Best Actress 1965: Julie Andrews in "The Sound of Music"

I have to admit that I don’t really care for The Sound of Music which is surprising since I usually love every musical. But something about this movie simply puts me off and so I want to apologize to all its fans right now for my view on the movie.

Right now I can say that, whatever problems I may have with the movie itself, Julie Andrews is not to blame. While the role of Maria is certainly not written by Shakespeare, Julie lifts the material and gives a warm, humorous and touching performance that helps to keep the movie going.

While I think that her role in Mary Poppins was more interesting from an observing point of view, the role of Maria gives Julie Andrews much more to do. For some reason, I also prefer her vocal work in The Sound of Music even though I prefer the songs from Mary Poppins. Julie’s voice fits perfectly to all the tunes and she is able to make them memorable and catchy. Her pure, angel-like voice also helps to distract from the horrible execution of the musical sequences itself: “Do-Re-Mi” is a nice song but one always has to be scared of hurting ones eyes from looking at the children’s cloths; “Something Good” is incredibly boring and “My Favorite Things” is a woman jumping around in her bed with 7 annoying children and even gives us lyrics like “Schnitzel with noodles” which, I can assure you, is a combination that nobody eats. But still, Julie Andrews is always able to make all this bearable and even entertaining.

The smartest decision of Julie Andrews was to play her part as straight forward as possible. The Sound of Music is a movie musical without any hint of irony but instead plays it all as serious as possible and by that seems too self-important. It is thanks to Julie Andrews (and Christopher Plummer, to some extent) that the whole thing still works because she plays even the most silly scenes, like when Maria is going to the van Trapps and clumsily waves her hands or falls over her baggage, as serious as possible, as if it is the most natural thing in the world. While I think that Maria is a rather annoying character in the beginning, Julie Andrews certainly does the most with it. She handles the mix of comedy and drama quite well and like she brings new life into the van Trapp household, she also keeps the whole movie alive. The whole storyline is so sugarcoated and sweetish that it’s hard to stop my eyes from constantly rolling but Julie is magically able to be believable in an unbelievable part.

Even though she doesn’t give the best performance of the movie (that honor goes to Eleanor Parker who also gets a bonus for wanting to send the children to a boarding school), she still gives the most important one and carries the production on her shoulders.

Because she takes the character of Maria so seriously, she also succeeds in the later, more dramatic parts of the movie. When she realizes that she is in love with the Captain and listens to her Mother Superior, Julie shows all the confusion wonderfully on her face. Even though Maria is a rather clumsy woman at the beginning who talks too much and too openly, Julie also shows that she is neither stupid nor naïve. Wanting to be a nun and so being able to spend a lot of time thinking, Maria is very well aware of her own faults and mistakes but she doesn’t seem to be able to stop them. She knows that she shouldn’t talk to the Captain so openly and fresh, but she keeps doing it because she believes, she knows that she is right. But she never appears rude or unpleasant, instead Julie Andrews’s natural charm and charisma make Maria a very loveable woman and it’s not hard to believe that the Captain would fall in love with her.

Julie Andrews’s Maria is a nanny, a love interest and a new mother to the children. And Julie shows all these aspects without ever losing the core of Maria which is hope, optimism and encouragement.

Julie Andrews is able to make even the most cringe-worthy moments of the movie believable and she wonderfully balances the cheesiness of the script and the character with a more serious approach to the material. Whenever Christopher Plummer opens his mouth and starts to sing, I can’t help but laughing, especially because “Edelweiss” is such a dreadful song and even the serious moment when he is singing the song on stage and has to stop because he is so moved is not very effective for me. But the way Julie Andrews looks at him, with so much concern, understanding and love and the way she gracefully moves to his side to support him, is a really great moment.

The real talent of Julie Andrews, which she also showed in Mary Poppins even though the role was less challenging, is to take cheesy, underdeveloped material and turn it into something much deeper and more mature than expected.

But even though I don’t want to overrate her performance. Julie Andrews gives a performance that is better than her movie but at the same time she is not able to lift her movie to a higher level. Despite her lovely presence and thought-out performance, The Sound of Music remains a thin, artificial and shallow experience. Not even Julie Andrews can change that. And I also don’t want to overrate her because the character of Maria is certainly not the deepest or richest or most interesting part ever written.

