I didn't know that about Myrna's condition during her acceptance of the Oscar---poor thing. One of the qualities she was most famous for was her poise and coolness, so for her to realize her fans had to see her like that must have been tough indeed.
I think Oscars are poopy anyway.
Screwed on Oscar Night
I have the Myrna Loy Oscar tape, and I was also surprised how reserved and brief she was that evening in 1991. I expected the devout Liberal and feminist to tell the Academy "It's about time!".
However at age 88 the actress was ill having underwent two mastectomies. Friend Roddy McDowall was with her in her New York apartment that evening.
Quoted: (referring to her perfect wife typecasting) "Some perfect wife I am. I've been married four times, divorced four times, have no children, and can't boil an egg." God bless her.
Correction on a prior post: Deborah Kerr was nominated for SIX best actress Oscars.
However at age 88 the actress was ill having underwent two mastectomies. Friend Roddy McDowall was with her in her New York apartment that evening.
Quoted: (referring to her perfect wife typecasting) "Some perfect wife I am. I've been married four times, divorced four times, have no children, and can't boil an egg." God bless her.
Correction on a prior post: Deborah Kerr was nominated for SIX best actress Oscars.
Joseph Goodheart
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Vecchiolarry
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Hi Joe,
Yes, I think you're right.
"The Letter" was Bette Davis' best picture as far as I was concerned. She's not affected or mannered but plays the role of a liar and murderess with her eyes. Great performance!
I've never seen "Kitty Foyle". I might some day, but I'm not much on Ginger Rogers - never took to her.
Bette should not have won that "Dangerous" Oscar; that hurt her badly, even as far as 1963, when she lost again for "WHTBJ".....
Katharine Hepburn should have won in '35 for "Alice Adams", one of her best jobs.
I never much cared for Katharine Hepburn either - she also had mannerisms and affectations.
But, I'd still give her 4 Oscars. Take away "Guess Who's Coming for Dinner" and "On Golden Pond" and give her "Alice Adams" in '35 and "Summertime" in '55...
Whadda ya think??
Larry
Yes, I think you're right.
"The Letter" was Bette Davis' best picture as far as I was concerned. She's not affected or mannered but plays the role of a liar and murderess with her eyes. Great performance!
I've never seen "Kitty Foyle". I might some day, but I'm not much on Ginger Rogers - never took to her.
Bette should not have won that "Dangerous" Oscar; that hurt her badly, even as far as 1963, when she lost again for "WHTBJ".....
Katharine Hepburn should have won in '35 for "Alice Adams", one of her best jobs.
I never much cared for Katharine Hepburn either - she also had mannerisms and affectations.
But, I'd still give her 4 Oscars. Take away "Guess Who's Coming for Dinner" and "On Golden Pond" and give her "Alice Adams" in '35 and "Summertime" in '55...
Whadda ya think??
Larry
Larry, glad that you appreciated Bette Davis' performance in "The Letter" as I did. I also praise her role as Regina in "The Little Foxes".
Ginger Rogers was good in a damatic role as "Kitty Foyle" (her only Oscar nomination). Give it a shot when you get a chance.
Your logic is on target regarding Katharine Hepburn and her Oscars, although I would have liked her to win for "The African Queen".
By the way, Hepburn was nominated 7 times for the Golden Globe Award and never won.
Ginger Rogers was good in a damatic role as "Kitty Foyle" (her only Oscar nomination). Give it a shot when you get a chance.
Your logic is on target regarding Katharine Hepburn and her Oscars, although I would have liked her to win for "The African Queen".
By the way, Hepburn was nominated 7 times for the Golden Globe Award and never won.
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Vecchiolarry
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- Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Hi Joe,
Yes, "The African Queen" was an Oscar worthy performance. Hepburn's oddities matched those of the character's....
But, I always thought of it as Humphrey Bogart's movie and was so glad when he won.
Another person who should have at least been nominated in 1940 was Gale Sondergaard as Best Supporting Actress for "The Letter". Even though she didn't say much or even anything really, she scared the living daylights out of me. And, I don't scare easily...
Larry
Yes, "The African Queen" was an Oscar worthy performance. Hepburn's oddities matched those of the character's....
But, I always thought of it as Humphrey Bogart's movie and was so glad when he won.
Another person who should have at least been nominated in 1940 was Gale Sondergaard as Best Supporting Actress for "The Letter". Even though she didn't say much or even anything really, she scared the living daylights out of me. And, I don't scare easily...
