Best Actress 1950 - Vote for the Best Actress 1950

[Mister Tee]

I think this has to stand as one of the more archetypal contests ever. Rarely do we see more than one, let alone three famous actresses (Davis, Holliday, Swanson) in the most famous roles of their respective careers -- the ones that highlighted their obituaries -- competing for the same Oscar. (You could maybe even say four, if you want to include Parker, though I don't think her reputation is quite as wide)

It comes down to Davis/Swanson for me (like Damien, I found Born Yesterday fairly tiresome the last time I watched), and, while either would win in virtually any year, I tilt to Swanson here.



Edited By Mister Tee on 1248836266

[Damien]

Anne Baxter was miscast in All About Eve, I think. She's too strong and stern a presence to be able to fool the sophisticated, theatre denizens cebt thing. In stead of Pinky, Zanuck should have cast Jeanne Crain (or June Haver) in this picture.

Judy Holliday was a wonderful, lovable screen presence, but I find her character to get a little tiresome in Born Yesterday.

Love Eleanor Parker in Caged, and had the film been releasedin 1949, she would easily have my vote. Her gradual change from scared, demure girl to a cynical woman who's well on her way to becoming a tough old broad is a model of subtlety.

But Davis and Swanson, portraying actresses who are on the brink -- the former at a career and personal crossroads, the latter looking into the face of madness -- give sensational performances that continue to fascinate no matter who many times you see them. I give the edge to Swanson, because of the fearlessness of her acting, and for her skill at portraying an over-the-top woman without going over the top as an actress.

My own Top 5 in an exemplary year:

1. Gloria Swanson in Sunset Blvd.
2. Bette Davis in All About Eve
3. Linda Darnell in No Way Out
4. Eleanor Parker in Caged
5. Gloria Grahame in In A Lonely Place

With strong runners-up, Patricia Neal in The Breaking Point, Maureen O’Hara in Rio Grande, Ann Harding in The Magnificent Yankee, right behind.

[Big Magilla]

I have no problem with this line-up though I would have been just as happy to see Baxter moved to support and replaced by Betty Hutton in Annie Get Your Gun; Holliday moved to support in Adam's Rib and replaced by Katharine Hepburn and Parker replaced by Maureen O'Hara in Rio Grande.

Then there were Claudette Colbert in Three Came Home and Margaret Sullavan in No Sad Songs for Me.

It was a good year for actresses, no more so than for Davis and Swanson, both in career re-defining performances in roles where neither was the first choice. My vote goes to Davis.

[Penelope]

As far as I'm concerned, this is the greatest Best Actress lineup of all time. It's tough to choose between them, so I threw my vote to Eleanor Parker, who really nails what I think is the most difficult of the 5 roles and who is, as you say, woefully under-appreciated.

[jowy_jillia]

I don't think this year is the best of all time, it's somewhere in the middle.

Baxter gives a average performance, but she's outshined by all the rest of the cast, even Monroe.

Holliday is funny, but I think both she and the movie is overrated

Parker is good. She's truly one of the most underrated and forgotten actresses ever.

Then there's Swanson and Davis. Who should I pick? Swanson or Davis, Davis or Swanson?

This is the only time I REALLY WANT a tie. But i choose Swanson, cause her character is more interesting


Omissions:
Bergman - Stromboli
Hepburn - Adam's Rib

1949
1. Olivia de Havilland - The Heiress - 9 votes
2. Deborah Kerr - Edward My Son - 2 votes
3. Loretta Young - Come to the Stable - 1 vote

1948
1. Jane Wyman - Johnny Belinda - 8 votes
2. Olivia de Havilland - The Snake Pit - 5 votes

1947
1. Susan Hayward - Smash Up - 3 votes
1. Rosalind Russell - Mourning Becomes Electra - 3 votes
3. Joan Crawford - Possessed - 2 votes
3. Loretta Young - The Farmer's Daughter - 2 votes