Still, Julie Andrews succeeds in her own way and for this, she gets

Best Actress 1965: Simone Signoret in "Ship of Fools"

After having won an Oscar for suffering subtly, Simone Signoret received her second nomination for a role in which she showed again that no great overacting is needed to create a memorable character.

Ship of Fools is an ensemble piece that tells the story of various characters who are on a passenger ship on their way to Germany shortly before Hitler’s raise to power.

Almost all of the characters are introduced in a rather simple way. While they are eating in the dining room, the scenes cuts from table to table and show the various passengers and introduce the viewer to their storyline. There is a Nazi sympathizer, a friendly Jew, a woman hunter and others.

Only one character enters the movie in a rather spectacular way and that is the La Condesa, played by Simone Signoret. When the ship makes a stop in Cuba to take hundreds of Spanish peasants back to Spain, there is suddenly a cheer in the crowd and all the people start to joyfully shout and wave and call “Condesa!” And then the Condesa enters, accompanied by two prison guards. This almost royal entrance already sets her character apart from all the others on the ship.
Simone right from the beginning shows her talent for quiet suffering: we see no joy in the Condesa, she rather appears sad and defeated and not once does she look at the joyful crowd that is cheering to her.

Soon we are told the reason for her unhappiness: her house was burned down, all her things were taken away from her and she is being transferred to a prison in Europe.

Like in Room at the Top, Simone again plays a mature, adult woman who is dealing with a rather stern and humorless man. To make her Condesa an effective counterpart to Oskar Werner’s Dr. Schumann, she mixes her character’s sadness with a hint of humor and relaxed openness. She seems to take an interest in him, she is amused by him. This results in a wonderful, interesting and captivating chemistry with Oskar Werner and the two of them easily turn their storyline into the most interesting one of the movie (but to be honest, that’s not that difficult since almost all the other storylines tend to be underwhelming or downright horrible; especially José Ferrer is too awful to describe).

Simone and Oskar are very charming in their relationship. There is something about their acting that makes it seem like they are two curious teenagers but at the same time the burden and problems of their lives and their experience are obvious in every frame.

There is also the question if she really loves him or is trying to get his sympathy to receive drugs from him. Unfortunately, this aspect of the story is rather undeveloped and Simone seems to try to make her characher more likeable by focusing on the romantic aspect of the story.

La Condesa is a women who openly talks about personal things without holding anything back. She is a very honest person and Simone is, as usually, able to show tragedy and sorrow on her expressive face in a very remarkable way.

And also like in Room at the Top, Simone Signoret lacks screen time compared to other leading ladies but the big difference is that she was still a central character and dominated the story. In Ship of Fools, Simone only exists in her own storyline and even though it is clearly the best of the movie, she is quickly forgotten whenever she leaves the screen. It’s a clear ensemble piece and it’s hard to point out Simone as a leading character and she is not able to lift the whole movie to a greater level. She also suffers from the fact that Oskar Werner overshadows her.

Simone adds a lot of dignity to her part but apart from suffering for 20 minutes, she barely gets anything to do. She is the female part of a very romantic, hopeless and tragic storyline but her presence is too limited and her character too underdeveloped to really shine.

Overall, it’s an effective performance that getes

Best Actress 1965

The next year will be 1965 and the nominees were

Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music

Julie Christie in Darling

Samantha Eggar in The Collector

Elizabeth Hartman in A Patch of Blue

Simone Signoret in Ship of Fools

YOUR Best Actress of 1959!

Here are the results of the voting:

1. Simone Signoret - Room at the Top (28 votes)

2. Katharine Hepburn - Suddenly, Last Summer (6 votes)

3. Audrey Hepburn - The Nun's Story (2 votes)

4. Doris Day - Pillow Talk & Elizabeth Taylor - Suddenly, Last Summer (1 vote)


Thanks for voting!

Best Actress 1947 - The resolution!

After having watched and reviewed all five nominated performances, it's time to pick the winner!

5. Dorothy McGuire in Gentleman's Agreement

Dorothy McGuire gives the most uninteresting performance of the most uninteresting character in the most uninteresting part of the movie. She obviously tries to make Cathy an open and relaxed character but her performance always remains a bit too stiff to ever become really memorable.

4. Loretta Young in The Farmer's Daughter

                     

Loretta Young obviously tries to add some depth and complexity to the character with several unexpectedly serious line-deliveries or other small gestures but a lot of times she decided to be serious even when a scene could have used some comedy. But even though her performance may not be very humorous, the characterization of Katrin as a dependable, intelligent, good-hearted and loyal woman is consistent and played well.

