Re: 1928-1937 Best Actress Winners
Posted: Fri Aug 20, 2021 1:12 am
It's a lot easier to pinpoint the worst of these -- a tie between the hapless Pickford and the ever-awful Shearer -- than it is to find anyone who deserves the appellation "Best" in this group.
Helen Hayes has her moments in The Sin of Madelon Claudet, but the movie? I'll offer the faint praise that it's one of the better mother-sacrifices-all-for-child films that seemed to flood the best actress nomination list in that decade.
I can easily see why Hepburn won for Morning Glory -- people had to be thinking they'd never seen anything like this creature -- but she'd be so much more deserving for Alice Adams that it's hard to pull the lever for her.
I know a lot of people think the same about Davis vis a vis Dangerous/Of Human Bondage, but, honestly, I don't see a whole lot of difference between the two movies and performances. In each case, it's a fairly silly, overwrought melodrama given distinction by the raw power of Davis' persona. I wouldn't choose her for either, and I think it's weird how history seems to pretend there's a huge difference.
I love Marie Dressler much the way I love Lionel Barrymore -- for the shamelessness she displays. But Min and Bill is just too broad to cite.
The best film involved in any of these awards is of course Sunrise, and Janet Gaynor is fine there, as well as in Seventh Heaven...but I can't feel adequate to judging silent performances alongside sound work.
It's of course ridiculous that Luise Rainer won two Oscars, but I think she's a pretty good actress. She has early scenes in The Great Ziegfeld -- prior to her legendary telephone scene -- where you can see she's Method-trained, which stands in great contrast to most of the actors of the era. But neither performance is that special.
So, by default, I guess it's Colbert, who has the advantage of appearing in a movie that remains fresh all these years on, not least because of the spark she provides. It's not as enthusiastic a vote as I hope to cast in future decades, but a certain one.
Helen Hayes has her moments in The Sin of Madelon Claudet, but the movie? I'll offer the faint praise that it's one of the better mother-sacrifices-all-for-child films that seemed to flood the best actress nomination list in that decade.
I can easily see why Hepburn won for Morning Glory -- people had to be thinking they'd never seen anything like this creature -- but she'd be so much more deserving for Alice Adams that it's hard to pull the lever for her.
I know a lot of people think the same about Davis vis a vis Dangerous/Of Human Bondage, but, honestly, I don't see a whole lot of difference between the two movies and performances. In each case, it's a fairly silly, overwrought melodrama given distinction by the raw power of Davis' persona. I wouldn't choose her for either, and I think it's weird how history seems to pretend there's a huge difference.
I love Marie Dressler much the way I love Lionel Barrymore -- for the shamelessness she displays. But Min and Bill is just too broad to cite.
The best film involved in any of these awards is of course Sunrise, and Janet Gaynor is fine there, as well as in Seventh Heaven...but I can't feel adequate to judging silent performances alongside sound work.
It's of course ridiculous that Luise Rainer won two Oscars, but I think she's a pretty good actress. She has early scenes in The Great Ziegfeld -- prior to her legendary telephone scene -- where you can see she's Method-trained, which stands in great contrast to most of the actors of the era. But neither performance is that special.
So, by default, I guess it's Colbert, who has the advantage of appearing in a movie that remains fresh all these years on, not least because of the spark she provides. It's not as enthusiastic a vote as I hope to cast in future decades, but a certain one.