Ranking the Best Actress Wins So Far

#1 katharine hepburn in 'the lion in winter'

#2 sophia loren in 'two women'

#3 glenda jackson in 'women in love'

#4 maggie smith in 'the prime of miss jean brodie'

#5 barbra streisand in 'funny girl'

#6 helen hunt in 'as good as it gets'

#7 julie andrews in 'mary poppins'

#8 marie dressler in 'min and bill'

#9 greer garson in 'mrs miniver'

#10 helen hayes in 'coquete'

#11 janet gaynor in 'seventh heaven'

#12 mary pickford in 'sins of madelon claudet'

#14 norma shearer in 'the divorcee'

#15 katharine hepburn in 'morning glory'

#16 elizabeth taylor in 'butterfield 8'

Oscarbation: A Look Back at 1968 for Best Actress

1968 was a mixed bag in the best actress category. and oddly enough it ended in a tie. there was no tie! there was only one best actress in the category. in fact the second best actress of the year was not even nominated. i'll address this major oversight tomorrow.

#5

joanne woodward in ''rachel, rachel',

some overact. some underact. some sort of walk through a role. ms woodward was either underacting in this film or just walked through it because her husband and director paul newman wanted her in the film. mr newman did no favor for his wife. the film, as well as ms woodward's performance, is as dull as dishwater. she did not deserve a nomination for this one. another actress deserved this slot.

#4

patricia neal in 'the subject was roses'

a talky stagy film from a better play. ms. neal gave it her all following a stroke. the film is easily forgotten as well as ms neal's performance. the nom was a 'welcome back' nod to the beloved actress. it was undeserved especially condidering who was left out in 1964. and i repeat another actress was most certainly left out.

#3

barbra streisand in 'funny girl'

ms streisand gave a socko performance in her screen debut. her singing was a joy, her comedy moments were spot on. the problem was in the dramatic moments. she played it her way. it was our introduction to the ms streisand who believed she did not need a director. she split the oscar with katharine hepburn. this is patently absurd. barbra would go on to give some other even better performances. it's still a pleasure to watch the first half of this film. the second half is drudgery.

#2

vanessa redgrave in 'isadora'

depending on what version you see ms. redgrave gives a great performance or a fairly good one. this film has been edited and shredded to death over time disgracefully. if you are lucky enough to see an original uncut version of the film you will see a wild manic performance that only the divine vanessa could give. she uncannily embodies dancer isadora duncan. i contend it is her best film role to date.

#1

katharine hepburn in 'the lion in winter'

me hepburn gives the best damn performance of her long career in this film. ms hepburn gives one of the most brilliant film performances of all time in this film. she can make you laugh, cry, get angry or be empathetic from one moment to the next. i cannot praise her, or this film, enough. she gives us a masterclass in acting in 'the lion in winter'. splitting the prize with streisand? stranger things have happened.

sublime

Oscarbation: A Look Back at 1942 for Best Actress

it was a mixed crop in 1942. only two of the performances stand the test of time. the remaining three are either forgotten or should be. it was for the most part a mediocre year for actresses on film.

#5

teresa wright in 'pride of the yankees

this was gary cooper's film. ms wright always charmed on screen but never a great actress. ms wright would justifiably win this same year in the supporting category in 'mrs miniver'

#4

rosalind russell in 'my sister eileen'

ms russell charmed as usual but this film and her role in it were not award worthy in the least. the frothy tale of two sisters in greenwich village would be considered a just a piece of fluff and her performance just short of cotton candy.

#3

greer garson in 'mrs. miniver

a long drawn out bore of a film. it was a propaganda film for the allies in world war 2. it was highly popular at the time and it's very nature ms garson to the stage to receive her oscar. she then proceeded to give one of the most effusive acceptance speeces ever. they should have grapped it from her hands then and there and handed it to the rightful winner.

#2

katharine hepburn in 'woman of the year'

damn when she was with spencer tracy ms hepburn she shined. the film, mr tracy and the wonderful ms hepburn stands the test of time.

#1

bette davis in 'now voyager'

ms davis shines as the repressed, overweight charlotte vale dominated by an overbearing verbally abusive upper crust mother. the transformation of charlotte from ugly duckling to swan and from an abused 'nothing' to a woman of strength and courage lies in ms davis's performance. she is perfectly magnificent and she 'wuz' robbed.

Oscarbation: A Look Back at 1928-1933 for Best Actress

i have not seen all the nominees so i will not rank them here. actually it is virtually impossible to see all the nominees in their respective films. for instance 'the letter' starring jeanne eagels (1929) is seemingly gone as in non existent.

the only way i can handle the first six years is to just name the winners so they can go into the ranking of all the winners eventually.

so moving on the winners between 1928 and 1933 are:

1987: janet gaynor for, well like, three films. yup 3 out of the 5 best actress nominations went to ms. gaynor. most cinema historians name 'seventh heaven' as the win although it seems the official academy records seem to name her for all of them. so what the hell i'll go with 'seventh heaven' as it's the only one i saw. as is obvious for it's time it was a silent film. the only silent actress performance to win.

1929: mary pickford in 'coquete'. this was ms pickford's first talkie. thus the first actress to win for a 'talkie'.

1930: 'norma shearer in 'the divorcee'. the director wanted joan crawford. he did not think ms shearer was sexy enough. she finally got the part and the oscar. hollywood lore says crawford never forgave her. who cares.

1931: marie dressler in 'min and bill'. i think ms dressler is a hoot on film. she certainly was in this film and received this early oscar before hollywood decided comedic roles not worthy of them

1932: helen hayes in 'the sins of madelon claudet'. good work here by ms hayes in her first talkie. along with ms dressler she is the best of this crop of early oscar winners.

1933: katharine hepburn in 'morning glory'. this was ms hepburn's first film role and she was quite lucky it was not her last. the film and her performance in it were absolutely awful. totally unwatchable. this i can say: may robson was robbed for 'lady for a day'.

Remembering Katherine Hepburn on Her Birthdate

'suddenly last summer'



'the philadelphia story'



'the african queen'

Remembering Katherine Hepburn on her Birthdate: 'The Lion in Winter'

When pressed to name my favorite film of all time I always go back to "The Lion in Winter"
Great screenplay, direction and the brilliant performances of Peter O'toole and the GREAT Katherine Hepburn. This gave Kate the Great her third Oscar win.

I also give it best line ever when Kate states, "In a world where they can raise carpenters from the dead ANYTHING is possible".

Remembering Katharine on Her Birthdate

my favorite scene from 'guess who's coming to dinner'



from 'suddenly last summer'





'lion in winter'

'African Queen' Finally Released on DVD and Blu Ray

after restoration now on dvd and blu ray



before restoration and what we.ve been watching for years

The Lion in Winter - 1969

When pressed to name my favorite film of all time I always go back to "The Lion in Winter"
Great screenplay, direction and the brilliant performances of Peter O'toole and the GREAT Katherine Hepburn. This gave Kate the Great her third Oscar win.

I also give it best line ever when Kate states, "In a world where they can raise carpenters from the dead ANYTHING is possible".