and the nominees were:
Bing Crosby, The Bells of St. Mary's
Gene Kelly, Anchors Aweigh
Ray Milland, The Lost Weekend
Gregory Peck, The Keys of the Kingdom
Cornel Wilde, A Song to Remember
Ingrid Bergman, The Bells of St. Mary's
Joan Crawford, Mildred Pierce
Greer Garson, The Valley of Decision
Jennifer Jones, Love Letters
Gene Tierney, Leave Her to Heaven
Well--after a nice little vacation from the 1940s, we are back to the old grind again. Halfway through the decade, I come back to literally the same, repurposed material--Greer Garson in her 100th nominated turn, Jennifer Jones in her third nominated turn, Ingrid Bergman goes from back-to-back turns as innocent girls to flat out becoming a nun in her third consecutive nominated turn in Going My Way II, PLUS an extra film about a priest (though this time with Gregory Peck, so there's that), PLUS another obligatory biopic. Give me strength to power through this atrocious decade!! (Can you tell from the collage which film I'm most looking forward to?)
So as per usual, feel free to let me know your thoughts on who you think I'll like/dislike, and which ones are your personal favorites!
SOME HOUSEKEEPING: The Oscargasms Hall of Fame gallery is being updated (a work in progress!). And if you haven't already noticed, I've messed around with the layout of the site. Should look fine on iOS, but if not, let me know so I can tweak accordingly!
So as per usual, feel free to let me know your thoughts on who you think I'll like/dislike, and which ones are your personal favorites!
SOME HOUSEKEEPING: The Oscargasms Hall of Fame gallery is being updated (a work in progress!). And if you haven't already noticed, I've messed around with the layout of the site. Should look fine on iOS, but if not, let me know so I can tweak accordingly!
Hopefully Gene Tierney will win, she's amazing.
ReplyDeleteAs for actor, Ray Milland is killer in TLW.
Of all her noble roles, I found Garson agreeable enough in Valley thanks to some eye candy-era Peck, the unerring Gladys Cooper, and the curious proof that Jessica Tandy really was a young woman once. Still, the Oscar had to go to Gene or Joan.
ReplyDeleteAs for Bergman, one astute biographer noted that the combination of Ilsa, Maria, Paula and Sister Mary Benedict fixed an impression of Ingrid in the public verging on the saintly and above all reproach. "It was a heavy halo that was soon to fall from her head."
No quarrel against the way Best Actor went. Certainly it was an incremental step, but the movies grew up a little bit.
I think you might be disappointed in Crawford because her role is a different take on the "noble" woman a la Greer Garson. I wouldn't give in to Gene Tierney, though, because her character is one note and played as such. A more versatile actress might have found more depth than this villainess Tierney tries. I'd still go for Bergman's more naturalistic performance in "St. Mary's".
ReplyDelete