Deborah Kerr, Edward, My Son

as EVELYN BOULT

Before she'd go into the annals of Academy Award history as one of those respected actors who're frequently-nominated-but-never-actually-won-an-Oscar, Deborah Kerr made her first appearance on the Oscar Best Actress shortlist for Edward, My Son. And boy, what role could be more appropriate to mark her mainstream Hollywood debut than that of the long-suffering wife?

Deborah Kerr, Black Narcissus

as SISTER CLODAGH

Won: New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actress

I can’t quite but my finger on it, but I thought Deborah Kerr was so magnetic in Black Narcissus. Perhaps it’s due to the film’s monochromatic use of colors towards her Sister Clodagh and her fellow nuns, the whites and greys of her face contrasting against an otherwise vibrantly colored film, creating a striking radiance on her. Perhaps it’s her tightly coiled intensity, which bubbles slowly inside of her as the film progresses.