The Final Conclusion - Best Actress 1961

1961

So the much anticipated ranking is:

5. Geraldine Page in Summer and Smoke

I don't think that this performance of Geraldine Page is all that special. I mean, she's plays the part properly and she has lots of great moments but altogether, she's far from brilliant. Apart from the beginning, she played Alma just like she had to and she put on very decent work that could be expected from an actress of her calibre. However, she's not as amazing as some say.

4. Piper Laurie in The Hustler

This is not a performance for the ages but Piper Laurie is very good as Sarah in The Hustler. Although sometimes she's too overshadowed by Paul Newman, her work never loses its strength and occasionally, we see truly brilliant, unforgettable scenes. Her achievement is very evenly great and therefore she deserves some praise.

3. Natalie Wood in Splendor in the Grass

Natalie Wood took on a very difficult role and despite some early mistake, she put on a wonderful performance as Deanie Loomis. She portrayed all the fears and the tension so realistically and exceptionally that she became a truly luminous presence on the screen. She develops the character excellently, avoiding all the traps and obviousness that could have ruined her work.

2. Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's

It really must be my sentimental side that came to surface while I was watching this movie but I couldn't care less. I understand why some could criticise it but for me, Audrey Hepburn's work as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's is deservedly one of the most iconic performances of all time. Not only has Audrey Hepburn created an unforgettable character, but also some marvellous acting.

1. Sophia Loren in Two Women

I know I should sum up his performance somehow but I feel that my whole review was the shortened version of how I feel about her. Nothing can come close to this wonderful emotionality, the radiant, brilliant personality of Sophia Loren (none of the Hollywood stars of her time can come close to her). This watch of the movie and my review was the ultimate test of my love for this performance and it passed. With distinction. :)

So I can proudly announce

the winner is...

Sophia Loren

in

Two Women

Easy win.

Congratulations to Fritz and Louis on the correct predictions! :) You got a prize but since you got it right only after 4 reviews you can both pick only from these 10 possibilities: 1943, 1953, 1962, 1967, 1968, 1976, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1999.

Final thoughts: BRILLIANT year! I so loved this year. All of them interesting, strong performances. Two very good ones, one really great and two legendary ones. I'm happy that I had to opportunity to do this wonderful year. I feel bad about not picking Audrey (so far, she's my best one not to win, I refuse to say loser) as that performance was worthy of an Oscar. However, no tie was possible. This award belonged to Sophia alone and the Academy somehow (what a miracle) realised that. So I've agreed with the Academy 3 years in a row. :)

Omissions: Jeanne Moreau in La Notte

About the next year: It's no secret that it will be 1992. :)

What do you think?

Piper Laurie in The Hustler

Piper Laurie received her first Oscar nomination for playing Sarah Packard, a depressed girlfriend of a hustler in the Best Picture nominee, The Hustler. I'm quite sure that Laurie was the fourth runner-up. First, her role was not big enough to get enough votes plus the Academy didn't seem quite willing to give many awards to The Hustler. Moreover, the other nominees were much bigger names than Piper Laurie. I guess Laurie got closest to winning with Carrie and it was her time. I guess in her case the nomination was the reward.

The Hustler is such a terrific movie. Actually, I even think now that it should have won Best Picture and Adapted Screenplay. It's so dark and realistic (that's probably why it lost the Best Picture to the sugar coating of West Side Story). I loved the cinematography (deserved Oscar win) as it made the atmosphere even more depressing. Paul Newman is nothing short of amazing in the lead. I mean, I still can't believe how he could lose. This seemed to be such an Oscar moment (just like it was with Michelle Pfeiffer in The Fabulous Baker Boys) and he never gave a better performance. The supporting actors are pretty great, too though now I've become a bit uncertain who would get my vote in that category.

Piper Laurie is an excellent character actress who's the best at playing very meaty supporting roles. People mostly remember her as the fanatically religious mother of Carrie in the shocking Brian de Palma horror. Many say that she was robbed of the Oscar that year though I'm not 100% sure. What I'm sure is that her role in The Hustler is also a supporting one. She plays the typical depressed girlfriend, appears more than 35 minutes into the movie plus she has quite minimal screentime. The reason why she could be considered leading is probably that the character is crucial to the stoy (though that could be argued).

This is just one of the two main things this working against Laurie here. The other one is that it's pretty damn hard to give a truly knockout performance as a co-lead or a supporting player when the real lead gives the performance of a lifetime. I guess the same goes for the two nominated supporting actors here but their roles were so heavy and the characters had enough strength. And it's true: Laurie suffers a little bit from Newman's towering achievement but I felt that Newman (that's the real brilliance in his performance) let the others shine, too. He throws up all the balls to the others to catch them and Laurie barely misses them. In fact, when she's given spotlight she uses it as much as she can.

I could say that Sarah Packard is probably a distant relative of the character that Rachel Roberts played in This Sporting Life. They are both hardened, extremely depressed characters who suffer from their men and they are often humiliated by them. The characters couldn't be more alike but the actresses' approaches to them could not be any different. After watching Roberts I wanted to cut my own neck because it was so depressing but with Laurie it was kind of different. I really don't know myself how I felt. I was actually quite captivated by her sometimes.

Another criticsm could be the little bit stiff and theatrical line readings. However, I got used to that gradually and I felt that it was the part of the character. I felt that Sarah loved making a scene and be theatrical. Laurie had these big monologues and I think she handled them just as she had to. She put enough emotion into them and they all became quite strange but in a very good way.

Her last scenes are really the best, however. She really rocks in those scenes and shows some incredible acting. They didn't make the whole performance seem incredible but they indeed had a very positive effect on me and probably influenced me a lot. Her desperate last monologue to Paul Newman was handled excellently by her and I really felt what she wanted to say with those lines.

This is not a performance for the ages but Piper Laurie is very good as Sarah in The Hustler. Although sometimes she's too overshadowed by Paul Newman, her work never loses its strength and occasionally, we see truly brilliant, unforgettable scenes. Her achievement is very evenly great and therefore she deserves some praise.

What do you think?

The Next Year

1961

So the nominees were:

• Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's
• Piper Laurie in The Hustler
• Sophia Loren in Two Women
• Geraldine Page in Summer and Smoke
• Natalie Wood in Splendor in the Grass

Sophia Loren made history in 1961 by becoming the first actress to win for an entirely foreign language-speaking performance. Will she be my winner, too or will I pick one of the other incredible ladies?

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