1938-1947 Best Actress Winners

[Big Magilla]

I thought this would be a runaway vote for Vivien Leigh but interestingly, it's not.

My vote goes to Olivia de Havilland whose performance in To Each His Own gets me every time. She was only 30 when she played her character from naive young woman to worldly-wise, no-nonsense business woman during the London blitz in this classic tearjerker. Her victory in the courts put her in the spotlight, but the performance speaks for itself.

Leigh is my second choice for her complex performance over nearly four hours of screen time.

Davis was the best of the nominees in 1938, but, yes, she would be better in other films of the decade and achieve her greatest performance in All About Eve early in the next.

Rogers was OK at best in the blah Kitty Foyle.

Fontaine and Bergman both won for awards that should have been won by Barbara Stanwyck. Bergman's best performances of the decade were in The Bells of St. Mary's, for which she should have won, and Notorious for which she wasn't even nominated.

Garson was splendid in both Mrs. Miniver and Random Harvest in 1942 and rightfully won her race.

Jones was surrounded by superb character actors who made her shine but her performance in The Song of Bernadette is mostly one of reaction, not action.

Crawford was good in Mildred Pierce, but she was better in Possessed and Daisy Kenyon two years later.

Young was effective in both The Farmer's Daughter and The Bishop's Wife in 1947, but neither is a knock-your-socks-off performance.

[Reza]

Leigh wins this hands down with Crawford a very close second for me.

Davis is fine in Jezebel but her best was yet to come.

Rogers won for proving she could be dramatic after years of playing acerbic blondes in screwball comedies and musicals. Her competition (Davis, Fontaine, Hepburn) gave far more superior performances.

Fontaine lost for Rebecca so they gave it to her for Suspicion the following year. A consolation win.

Garson is warm and likeable and very arch as Mrs Miniver.

Jones' win had the Selznick machine backing her full throttle.

Yes Bergman was the star of the decade but her only win should have been years later for Autumn Sonata. She managed to win three along the way though.

I prefer de Havilland's second win. Not so much this one.

Young won for being a star for over 20 years.

[Mister Tee]

For me, this is such a no-brainer, I'm not even going to bother going through the motions of weighing them all. Leigh has by far the most complex role and does extraordinary things with it. I don't even much like Gone with the Wind, but I think this performance is sensational, the best winner of the era.

[Big Magilla]

Some interesting choices here.

Davis' second Oscar, unlike her first, was well-deserved on the merits.

Leigh's first Oscar was, like her second would be, for one of the most iconic film roles of all time.

Rogers' win was for a film that though popular at the time has not aged well.

Fontaine's win makes her the only acting winnert o have won for a Hitchcock film.

Garson was the personification of the genteel British wife and mother of the day.

Jones had God on her side.

Bergman was the standout actress of the decade, albeit not necessarily in Gaslight.

Crawford won for a highly publicized comeback performance

de Havilland was still basking in her victory over the studio system.

Young won for putting on a Swedish account to play a role Bergman turned down.

Which was best?