Larry
Well, since the Academy Awards are coming around again, I guess I'll add my two cents to this thread.
I think we probably all agree that it seems crazy to never have awarded competitive Oscars (or in many cases, even nominations) to great stars like Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Peter Sellers, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson, Lillian Gish, Rosalind Russell, Carole Lombard, Irene Dunne, William Powell, and others over the course of time. Still, the Academy occasionally managed to select a surprisingly impressive winner now and then: Emil Jannings' win still holds up well even if you're only considering his work in The Last Command, as does Robert Donat in Goodbye Mr. Chips.
When I consider Oscar screwjobs in my own lifetime, however, 1992's Best Supporting Actress choice (Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny) over the other four nominees ranks as one of the worst I've seen. I think many pundits expected Joan Plowright to win for Enchanted April or Judy Davis (who'd won numerous critics' awards) for Husbands and Wives, and either would've been worlds better than Tomei. To this day I can't understand what was so special about that comic performance that Tomei even earned a nomination as opposed to the hundreds of great comic turns that have been highly acclaimed yet completely snubbed come Oscar time. My personal choice for Best Supporting Actress that year is Miranda Richardson, who was nominated that year for her brief role in Damage but should've been cited instead for her ruthless femme fatale in Neil Jordan's The Crying Game. And as for the nominations, I'd have dropped Tomei's in an instant and replaced her with the always-impressive Alfre Woodard in one of that year's lauded independent films, Passion Fish.
I'd also list 1998's Best Actress as a disappointment. Gwyneth Paltrow (who won for Shakespeare in Love) has never impressed me (though I must admit I've seen few of her films) but I'd very willingly substitute that year's critical darling Fernanda Montenegro for Central Station.
But I think I'm probably the most appalled by the Best Director choices. How many Oscars did they think John Ford, Frank Capra and William Wyler needed? And yet nary a one went to Alfred Hitchcock, Howard Hawks, Orson Welles, Stanley Kubrick, Fritz Lang or Ernst Lubitsch.
I think we probably all agree that it seems crazy to never have awarded competitive Oscars (or in many cases, even nominations) to great stars like Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Peter Sellers, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson, Lillian Gish, Rosalind Russell, Carole Lombard, Irene Dunne, William Powell, and others over the course of time. Still, the Academy occasionally managed to select a surprisingly impressive winner now and then: Emil Jannings' win still holds up well even if you're only considering his work in The Last Command, as does Robert Donat in Goodbye Mr. Chips.
When I consider Oscar screwjobs in my own lifetime, however, 1992's Best Supporting Actress choice (Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny) over the other four nominees ranks as one of the worst I've seen. I think many pundits expected Joan Plowright to win for Enchanted April or Judy Davis (who'd won numerous critics' awards) for Husbands and Wives, and either would've been worlds better than Tomei. To this day I can't understand what was so special about that comic performance that Tomei even earned a nomination as opposed to the hundreds of great comic turns that have been highly acclaimed yet completely snubbed come Oscar time. My personal choice for Best Supporting Actress that year is Miranda Richardson, who was nominated that year for her brief role in Damage but should've been cited instead for her ruthless femme fatale in Neil Jordan's The Crying Game. And as for the nominations, I'd have dropped Tomei's in an instant and replaced her with the always-impressive Alfre Woodard in one of that year's lauded independent films, Passion Fish.
I'd also list 1998's Best Actress as a disappointment. Gwyneth Paltrow (who won for Shakespeare in Love) has never impressed me (though I must admit I've seen few of her films) but I'd very willingly substitute that year's critical darling Fernanda Montenegro for Central Station.
But I think I'm probably the most appalled by the Best Director choices. How many Oscars did they think John Ford, Frank Capra and William Wyler needed? And yet nary a one went to Alfred Hitchcock, Howard Hawks, Orson Welles, Stanley Kubrick, Fritz Lang or Ernst Lubitsch.
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MissGoddess
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But I think I'm probably the most appalled by the Best Director choices. How many Oscars did they think John Ford, Frank Capra and William Wyler needed? And yet nary a one went to Alfred Hitchcock, Howard Hawks, Orson Welles, Stanley Kubrick, Fritz Lang or Ernst Lubitsch.
oooooooooohKay...I'm going to go out on a limb here....because I don't watch the Oscars or have much use for the "Academy" because I know how much "push" has to do with the outcomes. HOWEVER....I do believe that if "merit" is to be the ultimate criteria---and nothing else, then I don't think it should matter how "many" times you win or were nominated---IF you earned it. But, rather, it should matter how often you deserved to.
