The Oscar Quest: Reconsidered – The Best Actress Categories

We’ve gone through all the categories again and now it’s wrap-up time. I’ve decided that the proper way to wrap things up is to look at each of the six (original) Oscar Quest categories and compare how I voted the first time versus how I voted this time. The idea being to gauge where my tastes have changed over the past five years, as that was the purpose of going through and doing it again anyway.

Today is Best Actress. I’ve included a table of how I voted both times and color-coded the ones that are different so you can skim through easily. Then I’ll work my way through each of the categories where I changed votes, figure out why they changed and try to predict how it’s gonna go in another five years. 

Out of 89 Best Actress categories, I’ve changed my opinion on 20 of them. 22% of the overall, 24% of the amount of categories I have to compare.

• 1928-1929, Corinne Griffith in The Divine Lady over Mary Pickford for Coquette

I’m not gonna pretend like anyone even knows what the hell I’m talking about here. But Mary Pickford — makes sense she won. I took her last time for that reason, since no one really has an opinion on the second Best Actress category ever. On pure performance, I took Griffith. But she’s a silent performance. So it’s questionable as to whether that is the best choice if we’re looking historically. I have no clue what the hell I’m gonna take in five years. I mean… sure.

• 1930-1931, Ann Harding in Holiday over Irene Dunne in Cimarron

It’s always worth mentioning when the actual winner doesn’t factor into my decision-making whatsoever. Both times, didn’t go anywhere near Marie Dressler. Doubt I will in the future. Dietrich never did it for me, doubt she ever will. Norma Shearer — ehh. Dunne makes sense on a base level. I took her originally because she never won and this was the best chance to giver her an Oscar. Harding was my favorite performance this time. These early categories, unless there’s one performance that’s a clear winner or one I latch onto, they’re always wide open.

• 1940, Joan Fontaine in Rebecca over Ginger Rogers in Kitty Foyle

I took Ginger because it’s Ginger and this was her only shot at an Oscar. I always thought Joan Fontaine gave the best performance, so that was a pretty easy switch this time out. This year… it is very liable for change in the future. Maybe I decide to go back to Rogers. Sticking with Fontains seems likely. I wouldn’t rule out a possible switch to Katharine Hepburn. Anything’s possible.

• 1943, Jennifer Jones in The Song of Bernadette over Jean Arthur in The More the Merrier

Another one. I took Jean Arthur because I could take Jean Arthur. And because I love The More the Merrier. Even at the time I acknowledged that Jennifer Jones gave the better performance, so that was remedied this time. 1943 is really weak, so Jones will almost certainly continue being the vote for the future.

• 1944, Ingrid Bergman in Gaslight over Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity

Rookie move. The Stanwyck performance is iconic, but I’m not sure it’s actually a great performance. I mean, yes, it’s great, but like… is it great acting? Or great work? You know what I mean? I think Bergman gives the better performance, so that’s why I changed the vote. These two will be the choices going forward. It’ll always be one or the other.

• 1945, Gene Tierney in Leave Her to Heaven over Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce

A complete 50/50 choice. Almost flipped these two last time. Could have gone either way either time. Crawford might be the better performance, but I think we’ll see a rubber match between these two in five years to decide my real feelings on which is better.

• 1946, Olivia de Havilland in To Each His Own over Celia Johnson in Brief Encounter

Yeah, another one of those. I could theoretically take either of these every time. Celia Johnson makes sense as the one I took the first time. This time, I was more taken with de Havilland’s performance. Most people would take Johnson because Brief Encounter is the better known film, and I suspect that might have had a bit to do with why I took de Havilland this time. Since while I am trying to pick what I think are the best performances I also am trying to give people things they didn’t necessarily know about beforehand. So maybe like 5-10% of the decision was due to that. Either way, these are the two, so it’ll be one or the other next time I look at this.

• 1950, Judy Holliday in Born Yesterday over Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard

This category will always be a discussion. There are four potential choices in it. I never know what to do with the All About Eve nominees. I don’t know if I love either of them enough to actually take them. That is over one another and over these other two great performances. Everyone will take the Gloria Swanson performance at some point, because it’s so famous and because Sunset Boulevard is so great. But this time I went with what I kinda felt all along, which is that the Judy Holliday performance is astounding. This is a situation where she bursts onto the scene with something no one ever saw in a quintessentially memorable and perfectly cast performance. Sure, she’d pretty much do variations on it for the rest of her career, but this one is quite, quite good. It’s tough. This will always be a competition. I suspect I’ll keep flip-flopping all the way through. It’s weird how this go through of the categories were meant to make it so I pic what I actually feel, but they’re also making me seem like the horrible, middle-aged white Oscar voter that everyone (and even I!) hate. Go figure.

• 1954, Judy Garland in A Star Is Born over Grace Kelly in The Country Girl

This is one of the biggest 50/50 choices in all the Oscars. It’s a really tough choice. It was 51/49 Kelly last time just because she also had three or four other performances on top of this one. This time, Garland got the vote because she was the best performance. It’ll always be between these two, and I suspect I’ll stick with Garland more times than not, just because that performances is undeniable. It’s so strong.

• 1959, Simone Signoret in Room at the Top over Audrey Hepburn in The Nun’s Story

I didn’t fully appreciate Room at the Top last time. It took the five years to come around to it, and I moved over to the right choice. Signoret will continue being the choice from here on out. This one was a course correction.

