I've only seen Taylor, who is no great shakes in the stuffy film version of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. I'm sure there are other actresses who could have made this role a lot more engaging.
My picks:
1. Törőcsik Mari, Sweet Anna
2. Kinuyo Tanaka, The Ballad of Narayama
3. Kyōko Kagawa, Anzukko
4. Kinuyo Tanaka, Equinox Flower
5. Kim Novak, Vertigo
Best Actress 1958
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nightwingnova
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Re: Best Actress 1958
Yes, her mannerisms really hurt her performance until her character moved to Hollywood. Then she became more natural and real, especially towards the end.
As for the screenplay, for a very structured story, there were plot holes or bad flow of plot points. The character development also didn't congeal very well. Some real good stuff...sometimes no depth...a lot of times rough and awkward. But there were some great moments and some great lines.
As for the screenplay, for a very structured story, there were plot holes or bad flow of plot points. The character development also didn't congeal very well. Some real good stuff...sometimes no depth...a lot of times rough and awkward. But there were some great moments and some great lines.
Big Magilla wrote:I always found Kim Stanley to be a terribly mannered actress. This worked to her advantage in her Oscar nominated performances in Seance on a Wet Afternoon and Frances, but didn't do anything for me in this film, which I don't think was popular at all in its day. How Paddy Chayefsky managed to get an Oscar nomination for his screenply is beyond me.
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Big Magilla
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Re: Best Actress 1958
I always found Kim Stanley to be a terribly mannered actress. This worked to her advantage in her Oscar nominated performances in Seance on a Wet Afternoon and Frances, but didn't do anything for me in this film, which I don't think was popular at all in its day. How Paddy Chayefsky managed to get an Oscar nomination for his screenply is beyond me.
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nightwingnova
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Re: Best Actress 1958
I just watched The Goddess again for the first time in years.
I am curious how those on these boards think Kim Stanley's performance rank next to the other female performances of the year.
She was brilliant and fascinating towards the end as she teetered towards a complete breakdown. Fine to excellent in the middle of the film. But though I found lots to like about her early scenes as a teen, I also found her too mannered and conveying neurosis not appropriate for her age even if she was left to fend for herself as a child.
The NY Film Critics, as you know, chose Susan Hayward with Elizabeth Taylor for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Shirley Booth for The Matchmaker and The Hot Spell as runners-up.
Considering Stanley's reputation, I was curious what other folks thought.
(Thought Steven Hill was brilliant, Lloyd Bridges excellent, and the rest of the cast generally spot on.
I am curious how those on these boards think Kim Stanley's performance rank next to the other female performances of the year.
She was brilliant and fascinating towards the end as she teetered towards a complete breakdown. Fine to excellent in the middle of the film. But though I found lots to like about her early scenes as a teen, I also found her too mannered and conveying neurosis not appropriate for her age even if she was left to fend for herself as a child.
The NY Film Critics, as you know, chose Susan Hayward with Elizabeth Taylor for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Shirley Booth for The Matchmaker and The Hot Spell as runners-up.
Considering Stanley's reputation, I was curious what other folks thought.
(Thought Steven Hill was brilliant, Lloyd Bridges excellent, and the rest of the cast generally spot on.
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The Original BJ
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I always get excited when I finish one of these categories, so I can cast a vote!
I normally like Deborah Kerr, but I thought her performance in Separate Tables was way off. What she does seems more like a parody of a repressed person than anything resembling a real human being.
For me, the screen adaptation of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was basically a botch. The actors are the best thing about it, but Richard Brooks (and, to be fair, the censorship code of the time) weren't doing them any favors. This role was definitely a step up for Elizabeth Taylor, and she works hard at it, but she might have made a stronger impression with less watered-down material. (Above all, the scene where Maggie tells Brick that she DIDN'T sleep with Skip rings completely false.)
I think MacLaine is really lovely in Some Came Running. No, it's not such a dominant role that I'd want to vote her the year's Best Actress, but the appealing combination of spunk and sadness that would mark her iconic later roles is more than evident here.
Susan Hayward was an actress who often let the seams show in her performances. And though she does that a little bit here, too, I can't deny that she was impressive in this role. She commands the screen with a lot of emotion, and isn't afraid to give her character a bad streak, even when the film's script seems to strain to suggest that Barbara Graham is innocent.
But I'm going to land on the Rosalind Russell side of this debate. I think her performance in Auntie Mame is so dynamic, so funny, and so endearing, I can't imagine not rooting for her. Hayward wasn't a bad choice, but the joy of Roz's effortless comic triumph gets my vote.
I normally like Deborah Kerr, but I thought her performance in Separate Tables was way off. What she does seems more like a parody of a repressed person than anything resembling a real human being.
For me, the screen adaptation of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was basically a botch. The actors are the best thing about it, but Richard Brooks (and, to be fair, the censorship code of the time) weren't doing them any favors. This role was definitely a step up for Elizabeth Taylor, and she works hard at it, but she might have made a stronger impression with less watered-down material. (Above all, the scene where Maggie tells Brick that she DIDN'T sleep with Skip rings completely false.)
I think MacLaine is really lovely in Some Came Running. No, it's not such a dominant role that I'd want to vote her the year's Best Actress, but the appealing combination of spunk and sadness that would mark her iconic later roles is more than evident here.
Susan Hayward was an actress who often let the seams show in her performances. And though she does that a little bit here, too, I can't deny that she was impressive in this role. She commands the screen with a lot of emotion, and isn't afraid to give her character a bad streak, even when the film's script seems to strain to suggest that Barbara Graham is innocent.
But I'm going to land on the Rosalind Russell side of this debate. I think her performance in Auntie Mame is so dynamic, so funny, and so endearing, I can't imagine not rooting for her. Hayward wasn't a bad choice, but the joy of Roz's effortless comic triumph gets my vote.
Nancy Kelly in The Bad Seed is camp. Joan Crawford in Sudden Fear is camp, as is Norma Shearer in Romeo and Juliet. Like Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard and Vivien Leigh in Streetcar, Rosalind Russell is theatrical, not camp, and there's a world of difference.
Edited By Damien on 1250916926
Edited By Damien on 1250916926
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
Rosalind Russell could have been good in Auntie Mame, had a better director guided her, helped her into shaping a truly funny performance rather than a one note one. And I dont mean a Billy Wilder, even just a moderately good Hollywood director rather than this Morton DaCosta. As it is, her performance is strictly for drag queens and drag queens lovers (whom I dont have anything against. I love camp too, I just love my camp to be less obvious, less intentional).
Kerr isnt much better. Taylor's is a case of perfect casting, the performance itself is good but not great. Some Came Running is a very interesting movie, and while it's probably true that its most memorable aspect is the Sinatra/Hyer relationship, Shirley McLaine is delightful in it, better than in some of her later Oscar nominated performances (maybe even better than in her winning one).
But life is made of compromises, and the Oscars even more so. So I voted for Susan Hayward. Reluctantly (she's not an actress I've ever really cared for). And even in this role Hayward is still Hayward, but it's still her best performance, and the movie says things that are still important today, and it says them reasonably well.
Kerr isnt much better. Taylor's is a case of perfect casting, the performance itself is good but not great. Some Came Running is a very interesting movie, and while it's probably true that its most memorable aspect is the Sinatra/Hyer relationship, Shirley McLaine is delightful in it, better than in some of her later Oscar nominated performances (maybe even better than in her winning one).
But life is made of compromises, and the Oscars even more so. So I voted for Susan Hayward. Reluctantly (she's not an actress I've ever really cared for). And even in this role Hayward is still Hayward, but it's still her best performance, and the movie says things that are still important today, and it says them reasonably well.
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Mister Tee
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I have to stand apart on this one and say I've never much cared for Auntie Mame as a film, though it may be a circumstantial thing. By the time I got to it -- in the 80s -- I'd already read the book and seen both the musical and the musical movie (liked the first two, abhorred the last), so I was fairly sick of the material. I also found daCosta's "step down front/wham your lines" style underlined all the smarm in the script. I think Russell's the best thing about the film, but my overall poor reaction undercuts any admiration (I didn't even care for Peggy Cass, who had been a longtime game-show favorite).
I loved both Kerr and Niven when I saw Separate Tables in high school, but was unimpressed by either when I resaw the film in the past decade or two. (Proving, I guess, that Academy taste is closer to what I held at 16 than today).
I've seen Cat on a Hot Tin Roof enough times I can quote large chunks of dialogue. It was certainly Liz's leap to the big time, but she deserves one Oscar at most, and that's 8 years in the future.
Likewise, MacLaine is totally winning in Some Came Running, but she has better vehicles ahead.