3. Joan Crawford in Possessed

Joan Crawford’s performance is a constant up and down of nice underplaying and mad overacting, mixed with her obligatory melodramatic acting that becomes dominant whenever any emotional scenes are involved. It’s obvious from the first moment that Joan Crawford doesn’t intend to show realism but she is able to use her theatrical acting style to give a compelling performance that carries an equally theatrical movie.

2. Rosalind Russell in Mourning Becomes Electra

Rosalind Russell’s acting choices more than once seem rather unnatural and dated but the way she slipped into the character always impresses. Her arrogant, domineering, manipulative and slightly insane Lavinia never feels forced or calculated. Instead, Rosalind Russell slides through the movie in a way that makes it look easy but at the same she constantly tries to make sure that every viewer is aware that it’s in fact very difficult. She impressively towers above the entire cast and helps to make Mourning Becomes Electra worth seeing despite its length and dark subject.                       

1. Susan Hayward in Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman

Susan Hayward plays all the parts of her role with beautiful subtlety and even in her most desperate or drunken situations she never overdoes it. She believably demonstrates what effect alcohol has on her life and her behavior and she is also able to make this behavior understandable. She clearly shows what causes her irrational actions and how Angelica is always torn between knowing that she is destroying everything she loves and not being able to stop it.

Best Actress 1947: Joan Crawford in "Possessed"

Two years after her win for Mildred Pierce, Joan Crawford was back with what she considered the most difficult role of her career.

The movie starts with a very quiet scene. A woman is walking down a street in Los Angeles. It’s very dark and silent but there is something weird about this woman. The way she walks shows that she is either very tired or distracted. When we finally see the face of the woman, all these thoughts seem confirmed. The women seems exhausted, even a bit confused as if she doesn’t know what she is doing or where she is.

It’s an interesting beginning to an entertaining movie even though Joan Crawford already uses this first close-up to show that melodramatic acting style which she brought to perfection over the years. It’s obvious from the first moment that she doesn’t intend to show realism but Joan Crawford is able to use her theatrical acting style to give a compelling performance that carries an equally theatrical movie.

Joan does a nice job at the beginning of the movie when she is searching a mysterious David and sees him in every man she meets but Joan is never fully convincing when she is showing the weak or vulnerable sides of her character. She trusts too much on her ability to look hurt and speak with a broken voice but Joan is never able to disappear into these lonely souls.

So it’s no surprise that her performances improves after her character has been sent to a hospital where she slowly gains back her consciousness. In these scenes, Joan shows that she has a great talent for big eyes and a look of shock and fear. Her expressive face is masterful in showing these emotions.

Like Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman, Possessed shows a woman in hospital while flashback tell us her story. We learn that Louise, Joan’s character, had a relationship with a playboy called David but right at the beginning it’s clear that Louise has different expectations of this relationship than him. She wants commitment while he only wants to have fun and so he quits the relationship.

Joan is very good at showing right from the beginning that Louise is obsessed by her love for David. She is unwilling to let him go. It’s not told why she has such strong feelings for him and Joan also doesn’t explore this subject any deeper but instead turns Louise into an addicted character for whom more and more boundaries begin to fall. Her performance is a constant up and down of nice underplaying and mad overacting, mixed with her obligatory melodramatic acting that becomes dominant whenever any emotional scenes are involved.

The movie and the character of Louise are a weird of mix of all sorts of genres. Louise is not only obsessed with David but it seems that she is generally going crazy. She begins to see situations that don’t happen, hears things that aren’t there. Joan does all this with a memorable collection of nervous ticks that include the obligatory widened eyes, a shaking body and nervous hands. What’s a little disappointing is that she is not able to find any progression in her showing of Louise’s madness. Even though the script tells us that her problems become worse it doesn’t show in Joan’s acting since she seems already crazy from the first day.

Still, her scenes of despair, madness and hate are certainly impressive and fit Joan like a glove. She gives a highly stylized but nonetheless captivating performance that helps to make Possessed the entertaining movie that it is and she is believable for most of the time.

Overall, it’s an interesting and dramatic performance that gets

Best Actress 1947: Rosalind Russell in "Mourning Becomes Electra"

Over the time, movies have given us a lot of dysfunctional families but it is probably hard to top the Mannon, a wealthy, Northern family during the American Civil War. They are marked by hate, betrayal, mistrust and incest love.
Mourning Becomes Electra is the story of a daughter against a mother, a son against a father and a wife against a husband. And only one will survive.

In the middle of all this is Rosalind Russell’s Lavinia. She is a very dominant, decided and suspicious woman. She mistrusts every step her mother takes and actively tries to expose her as a liar and adulteress. It is never told how the relationship between these two got so bad but whenever Lavinia and her mother share the screen, the tension can be cut with a knife. Instead, Lavinia is devoted to her father whom she expects to finally come home from the war. But when he dies in the first night of his return, Lavinia immediately suspects her mother of murder and tries to get her brother, who on his part is loyally devoted to his mother, on her side.

It’s no light fare that this 3-hour movie tells and anyone who expects a thrilling family saga couldn’t be more wrong. This movie is all talking and thus provides the actors with the kind of dream roles that are sure to attract awards attention because the tour-de-force is so obvious: the actors can deliver one monologue after another, show all kinds of emotional conditions and play characters that are always close to the edge of insanity.

So it’s no surprise that Rosalind Russell was considered the widely frontrunner for her performance. And while she certainly does an impressive job in bringing this dark tale to life and carry this melancholic story on her shoulders, time has not been too kind to this movie. While Michael Redgrave’s performance has aged very well, both Rosalind Russell and Katina Paxinou seem constantly to try to act each other of the screen with larger-than-life gestures and movements.

Rosalind Russell never really overacts but she more than once seems to think that the only acting choice for her part is too widen her eyes as much as possible and act with a certain theatrically that is better suited for the stage. For long parts, her whole performance also consists of basically only one expression which is an arrogant look with a chin put as high as possible.

But somehow, it still works. Rosalind Russell’s acting choices more than once seem rather unnatural and dated but the way she slipped into the character always impresses. Her arrogant, domineering, manipulative and slightly insane Lavinia never feels forced or calculated. Instead, Rosalind Russell slides through the movie in a way that makes it look easy but at the same she constantly tries to make sure that every viewer is aware that it’s in fact very difficult. She impressively towers above the entire cast and helps to make Mourning Becomes Electra worth seeing despite its length and dark subject.

She is able to always hint that there is much more going on inside of Lavinia than her stern face suggests. She makes all her obsessions believable and shows the restlessness in her character. And even though she portrays the hate against her mother in an authentic way she is also just as believable when she suddenly feels sorry for her after she and her brother took revenge on her lover.

Rosalind Russell makes Lavinia a merciless creature, an unforgiving goddess who rules over the old house and the last few souls in it. Her biggest achievement is to make the transition from devoted daughter to mad spinster realistic. She shows that Lavinia is a character who always tries to take control and determine her own actions but she is also influenced by the way others think or talk about her. Especially the relationship with her brother is characterized by loving devotion and mutual destruction.

Even though Rosalind Russell did a lot of things right in her performance, she also failed in various parts. As mentioned before, she too often reduces the character too some crazy looks or an arrogant pose and one can’t help but feel that the part is sometimes too difficult for her. Her exaggerated, in some parts dated acting certainly works well in the context of a movie that is exaggerated and dated itself and also filled with equally dated and exaggerated performances but it also reduces the overall impact of her own performance.

Still, it’s an remarkable achievement that gets

Best Actress 1947: Susan Hayward in "Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman"

Susan Hayward received her first Oscar nomination for her role as Angelica Conway, a nightclub entertainer who interrupts her career to marry an upcoming songwriter and singer but soon she becomes dependent on alcohol and nearly ruins her marriage and her life with her excessive drinking.

Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman is an average, melodramatic “serious” movie from the 40s. It begins with the image of Angelica, lying in a bed in hospital with almost her whole head bandaged. She mumbles unconsciously and without wasting any precious seconds, the screen becomes blurred and the obligatory flashback story begins.

It’s very clear right from the start that this is a movie about drinking as we see a busy night club and the camera focuses on a glass full of liquor and then follows that glass carried by a waiter to a woman hiding behind a curtain. Angelica empties the glass in one take and then she walks onto the stage to give a tremendous performance that she keeps repeating in various locations and turns her into a rising star which is done very convincingly by Miss Hayward.

In the first scene that shows Angelica drinking Susan Hayward carefully avoids to show Angelica as a drunk in any way. Instead, it seems that she only needs a little drink to give herself enough courage to go “out there” and perform in front of an audience. Nothing else is suggested by the movie or Susan Hayward’s performance at this point.

The movie then takes the typical route and shows a time when a woman would immediately terminate her career once she met the right guy and could becomes a housewife and mother. She does keep working for a while tough because the career of her husband Ken starts rather shaky.

Up to this point, Susan Hayward did a very convincing job in creating a woman who is both exotic nightclub performer and devoted housewife because there is something about her looks and her acting that can always suggest both parts of this character. And Susan Hayward’s radiant looks and her beautiful face also brighten up every close-up and she is the only source of energy and life among the wooden cast.

Life for Angelica seems to be a never-ending joy once a child is born and Ken’s career finally begins to take off but trouble seems to be on its way when she needs to take a glass of alcohol before she can join her husband at a party. Again, at this point it doesn’t seem that she is a drinker – she tells her maid that she feels the same way she did before she had to go on a stage, afraid. When the maid ask her afraid of what, Angelica just answers “People, I guess.”

Susan Hayward does a great job in portraying that Angelica apparently doesn’t seem able to handle big gatherings, she shows that she feels out-of-place at parties that celebrate her husband and she starts to get suspicious of Ken’s new female assistant. All these insecurities seem to be the deciding factor that slowly turn her occasional drinking into an addiction.

Susan Hayward plays all the parts of her role with beautiful subtlety and even in her most desperate or drunken situations she never overdoes it. She believably shows what effect alcohol has on her life and her behavior and she is also able to make this behavior understandable. She clearly shows what causes her irrational actions and how Angelica is always torn between knowing that she is destroying everything she loves and not being able to stop it.

Overall, it’s a very effective and memorable performance that gets

Best Actress 1947: Dorothy McGuire in "Gentleman's Agreement"

Gentleman’s Agreement, the Best Picture winner of 1947, is a movie about anti-Semitism and prejudice in America after the Second World War. Philip Green, played by Gregory Peck, writes a story about anti-Semitism for a magazine and to get a full insight into the aspect, he pretends to be Jewish for 6 weeks. The movie follows the various reactions his new religion causes and it also shows how his believes and his job harm his relationship with his fiancée. This fiancée was played by Dorothy McGuire who received her only Oscar nomination for this performance.

Dorothy McGuire plays Cathy Lacy, the niece of Phil’s supervisor at the magazine. They meet at a party and it’s clear from the first moment that these two are meant for each other.

Gentleman’s Agreement is a movie that hits one over the head with its message of tolerance and respect and this also includes the fact that it is mentioned in the first two seconds of Cathy’s first appearance that she is divorced and nobody cares. It is also never really mentioned again in the movie and from Dorothy McGuire’s acting it also seems that Cathy does not think about her old life anymore.

Dorothy McGuire immediately establishes Cathy as a woman of sophistication, charm and intelligence. She quickly takes the lead in her first conversation with Phil and we learn that she was the one who had the idea to run a series on anti-Semitism and she seems to be just as free of prejudice as Phil. From there on, things go very quickly and Phil and Cathy get engaged and immediately start to plan the wedding.

The role of Cathy is mostly a very passive one. She is basically Phil’s love interest but very soon she also becomes an important part in his research about anti-Semitism in the American society.

The main problem about the love story between Cathy and Phil is the fact that there is a visible lack of chemistry between Gregory Peck and Dorothy McGuire. Both unfortunately give rather wooden and lifeless performances and this results in an equally wooden and lifeless love story. Dorothy McGuire obviously tries to make Cathy and open and relaxed character but her performance always remains a bit too stiff to ever become really memorable.

In fact, out of all the characters and actors in the movie, Dorothy McGuire’s Cathy is the one who feels the most incomplete and who never really steps into the foreground. When one thinks of Gentleman’s Agreement, then Gregory Peck, Dean Stockwell, Celeste Holm, Anne Revere and the story itself come to one’s mind but the leading lady vanishes pretty quickly because she is mainly involved in the obligatory love story which doesn’t work in the movie because of the aforementioned lack of chemistry between Peck and McGuire and because of the fact that the love story is the most uninteresting aspect of this film.

So, Dorothy McGuire gives the most uninteresting performance of the most uninteresting character in the most uninteresting part of the movie. For long parts of the movie she disappears from the storyline and is never really missed. It saddens me to say that but whenever McGuire enters the picture, the tempo of the movie slows down and the story loses interest.

Even though Dorothy McGuire never steps out of the love story aspect, her character becomes more interesting during the run of the movie because it is the most easily recognizable one in this movie. Philip’s new life as a Jew evokes all kind of reactions in the people around him, from open hate to total acceptance. Cathy is a woman who would never think of herself as anti-Semitic and she is probably right about that – it’s hard to imagine that she ever had a negative thought about Jews in her whole life. But this was only because for her the topic of anti-Semitism has always been reduced to maybe a conversation at a dinner party – now, with Phil’s masquerade, it has entered her own life. Suddenly, her own believes are put to test. When Phil tells her about his plans to say he is Jewish, her reaction is “But you’re not Jewish, are you?…Not that it would make any difference.” It’s the typical reaction of a person who is desperate to be tolerant and open-minded but has more problems with it than she is aware of. But as I said, Cathy is not intolerant in the sense that she wouldn’t want anything to do with a Jewish person – it’s the reaction of her friends and family that she fears. In her little world, everyone is alike and people who are different never enter it because that would only make trouble and would make everyone uncomfortable. Cathy does not want to be confronted with the possibilities of trouble and change in her own world and so she is eager to tell her sister that Phil is not really Jewish. She is not a hateful person but she also doesn’t want to have anything to do with the topic of anti-Semitism either.

All this would make Cathy a very interesting character but the script mostly reduces her to a few angry, worried or teary-eyed reaction shots and Dorothy McGuire’s stiff interpretation doesn’t help much either. When Cathy tells Phil a little bit about her former marriage, it might have opened her character up but somehow the backstory never really connects with Cathy today. It doesn’t deepen her in any way, it seems that these scenes are only there to give McGuire at least something to do.

Still, what she does succeed in is adding a lot of grace and inner trouble to Cathy. She mostly makes an impression in her dramatic scenes because her acting style works well in these while it doesn’t in all scenes of romance or love. But even though the chemistry between Peck and McGuire is disappointing, their scenes together still work because both use the same, rather lifeless acting style which somehow brings these characters closer together.

The only time that McGuire really steps into the foreground is when she and Phil break up. This scene works so well because both characters have a good point in their argument. It’s easy to sympathize with Phil because Cathy obviously does have problems with Jews but it’s also easy to understand Cathy since Phil’s attitude of moral superiority is really hard to take. So when she finally breaks up with him and tells him that, yes, she is happy not to be Jewish just as everyone would be happy to be rich instead of poor or beautiful instead of ugly. McGuire underplays this scene very effectively and her acting choices also make this scene very interesting.

Unfotunately, this is followed by maybe the worst scene of the movie when Cathy meets Dave, a Jewish friend of Phil. In this scene, Cathy finally recognizes her own faults but it is done in such a heavy-handed way and it’s simply hard to believe that a woman like Cathy is so completely disabled of any self-reflection when she tells a story about an unpleasant incident at a party.

Overall, it’s a wooden and lifeless performance of an uninteresting character and even though Dorothy McGuire is able to add some light to the part, I can’t give more than

Best Actress 1947: Loretta Young in "The Farmer's Daughter"

To this day, Loretta Young’s win is mostly known for the fact that it was (and probably still is) one of the biggest upsets in Oscar history. Loretta Young plays Katrin Holstrom, a young farm girl with Swedish roots from Minnesota who goes to the big city to become a nurse. But fate has different plans for her and she becomes a servant and later enters the world of politics.

The Farmer’s Daughter is not a great movie, but it is charming and entertaining. Unfortunately, Loretta Young is not the main reason for it. She is clearly overshadowed by Joseph Cotton and especially Ethel Barrymore and Charles Bickford who offer amusing support. While these three have very entertaining and funny parts Loretta Young plays the “straight character”. The script barely offers her any chance to really shine and Loretta also never seems to want one. She plays her part as serious and straight-forward as possible which makes Katrin a very serious and honest character but it is not very entertaining to watch. As much as I like Loretta Young, an actress with more natural charm would have been better cast in this part. But Loretta has nice chemistry with all other cast members, especially Charles Bickford.

Even though Loretta has nice chemistry with Joseph Cotton, their love story never really convinces. The problem is that Loretta, as I said, plays Katrin in such a stern and no-nonsense way that she never becomes the loveable person the script says she is. Neither actor seems to be really interested in the romantic aspect of the script and so that aspect doesn’t really work.