• 1962, Lee Remick in Days of Wine and Roses over Anne Bancroft in The Miracle Worker

This is a tough one. The instinct is that Anne Bancroft should have won, hence the vote for her the first time. But I went back and watched it again — it’s a great performance, but I feel like I put more into it than was there. And since I’ve always really loved the Lee Remick performance, I found myself much more emotionally invested in that one this time, so I switched my vote over. It’ll always be one or the other going forward. I have no idea how I’ll vote next time. But with two good choices, it doesn’t really matter.

• 1967, Katharine Hepburn in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner over Faye Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde

This being one of the strongest years in Oscar history, it’ll always be prone to vote changes. Between Dunaway, Hepburn and Anne Bancroft, you have three solid choices. I might even put Edith Evans in there in a good year. Audrey Hepburn was nominated for the wrong film, so I doubt I take her. But the others — all solid. Dunaway I think I took mostly for logistics reasons. Bancroft had one, Hepburn had one and would get three (including this one), and I didn’t take Dunaway in her win. That mattered to me at the time. Now, looking purely at the performances, I was most moved by the Hepburn one, so I took her. This will change. I know this will change. They’re all great.

• 1969, Liza Minnelli in The Sterile Cuckoo over Genevieve Bujold in Anne of the Thousand Days

Love the 1969 category. Maggie Smith as the winner is amazing, and I’m surprised I didn’t take her either time. Jean Simmons is great, Jane Fonda is fantastic! Bujold I like a lot, but I probably shouldn’t have taken her. I think I wanted to show my support for Anne of the Thousand Days. Liza Minnelli was always the performance I liked the best, so I switched my vote over to her. That’s all it was. I feel like I’ll keep taking Minnelli just because I really like that performance a lot.

• 1973, Marsha Mason in Cinderella Liberty over Ellen Burstyn in The Exorcist

I’m not a huge fan of this category. You’d think Streisand was a classic performance, based on the movie. Ehh. Burstyn sounds like she’s fantastic because it’s The Exorcist, but mostly all she has to do is scream and be scared for most of the movie. She’d be better the year after this when she won. Glenda Jackson is very good in A Touch of Class, and I suspect her having won in 1970 and me hating that decision factors into my not taking her. But Marsha Mason is very good and I do like that performance. Not sure I take her all the time, but she’s as good a choice as any in this category. It’s probably Jackson or Mason for me going forward. No idea which way I go until I have to vote.

• 1976, Faye Dunaway in Network over Talia Shire in Rocky

Dunaway was always the choice. I took Shire last time because I love Rocky and figured Dunaway would win anyway. This second go around was about fixing the choices like that, and forcing myself to be honest about what the best performances are. So another course correction. It’s always Dunaway in this one.

• 1981, Diane Keaton in Reds over Marsha Mason in Only When I Laugh

Mason delivered a lot of performances I liked a lot, and this was my chance to take her. The first time, anyway. That movie didn’t hold up as well as I’d hoped in the five years between watches. And the rest of the 1981 category isn’t so great. Hepburn won on nostalgia. She doesn’t have a whole lot of heavy lifting to do in On Golden Pond. Susan Sarandon is good in Atlantic City, but I wouldn’t take her. I’ve still yet to get into The French Lieutenant’s Woman, so I can’t bring myself to vote for Meryl, even though a lot of people would go there. That basically leaves Diane Keaton by default. And since she does give a really great performance, she became the strongest performance by default and became the vote. It is what it is. I figure unless I get really into the Meryl performance, I’ll keep taking Keaton as the best of a bad situation.

• 1996, Frances McDormand in Fargo over Emily Watson in Breaking the Waves

Tough call. There’s also Brenda Blethyn here. But the problem with her is that I don’t like her film all that much. So she’ll always end up a step behind McDormand and Watson. Watson I took the first time because I felt she gave the best performance. But fuck it if Marge Gunderson isn’t so goddamn memorable and well done. I’ll probably take McDormand over Watson more times than not because of that, but this is always gonna be an interesting discussion because of the three great choices in the category.

• 1998, Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth over Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love

Let’s face it, we know who the best performance in the category is. I took Paltrow because I didn’t want to vote for that type of movie in Best Actress. And Paltrow’s in a movie I love and is charming. But you know what? When it’s the best, it’s the best. So Blanchett is now the vote. There’s not a whole lot else here, so unless I become enlightened toward Fernanda Montenegro, Blanchett’s gonna keep being my winner here.

• 2000, Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich over Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream

I’m surprised I even took Burstyn. One of my big things was always not particularly loving the performance as an Oscar winner even though a lot of people felt she should have won. If I knew I took her, I could have told you automatically the vote would be switched. Roberts makes sense, as a star turn. She’s good. Joan Allen’s also a contender here. Laura Linney. Doubtful I take Binoche. I’m curious how this will go in five years. I can be pretty sure I won’t take Burstyn but I can’t guarantee it’ll be Roberts. It could end up being Allen or Linney quite easily.

• 2006, Helen Mirren in The Queen over Kate Winslet in Little Children

I took Winslet because she hadn’t won and because I didn’t want to vote for Mirren. It seemed too easy. Well, it’s too easy because she’s the best performance in the category. Mirren is the choice, and Mirren will continue to be the choice because there aren’t a whole lot of alternatives here. Unless I go all in on Judi Dench, Mirren should always be the choice in this one.

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