It's easy to see Hayward's Oscar as recognition for finally doing a movie critics could take halfway seriously. I never thought she was a particularly special actress, but I do think this was her finest hour, and she gets my vote.
I loved both Kerr and Niven when I saw Separate Tables in high school, but was unimpressed by either when I resaw the film in the past decade or two. (Proving, I guess, that Academy taste is closer to what I held at 16 than today).
I've seen Cat on a Hot Tin Roof enough times I can quote large chunks of dialogue. It was certainly Liz's leap to the big time, but she deserves one Oscar at most, and that's 8 years in the future.
Likewise, MacLaine is totally winning in Some Came Running, but she has better vehicles ahead.
It's easy to see Hayward's Oscar as recognition for finally doing a movie critics could take halfway seriously. I never thought she was a particularly special actress, but I do think this was her finest hour, and she gets my vote.
This year's Best Actress result was as much of an outrageous absurdity as 1954's. Roz's iconic performance is one for the ages -- her impeccable comic timing, her heart and her fearless gusto make for an unforgettable characterization. Any Academy member who didn't vote for her should have his or her ass kicked, or even better still, should suffer the same fate as Susan Hayward in I Want To Live.
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
I've only seen Some Came Running which is a strange film that I've seen a couple times and I very much like. I think that the relationship between Frank Sinatra and Martha Hyer is an abstract study in push/pull sexual dynamics. I don't know why she was nominated, but Shirley MacLaine is outstanding in this film.
"How's the despair?"
Haven't seen MacLaine's performance.
Kerr--normally one of my favorites--is truly, truly awful, even to be out-acted by Rita Hayworth.
Taylor is very good, and certainly at her most beautiful--which kinda messes up the whole conceit of the story--even I, who's 1,000% gay, would throw myself at Taylor in this movie.
It comes down to Russell vs Hayward. Russell is unforgettable, hilarious, a joy. But I give the edge to Hayward for giving a performance that is so on the edge it's dazzling.
Kerr--normally one of my favorites--is truly, truly awful, even to be out-acted by Rita Hayworth.
Taylor is very good, and certainly at her most beautiful--which kinda messes up the whole conceit of the story--even I, who's 1,000% gay, would throw myself at Taylor in this movie.
It comes down to Russell vs Hayward. Russell is unforgettable, hilarious, a joy. But I give the edge to Hayward for giving a performance that is so on the edge it's dazzling.
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
Rosalind Russell, but in any other year I'd go with Shirley MacLaine in what it's easily my favorite of her performances that I've seen.
As with 1957, I can't get on board with Taylor's nomination--I think that her performance, like almost everything else about her film, is completely miscalculated. She looks good though. Hayward is a far cry from her best work in I Want to Live!, and I actually haven't seen Kerr's performance.
Edited By dws1982 on 1250259558
As with 1957, I can't get on board with Taylor's nomination--I think that her performance, like almost everything else about her film, is completely miscalculated. She looks good though. Hayward is a far cry from her best work in I Want to Live!, and I actually haven't seen Kerr's performance.
Edited By dws1982 on 1250259558
Roz all the way....followed by Susan Hayward.
Liz is good, but shrill as always.
I have never liked Kerr in Separate Tables....a whining ninny, and find her most annoying. Always wished Gladys Cooper would slap her across the face to shut her up. Compare Kerr in the part to Julie Christie's wonderful performance in the '83 tv version and you'll see the difference.
MacLaine is most touching and uses her natural kookiness to great effect in the character.
My top 5:
Rosalind Russell, Auntie Mame
Susan Hayward, I Want to Live!
Elizabeth Taylor, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Virginia McKenna, Carve Her Name With Pride
Shirley MacLaine, Some Came Running
Bergman (for any of her two roles this year) would get my 6th slot.
Edited By Reza on 1250257936
Liz is good, but shrill as always.
I have never liked Kerr in Separate Tables....a whining ninny, and find her most annoying. Always wished Gladys Cooper would slap her across the face to shut her up. Compare Kerr in the part to Julie Christie's wonderful performance in the '83 tv version and you'll see the difference.
MacLaine is most touching and uses her natural kookiness to great effect in the character.
My top 5:
Rosalind Russell, Auntie Mame
Susan Hayward, I Want to Live!
Elizabeth Taylor, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Virginia McKenna, Carve Her Name With Pride
Shirley MacLaine, Some Came Running
Bergman (for any of her two roles this year) would get my 6th slot.
Edited By Reza on 1250257936