I totally agree that most of the time, many who deserve get shafted, but that doesn't mean I think any less of the occasional deserving who wins. All of which, as CHIO very well suspects by now, is my long-winded way of saying that all of the movies John Ford was nominated for John Ford deserved to at least be considered---because he made those movies to his own standards and not to impress anyone (he who never attended the Oscars), UNLIKE many then and NOW.
Nothing personal, Mr. Rowley...nothing personal. Oh, well YES, it is personal with me where Ford is concerned...why should I pretend?
But I am with you in that Hitch and Lubitsch in particular, as well as ORSON WELLES, were equally deserving and I think it's a joke they were not honored as they should have been. But the Oscars are not to be taken too seriously. They are in so many respects...a joke. Really.
oooooooooohKay...I'm going to go out on a limb here....because I don't watch the Oscars or have much use for the "Academy" because I know how much "push" has to do with the outcomes. HOWEVER....I do believe that if "merit" is to be the ultimate criteria---and nothing else, then I don't think it should matter how "many" times you win or were nominated---IF you earned it. But, rather, it should matter how often you deserved to.
I totally agree that most of the time, many who deserve get shafted, but that doesn't mean I think any less of the occasional deserving who wins. All of which, as CHIO very well suspects by now, is my long-winded way of saying that all of the movies John Ford was nominated for John Ford deserved to at least be considered---because he made those movies to his own standards and not to impress anyone (he who never attended the Oscars), UNLIKE many then and NOW.
Nothing personal, Mr. Rowley...nothing personal. Oh, well YES, it is personal with me where Ford is concerned...why should I pretend?
But I am with you in that Hitch and Lubitsch in particular, as well as ORSON WELLES, were equally deserving and I think it's a joke they were not honored as they should have been. But the Oscars are not to be taken too seriously. They are in so many respects...a joke. Really.
"There's only one thing that can kill the movies, and that's education."
-- Will Rogers
-- Will Rogers
I remember a story about Alfred Hitchcock. He was nominated for "Rebecca" and as the awards ceremony drew closer and closer, he was consumed by nerves and became ever more snappish and irritable.
Finally, Alma couldn't stand it any more and said: "For God's sake, these are the same people who named Louise Rainer Best Actress. Who cares what they think?"
Hitchcock laughed and (he said) never really cared about the award after that.
Finally, Alma couldn't stand it any more and said: "For God's sake, these are the same people who named Louise Rainer Best Actress. Who cares what they think?"
Hitchcock laughed and (he said) never really cared about the award after that.
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Vecchiolarry
- Posts: 1392
- Joined: May 6th, 2007, 10:15 pm
- Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Hi Joe,
I agree with you 100% about Luise Rainer and her 'Olan' win in '37...
She should have been in the supporting category in '36....
I'm not sure whether Alma Hitchcock had any liking for any of the Hollywood group - she stuck to the English colony there.
And, perhaps she distained Miss Rainer because she was Austrian and there was a war going on then! Not that Miss Rainer had anything to do with that; and she seems to have lived in England thereafter......
Larry
I agree with you 100% about Luise Rainer and her 'Olan' win in '37...
She should have been in the supporting category in '36....
I'm not sure whether Alma Hitchcock had any liking for any of the Hollywood group - she stuck to the English colony there.
And, perhaps she distained Miss Rainer because she was Austrian and there was a war going on then! Not that Miss Rainer had anything to do with that; and she seems to have lived in England thereafter......
Larry
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Garbomaniac
- Posts: 348
- Joined: May 11th, 2007, 10:00 pm
I think she must have been a Garbo fan. If you are a Garbo fan nobody is as good as she. And, when it comes to competition and awards, nobody should win except Greta! I don't know what Mrs. Hitchcock thought about Luise's performance, but her being chosen best actress over Garbo was probably her point.
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charliechaplinfan
- Posts: 9040
- Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am
I feel about Cary Grant the way you feel about Garbo, especially in his thirties and forties films. From screwball comedian to cool Hitchcock heroes.
And Chaplin never got an Oscar for directing or acting. He did get a special oscar and he was awarded an oscar for the music from Limelight but which way were the academy looking when he made City Lights, Modern Times and The Great Dictator.
And Chaplin never got an Oscar for directing or acting. He did get a special oscar and he was awarded an oscar for the music from Limelight but which way were the academy looking when he made City Lights, Modern Times and The Great Dictator.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin