with this incredible performance as Lucy Warriner. Not only does she give, what I consider one of the funniest performances ever, but she also breaks your heart a little bit as you really start to care about Lucy and her life. It's really incredible work and it's 100% right what Cary Grant said about Irene: "Her timing was marvelous. She was good that she made comedy look easy. If she'd made it look as difficult as it really is, she would have won her Oscar".

What do you think? Time for your last predictions!

The Next Year

1937

So the nominees were:

• Irene Dunne in The Awful Truth
• Greta Garbo in Camille
• Janet Gaynor in A Star is Born
• Luise Rainer in The Good Earth
• Barbara Stanwyck in Stella Dallas

A fantastic looking year. All five of them are interesting in their ways and I can't wait to take a closer look at them. Unfortunately, this will be the last reviewed performance of the brilliant Barbara Stanwyck, so I'll write her review last. I'm curious about how I will react to Rainer, Dunne and especially Garbo for the second time and if I'll like Gaynor more than Garland. We'll see.

Could Barbara gain another win from me or will it be someone else? What's your ranking? What's going to be my ranking? The predicting contest is naturally on.

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. :-)

Irene Dunne in Love Affair

My darling Irene Dunne received her fourth Best Actress nomination for playing Terry, a woman in love in Love Affair, the original version of the 1957 romantic classic, An Affair to Remember. Poor Irene Dunne, she never won an Oscar, she deserved so much and not even an Honorary Oscar. It's a funny world we live in: Reese Witherspoon is an Oscar-winner and Dunne never got an award. Shame. I think she had the least chance of winning in this year as she was a serious threat to win in her other years (particularly 1937 and 1948). I guess she was fourth after all.

Love Affair is an excellent and entertaining love story, which was really so natural and enjoyable that I loved the most of it. The second part of the movie is a bit rushed though, I think they could have told something more about these characters. This is not a real complaint actually, as I liked the movie as it was, but it could have lasted a bit longer since I wanted more of the joy. Charles Boyer was a brilliant actor (it's so awful that he's a bit forgotten nowadays) and he proved it here once again. Maria Ouspenskaya deserved her Oscar nom, but a win would have been much. I can say the same about the movie.

And Irene Dunne. In a way. While I was watching Love Affair, I became a real fan of Ms. Dunne. Actually, I had previously seen only two of her films. I loved her in The Awful Truth (her best performance and I am really loud with this opinion in the blogosphere LOL), but I felt a bit neutral toward her in I Remember Mama (but that was actually the movie's fault). Right now, I am proud to say that I'm an official Irene Dunne fan and I am going to watch as many of her films as I can.

But since this blog is not an Irene Dunne fanclub, I have to talk about her performance in Love Affair. And she's (once again) simply wonderful and has a very magnetic and charming presence. From the very beginning to the very last scene I was in love with her: everything was so right, so lovely, so enchanting, so adorable, so emotional.

This performance very successfully combines the technical and the emotional part. I was totally mesmerized by her sometimes and although I thought sometimes that she wasn't that amazing, she totally grew on me in a couple of minutes(!). I needed a little bit of time to fully appreciate her very intelligent and subtle acting.

She took this very simple and ordinary character and she created an effective mix with which she totally amazed me. I always felt that behind the smiling face of Terry there was some deep bitterness, but also so much hope for a better, calm life with a man with whom she can share her feelings and secrets. It's so heartbreaking to see her trying to be a mother of the orphans as she does not have children. Again, her eyes tell everything we need to know.

Another amazing thing about this performance is that Dunne is never too sentimental or soappy. She could so easily hold herself back in the dangerous scenes (most of her peers should have learned from her example). I love that Irene Dunne was always able to control a performance and show the real face of her character (and by this she also might sacrifice the big impact).

Her chemistry with Charles Boyer is simply perfect: they just look so well together that you instantly think that this is a match made in Heaven. Oh yes, that's the romantic side of me, but the merciless critic is impressed in me too. I have never been afraid to criticize popular performances or to express my fondness of least loved achievements. I am not saying this to hail myself, but to show Dunne's brilliance. There wasn't doubt in me for a second that I would not like her.

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. She's just becomes better and better as I think about her. Excellent, intelligent work.

So what do you think? You cannot officially predict now, but if you have any thoughts or observations or questions, please share it. The final conclusion is soon to come.

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 1948

About the field: Well, this year turned out to be way better than I expected. However I must say that my ranking looks much different than I thought it would be. I'm most shocked at my #5 as I expected her to become my pick. Nevertheless I can say that I saw two mindblowing, one great and two very good performances, so I can conclude that this was a rich and versatile year, which I really enjoyed. My ranking wasn't that easy, because there was some competition for #1, but in the end my pick was obvious. So now it's time to see the ranking

5. Irene Dunne in I Remember Mama

Irene Dunne gave a heartwarming, lovable performance which definitely had it's flaws but it did not bother me for her strong presence attracted my attention all the way. Great work, which had amazing moments in it.

4. Ingrid Bergman in Joan of Arc
Another unpopular and not talked about performance that I was impressed by. Her last huge scene left a huge impact on me and I simply loved her You can hate Ingrid in this, you can hate me for this, but it doesn't change anything.

3. Olivia de Havilland in The Snake Pit
She's courageous, charming and yet far from amazing or very memorable. I think that this performance might grow on me, but now I'm disappointed. Had I not heard that much about her, I would have been satisfied, but this way I'm feeling a bit awkward.

2. Jane Wyman in Johnny Belinda
I saw a great performance, which aged well and was much better for the second time. My admiration has dropped a bit in time but I still have to admit how great she is in this movie. Very good and memorable work.

1. Barbara Stanwyck in Sorry, Wrong Number

I can honestly say that I was very-very impressed and that I saw one of Stanwyck's finest works, which completely grabbed my attention from start to finish mainly caused by Stanwyck's dexterity with emotions. A really intriguing character study.

So my winner for this year is...
Barbara Stanwyck in

Sorry, Wrong Number
Barbara has just found out. :D

So now I've finished this very exciting year. So now it's time to move on. Unfortunately I can only start it in a week (precisely on Monday, 16th August). But naturally, I give you clues as usual, which will be TOO easy this time.

• Adultery, a guilty pleasure
• Being an artist is never easy
• Did you like The Green Mile?

So what do you think?

Irene Dunne in I Remember Mama

Beloved actress Irene Dunne received her fifth (and last) nomination in the Best Actress category for playing Martha, a strong-willed and loving Norwegian mother raising her children in San Fransisco in the movie I Remember Mama. Jane Wyman said once that she herself thought that Irene Dunne was going to win the Oscar. And that makes sense: it was her fifth unsuccesful nomination, she had many friends in the industry and she had many imporant factors on her side. I'm just pissed that she lost for The Awful Truth, gosh she was so great in that (yes, I have seen the others).

I Remember Mama is a bit sentimental and yet touching little American movie about a nice, loveable family with whom you can easily identify and about whom you really care. The movie itself received five nominations (four of them in acting categories). The three performances which got the noms are not very outstanding to tell the truth: Oskar Homolka gives a very over-the-top performance which is occasionally quite annoying, Ellen Corby gets nearly nothing to do, but she's not that bad. Barbara Bel Geddes is the finest of the three, however when I look at her always Miss Ellie comes to my mind (here in Hungary Dallas was unbelievably popular).

Irene Dunne whom I adore, love and everything is not at the top of her game either unfortunately. In short we can say: she gives a very lovable and enjoyable performance, however she was not able to have a lasting effect on me. But if we look at the role (and her performance) we can easily see why she was the front-runner and why she gets so much love for this movie. The character of the lovely, self-sacrificing mother has always been very popular among the people and that also includes the members of the Academy (a fine example is Sandy Bullock's win this year). The audience loves mums in movies, because they remind them of their own mother and by this they love the actual actress.

First of all, the technical part of the performance is not very well worked on. I don't care about the accents, but even I noticed how exagerrated her Norwegian accent was. This is very surprising (or rather shocking) as Irene Dunne always nailed the technical part. Here she simply decided to be only lovely and rely on the emotions. She constantly (and desperately) wants to get the sympathy of the audience and her character became way too perfect and angelic, I actually couldn't believe that she was an actual person.

Her singing scene at the hospital is considered to be very moving and although I liked it to a degree, it did not really warm my stone heart. I felt so indifferent towards all of the characters and that unfortunately did not include Ms. Dunne. Too bad, however I would not really say that I was very disappointed, because I really did not have any expectations, actually I expected a good, but very sentimental performance, which I got ironically. So now I would not say that I'm bitter like I was with Olivia. I just feel this neutrality.

Towards the end of the movie however there are scenes where Irene Dunne gets some opportunities to shine and show her very radiant personality. First of all, when her uncle is dying, she's just excellent. She does not have much to do, but she says a lot in her silence. It's very moving where she decides to show the dead body to her daughter so that she wasn't terrified of death. There my indifference started to fade away and the sympathy for which Dunne so desperately worked was born in me. I really felt then that Martha was a breathing, living human being.

Another great moment is her chat with the famous writer to whom she shows her daughter's stories. Her loveliness shone through the screen and she quite impressed me right there. It's interesting her performance started mediocre but ended in total greatness. I'm always greatly influenced by the ending for if the end is good I can get over some mistakes. However, if it's not satisfying, I cannot forgive it. Fotunately, Dunne belongs to the former.

So to sum up, I can say that Irene Dunne gave a heartwarming, lovable performance which definitely had it's flaws but it did not bother me for her strong presence attracted my attention all the way. In time it grew on me so much that I only have positive memories about it and she still warms up my heart if I think about her.

Now it's time to give me your very final predictions and of course I'm waiting for your opinions,thoughts too. With this year I seem to disagree with most of the people so far but we'll see in the end. To see this movie click here.

The next year...

Hi everyone, I'm back from my vacation so now it's time to go on with our next year, which is (as you all guessed well) 1948. I don't know either how my ranking will look like as I only saw the winner, but I can give links to ALL of the movies. On forums this year is mostly talked about because of the performances of de Havilland and Wyman, however I can pick anyone, so let's just start it. I think I'll see at least two excellent performances and naturally I'm waiting for your preditions.



So the nominees were:

• Ingrid Bergman in Joan of Arc
• Olivia de Havilland in The Snake Pit
• Irene Dunne in I Remember Mama
  
• Barbara Stanwyck in Sorry, Wrong Number
  
• Jane Wyman in Johnny Belinda
  

So what do you think my ranking will look like?