Loretta Young obviously constantly tries to add some depth and complexity to the character with some unexpected seriously line-deliveries or other small gestures but the problem is that this simply does not work in the context of the movie. A lot of times she decided to underplay and be serious even when a scene could have used some comedy. Considering that The Farmer’s Daughter is supposed to be a comedy, it’s not a good sign when the leading lady doesn’t make you laugh once.

Overall, she does the most entertaining work with her accent which is very consistent and it’s obvious that Loretta was having a lot of fun with it which is amusing to watch. Her constant “Ja” is surely a highlight of her performance.

But even though Loretta may not be very humorous, the characterization of Katrin as a dependable, intelligent, good-hearted and loyal woman is consistent and played well. Loretta Young is surely better in the more serious scenes than the lightweight parts. Her disappointment after her name has been discredited by an old acquaintance is played very well and shows some new side to Katrin.

Loretta shows Katrin as a simple woman with simple views of the world but she is not naïve or dumb. Rather, she sees things clearly. She is not interested in politics in the way that she would actually plan to make a career in it. She just believes that the country needs good politicians and she knows when somebody is good and when somebody is not. Her own way into politics happens rather by accident.

Loretta has a very good and even moving scene when she is reading an old speech to Charles Bickford in the library. Loretta has a beautiful, soft voice that is able to deliver the words very gracefully, quietly, dignified and simple in a way that touches the viewers hearts. What’s so effective about this scene is even though Katrin is reading the words for the first time, there seems to be a deep understanding and an honest way of saying them.

It is clear that Katrin has a certain talent for making a speech, but the problem is that is hard to believe she could actually make public speeches in an election campaign with her quiet, dignified delivery. This is probably also the reason why, after all the practicing, the movie never even shows Katrin giving a real speech. Loretta Young may be impressive in these subtle scenes but they seem to be misplaced in the context of the film.

Overall, Loretta Young gives a very nice and harmless performance that could have been better but also suffers from the bad material she is given. She brightens up the screen with a lovely smile and creates a sometimes amusing, but always likeable character for which she gets

Best Actress 1947

The next year will be 1947 and the nominees were

Joan Crawford in Possessed

Susan Hayward in Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman

Dorothy McGuire in Gentleman's Agreement

Roaslind Russell in Mourning Becomes Electra

Loretta Young in The Farmer's Daughter

Best Actress 1959 - The resolution!

After having watched and reviewed all five nominated performances, it's time to pick the winner!

5. Doris Day in Pillow Talk

In Pillow Talk, Doris Day combines child-like innocence with a good deal of sex and creates a character who stands for everything that she is famous for – Jan is a little naïve, pure and innocent, apparently independent and happy without a man while secretly desperate to meet one. It’s an honest and good-hearted characterization that is mostly overshadowed by the hilarious work from Miss Day’s co-stars but she acts with ease and simplicity and helps to turn Pillow Talk into a charming comedy.

4. Elizabeth Taylor in Suddenly, Last Summer

                     

Elizabeth Taylor gives the kind of exaggerated performance that a character like Catherine in a movie like Suddenly, Last Summer surely needs. She is melodramatic and over-the-top but never does she become unbelievable. She performs her challenging part with an astonishing rawness and dedication that is almost exhausting to watch.

3. Simone Signoret in Room at the Top

Simone Signoret’s wonderful voice, her captivating accent and her unique beauty help immensely to give the suffering and melancholic Alice all the qualities the script demands from her. Her no-nonsense and thoughtful approach to this passionate character is very unique and she wonderfully underplays all the emotions of Alice to give a very subtle performance of a very fervid woman.

2. Audrey Hepburn in The Nun's Story

In a performance that is a masterwork in subtlety and grace, Audrey Hepburn as usually shines like an angel but she also flawlessly demonstrates her character’s constant inner struggle with a mix of doubt and confidence that is beautiful to watch in its simplicity. She works from inside to bring Gabrielle to life and carries the movie wonderfully as she is always believable in every step of her character.

1. Katharine Hepburn in Suddenly, Last Summer

Katharine Hepburn leaves little doubt that Mrs. Venable is very close to a mental breakdown but she chose to avoid any grand gestures or crazy facial work and instead decided to play the part as straight-forward and subtle as possible without ever making it too subtle – the craziness is always there but in a very controlled and hidden way which makes her whole performance incredibly mesmerizing. She dominates the screen with self-security and self-assurance but there is always a desperation and loneliness behind her façade that gets her closer and closer to the edge of insanity.

