5. Teresa Wright, The Pride of the Yankees
4. Rosalind Russell, My Sister Eileen
3. Katharine Hepburn, Woman of the Year
2. Greer Garson, Mrs. Miniver
1. BETTE DAVIS, NOW, VOYAGER
IN CONCLUSION: And so Miss Bette Davis, with whom I have reviewed extensively, with whom I've been mostly impressed with and grown slightly bored of as of late, and with whom I half-heartedly granted a win out of '41 because I couldn't find anything to like about anyone else, comes swooping back for a second consecutive victory! (This time because I actually and excitedly like her the most!) And with this honor, Bette becomes the first ever actor to nab two consecutive wins from me. Yippee! Garson rests comfortably in second place, decently ahead of Hepburn, who just barely scratched through to three statues status. The rest of the placings speak for themselves. In terms of other nominees--we all know Agnes Moorehead won Best Actress from the New York Film Critics Circle, but she has no business in the lead actress category and was rightfully nominated in supporting (where I believe I'd rank: Moorehead, Cooper, Whitty, Wright, Peters.) I've mentioned it before and I'll say it again: Greer Garson should have been nominated for Random Harvest!!! But she wasn't and I'll side-eye the Academy every time I think of '42. There's also Carole Lombard for To Be Or Not To Be, Claudette Colbert for The Palm Beach Story, and Ginger Rogers in The Major and the Minor. Did I mention I'm so glad this year is over? Definitely one of the more underwhelming ones I've covered as of late. Let's hope next year's batch of ladies is better (though let's not hold our breaths)!
No surprises here, and this is the right choice.
ReplyDelete1943 is stronger than this for actresses, but their films, except for The Song of Bernadette, are not very good.
Happy to hear you think the '43 ladies are stronger. I'll take your word for it :D
DeleteI don't even expect the films to be all that good. I don't think I'll be expecting them to be good until the fifties.
Davis said on many occasions that she thought that Charlotte more likely to end up with Dr. Jacquith rather than than the needy Jerry, but of course Claude Rains, soon due to be a Davis husband to come, was without the matinee/leading man looks a studio felt more secure with.
ReplyDeleteDavid adored Rains, and little wonder, because here and in his many, and often-understated performances, he's astonishingly good. Ilka Chase, so warm as Charlotte's in-law and ally, Bonita Granville, for once not asked to stay hated till the end of a movie, and Gladys Cooper who surely does, all contribute outstanding help to a Davis character the memory refuses to surrender.
I applaud this choice.
Yaaaaay Bette! :P
ReplyDeleteBlossoms still Greer's best imho.
Having re-watched this film recently, I've decided I'm in full agreement with you. Davis underplays this role to perfection in a performance that's mostly internal (for her). Aside from her first scenes with all that make-up, Davis is utterly contemporary in a performance that hasn't dated one bit.
ReplyDelete