1946
1. Celia Johnson - Brief Encounter - 10 votes
2. Olivia de Havilland - To Each His Own - 2 votes
2. Jennifer Jones - Duel in the Sun - 2 votes
4. Jane Wyman - The Yearling - 1 vote

1945
1. Joan Crawford - Mildred Pierce - 6 votes
2. Gene Tierny - Leave Her to Heaven - 5 votes
3. Ingrid Bergman - The Bells of St. Mary's - 3 votes

1944
1. Barbara Stanwyck - Double Indemnity - 13 votes
2. Ingrid Bergman - Gaslight - 4 votes

1943
1. Jean Arthur - The More the Merrier - 4 votes
2. Jennifer Jonies - The Song of Bernadette - 3 votes
3. Ingrid Bergman - For Whom the Bell Tolls - 1 vote
3. Joan Fontaine - The Constant Nymph - 1 vote

1942
1. Bette Davis - Now, Voyager - 6 votes
1. Greer Garson - Mrs. Miniver - 6 votes
3. Katharine Hepburn - Woman of the Year - 1 vote

1941
1. Barbara Stanwyck - Ball of Fire - 8 votes
2. Bette Davis - The Little Foxes - 4 votes

1940
1. Katharine Hepburn - The Philadelphia Story - 9 votes
2. Joan Fontaine - Rebecca - 6 votes
3. Bette Davis - The Letter - 3 votes

1939
1. Vivien Leigh - Gone With the Wind - 18 votes
2. Greta Garbo - Ninotchka - 2 votes

1938
1. Bette Davis - Jezebel - 4 votes
1. Wendy Hiller - Pygmalion - 4 votes
3. Margaret Sullavan - Three Comrades - 3 votes
4. Norma Shearer - Marie Antoinette - 1 vote

1937
1. Irene Dunne - The Awful Truth - 7 votes
2. Greta Garbo - Camille - 6 votes
3. Janet Gaynor - A Star is Born - 1 vote
3. Luise Rainer - The Good Earth - 1 vote
3. Barbara Stanwyck - Stella Dallas - 1 vote

1936
1. Carole Lombard - My Man Godfrey - 10 votes
2. Irene Dunne - Theodora Goes Wild - 1 vote
2. Luise Rainer - The Great Ziegfeld - 1 vote

1935
1. Katharine Hepburn - Alice Adams - 7 votes
2. Claudette Colbert - Private Worlds - 2 votes
2. Bette Davis - Dangerous - 2 votes

1934
1. Claudette Colbert - It Happened One Night - 7 votes
2. Bette Davis - Of Human Bondage - 1 vote

1932/33
1. Katharine Hepburn - Morning Glory - 5 votes
2. May Robson - Lady for a Day - 2 votes

1931/32
1. Marie Dressler - Emma - 6 votes

1930/31
1. Marlene Dietrich - Morocco - 8 votes
2. Marie Dressler - Min and Bill - 1 vote
2. Norma Shearer - A Free Soul - 1 vote

1929/30
1. Greta Garbo - Anna Christie - 3 votes
2. Ruth Chatterton - Sarah and Son - 1 vote
2. Greta Garbo - Romance - 1 vote
2. Norma Shearer - The Divorcee - 1 vote

1928/29
1. Ruth Chatterton - Madame X - 4 votes
2. Jeanne Eagels - The Letter - 1 vote

1927/28
1. Janet Gaynor - Sunrise - 5 votes
2. Janet Gaynor - Seventh Heaven - 3 votes
3. Janet Gaynor - Street Angel - 1 vote

Most Wins:
Katharine Hepburn - 3
Bette Davis - 2
Barbara Stanwyck - 2

Most Runner-Ups:
Bette Davis - 3
Greta Garbo - 2
Olivia de Havilland - 2
Jennifer Jones - 2

Actual Winners who didn't recieve any vote
28/29. Mary Pickford - Coquette
31/32. Helen Hayes - The Sin of Madelon Claudet
40. Ginger Rogers - Kitty Foyle