Round-up: Actress 1943

5. Greer Garson, Madame Curie

4. Jennifer Jones, The Song of Bernadette

3. Joan Fontaine, The Constant Nymph

2. Ingrid Bergman, For Whom the Bell Tolls

1. JEAN ARTHUR, THE MORE THE MERRIER

IN CONCLUSION: So it turns out that 1943 was a better year than I was expecting it to be. And after a little bit of back-and-forth, I've ultimately decided to give my win to Jean Arthur! I would say that Arthur's performance is a more all-around enjoyable one; Bergman and Fontaine are great as well, but it probably helps Arthur's case that I enjoyed her film the most out of the three. Bergman just barely gets past Fontaine only because I feel that she impressed me more with less to work with. And of course the spots for Jones and Garson speak for themselves. Now in terms of snubbages, I think we already know the big one: Ida Lupino!! It's an outstanding actressing showcase and it's a shame that she hadn't gotten any attention out of New York. Another glaring absence is that of Ingrid Bergman for Casablanca, which I am totally perplexed by (perhaps For Whom the Bell Tolls was fresher on the mind?) Other than that, given the overall love for Watch on the Rhine I'm sure Bette Davis was in the running for yet another nomination (or perhaps Old Acquaintance?). Joan Fontaine was also in Jane Eyre, so maybe that was considered as well. And then there are Deborah Kerr for The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (perhaps not a big enough star yet?), Gene Tierney for Heaven Can Wait, and Teresa Wright for Shadow of a Doubt. Wright's absence is also a question mark seeing as how the Academy went ape shit for her two years running at that point, but I suppose that's a sign that the film just wasn't up Oscar's alley. And with that, I bid 1943 adieu...