Best Actress 1959: Audrey Hepburn in "The Nun's Story"

It can be said that it was her charming personality that made Audrey Hepburn a star. But it
was her undeniable talent as an actress that turned her into one of the most popular performers of all time.

In The Nun’s Story, Audrey Hepburn gives one her few performances that really show her talent because her performance does not rely on her charm like most of her others do – instead, Audrey Hepburn works from inside to bring Gabrielle who becomes Sister Luke to live.

In a performance that is a masterwork in subtlety and grace, Audrey Hepburn as usually shines like an angel but she also flawlessly demonstrates her character’s constant inner struggle with a mix of doubt and confidence that is beautiful to watch in its simplicity.

The Nun’s Story begins shortly before Gabrielle joins the convent. In just a few silent scenes Audrey already shows a certain inner strength in her character, a deep spiritual inner life. We never learn why or how Gabrielle decided to become a nun but Audrey Hepburn plays these early sense with such a quiet conviction that it’s clear that this was the correct decision for Gabrielle. She comforts the members of her family and we see that she will miss them but Audrey does not show any deep regrets or sadness because Gabrielle knows that she is doing the right thing even if others may not understand it. There is no doubt in her about her choice.

Shortly after that we learn that for Gabrielle, the most important thing about becoming a nun is helping the poor. She hopes to be sent to a mission in Africa where she could work as a nurse. This is actually a rather confusing aspect of the movie – we never really experience Gabrielle’s religious background. She seems to be glad to be a nun and to join the convent but it always seems that becoming a nurse and caring for sick people in Africa is the most important thing to her. Even the nun’s in the convent later have to tell her that she is a nun and not a nurse.

So it seems that the quiet conviction that Gabrielle displays is more directed at her hope to be a nurse rather than a nun. But But Audrey Hepburn’s luminous performance always shows the importance of religion in Gabrielle’s life, too. Like the screenplay, her performances never tries to explore the reason for her religious feelings – instead, Audrey Hepburn constantly shows the faith in Gabrielle and how each day for her is a new fight to maintain her spirit and live up to the rules and expectations of the nuns.

Already a few movie minutes after Gabrielle joined the convent it becomes clear that for her that life as a novice isn’t what she expected. The strictness and the discipline, the order of total obedience and the rules that make it hard for Gabrielle to achieve her ideas of a useful earthly life because they all primarily focus on her spiritual life make it harder and harder for Gabrielle to fulfil her destiny. But Audrey Hepburn not only shows this “grand” struggle between her hopes and reality, but also all the little sacrifices that are demanded from her and that would exhaust everyone. Audrey never tries to turn Gabrielle into an impeccable heroine but always keeps her a believable human being.

During the first part of the movie, Audrey keeps her performance rather in the background. It is more the actual story and the images of life in the convent that keep the interest of the viewer while Gabrielle carries the message of the movie. It seems that it’s not Gabrielle that makes the story interesting but rather the other way around. But this makes sense considering that the movie is called The Nun’s Story – the story is more important than the actual character and at the beginning, Gabrielle is merely a device to tell this story.

But Audrey fulfills this task with excellence and a beautifully subtle performance that always shows the burden of her life without losing the confidence that it all be worth it. She is especially impressive in the scenes when she is asked to fail a test to show that she is a humble person – the mix of obedience and quiet desperation on Audrey’s face is unforgettable and when she is denying her task and answers the questions of the test correctly, the fighting feelings of shame and integrity on a face that is demanded to repress every emotion are played expertly.

When Gabrielle’s wish is finally granted and she gets a chance to work in Africa, her character steps more in the foreground and Audrey’s performance becomes the dominating and driving force in this movie. And Gabrielle’s struggle and her own realization that her view of life and the life of the convent cannot exist together become more and more prominent.

Audrey carries the movie wonderfully and is always believable in every step of her character. And she surely displays one of the most brilliant scenes of her career at the end of the movie. In this wordless scene, Audrey shows everything on her face – even though her decision now is just as certain as her first decision at the beginning of the movie, we don’t see the quiet joy and assuredness in her. We see that the life in the convent has influenced her forever.

It’s a beautiful and brilliantly subtle performance by Audrey Hepburn which gets