1939---GWTW Still the Winner--Vote for 1967 NOW!- Page 2

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/21/06 at 8:53pm

Wow, Mr. Roxy! No Mr. Smith or Wonderful Life?


Something against Jimmy Stewart, perhaps?

You don't know what you're missing, IMO.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 11/21/06 at 8:56pm

In Roxy's defense, I also haven't seen either of those movies. Now that I think about it, I'm totally unqualified to vote, so disregard my earlier post.

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/21/06 at 9:46pm

SM2--It's okay. As much of a movie buff as I am, there are still some MAJOR classics that I've never seen.

I'm glad I haven't seen all the "good ones" yet. It gives me something to look forward to.

[courtnyj]

Posted: 11/21/06 at 11:18pm

Wow. You both should see Mr. Smith... and It's A Wonderful Life. Two of my favorites. Mr Smith Goes To Washington always made me cry as a kid. That aside, I'd still vote for Gone With The Wind.

[justme2]

Posted: 11/21/06 at 11:26pm

Most people have seen "It's a Wonderful Life" simply by turning on the TV in December. It used to be you couldn't escape it. I commend Roxy for the ability to avoid it all these years!

[broadway86]

Posted: 11/21/06 at 11:33pm

Gone with the Wind, though they are all fantastic films.

I still think it's stupid that Jimmy Stewart and Claude Rains didn't win for Mr. Smith.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 11/21/06 at 11:34pm

GWTW is wonderful, but I would vote for the Wizard of Oz. It doesn't get any better than Judy.

[DG]

Posted: 11/21/06 at 11:37pm

Funny to be having this come up with my icon of the day, but I would vote OZ - then, now and always.

[lildogs]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 10:06am

best, I was reading in some of my Oscar books last night and it was Irene Selznick, not Norma who chastised Olivia--who knew she had lost when the announcer said something about the winner making an achievement regardless of race.

The book also said that Davis WAS very close to Leigh and that Donat was the clear winner. It's Tom O'Neil's Oscar book and it does have alot of mistakes--I have also read of some earlier tallies for other races, notably the March-Beery tie. But it wasn't in either of my books at home, so it muct have been somewhere else.

I think when you said the winners were leaked you meant to the newspaper and I thought you just meant in general. :)

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 10:31am

So many books, articles, so much time passed now, who knows?

The March-Beery tie was leaked in that the two actors came within five votes of each other, and it was deemed a "tie." That set off a lot of fireworks and the rules were changed after that, so a "tie" would REALLY have to be an exact "tie." If someone was ahead by even one vote, they would be the sole winner.

So the Streisand-Hepburn tie for Best Actress in 1968 REALLY was a tie. They had the exact same amount of votes.

As far as Irene Selznick or Norma Shearer... it depends on who's telling the story, also whether or not Olivia almost left the ceremony or just looked visibly upset in her seat, also whether or not she was "slapped" or just "lectured" on good behavior. A lot of time has passed, a lot of facts are "enhanced," and THAT'S Hollywood for ya!

[StageManager2]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 10:38am

So it wasn't Norma?

*bubble bursts*

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 10:54am

I believe Olivia says (on the recent DVD) that Irene Selznick gave her a pep talk to go congratulate Hattie and try not to look so visably shaken.

But considering how many old stories have been "enhanced" over time by Miss De Havilland (God love her!), it could have been Groucho Marx who pistol-whipped her, for all we know.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 10:57am

*crushed*

I still love her, anyway! (Dammit!)

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 11:12am

Well, even now, after all these years, I can't picture Olivia sitting before the cameras on the GWTW DVD and saying, "Norma Shearer slapped the sh*t out of me."

Not gonna happen.

But Irene Selznick giving the 23-year-old a pep talk about her sour grapes is possible and more palpable... I still think it was "big" of Olivia to talk about it at all, considering the myths that have surrounded the awards ceremony that night.

And the girl did pick up two Oscars for Best Actress later on in life.

You have to understand, though, Olivia was/is a HIGHLY COMPETETIVE woman. Her sister beat her to the Oscar podium in 1941 for "Suspicion" and it started a feud between the two sisters that has never mended. Both are still alive (Joan Fontaine lives in London, and Olivia lives in Paris), and they haven't spoken to each other in over half a century.

And a close friend of mine (an actress at Warner Bros. in the 1940s) was caught in the powder room with them during one of their public knock-down-drag-out fights, and she said it was horrifying what poured out of their mouths.

Pretty tragic.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 11:16am

All because of an Oscar?

You know, if my brother and I keep at it until 2071, we may just have them beat.

I wonder what really caused the rift between them. Maybe it stems from childhood.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 12:53pm

Oliva De Havilland also deserved the Oscar for THE SNAKE PIT, imo. Jimmy Stewart, to me, is the greatest film actor who's ever lived. That he could play such a variety of roles, without the need to resort to accents, or mumbling, or strange facial tics and the like, AND be so believable in all those films, is a testament to his incredible talent.

[lildogs]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 12:59pm

I'm with you on Stewart--just the most natural and versatile actor ever (Lemmon is close behind). SNAKE PIT was 48, right? Jane Wyman beat her then--Olivia's NY Critics Award for SNAKE PIT was one of the few unanimous votes in their history btw

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 1:04pm

THE SNAKE PIT remains my favorite performance by de Havilland. I was never a fan of her sister's performances.

[lildogs]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 1:25pm

I would probably pick HEIRESS over PIT, but I don't necessarily think she's better in it.

I also find Joan a little ho-hum--she's AWFUL in THE WOMEN, almost to the point where she's great..she just can't hang with those ladies. Even in REBECCA she's overshadowed by Sanders and Anderson and the same with SUSPICION--Grant and Whitty run circles around her.

[Kringas]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 1:32pm

Aw, I love Joan Fontaine. There's always something endearingly spastic about her.

[lildogs]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 1:33pm

1967 BEST PICTURE NOMINEES

Bonnie and Clyde
The Graduate
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
In The Heat of the Night
Dr. Doolittle

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 1:36pm

GWTW is pretty spectacular. Haven't seen all the pics that year though. Haven't seen all of 67's either, but what a year.

99 would be another good year.

[lildogs]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 1:39pm

I thinkin 94 next, but we'll see...

This is an easy vote for me: BONNIE AND CLYDE! Nothing else comes close.

Though I wuold have voted for both Bancroft and Hoffman in the lead categories--Parsons and Hackman in the supporting.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 1:42pm

I would say . . . "The Graduate" for '67


And


OZ for '39

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 1:43pm

"There's always something endearingly spastic about her."

Bingo! And I agree about Joan Fontaine. Check out the Rebecca DVD (Criterion) and you can see many screen tests for the part of "I" (yes the character is called first person "I" in the movie, since she is never named). Joan is CLEARLY the stand-out among the screen tests, particularly when you see other stronger women (like Margaret Sullivan) or even younger women (like Anne Baxter who was 16!) take a crack at the part. The thing with Joan's character in "Rebecca" is that she is supposed to be a "nothing." A non-entity. She isn't' even named. Ever. She is the second "Mrs. De Winter." She's a young, sweet "unformed" girl, who marries out of her league and into a big fat mess. I think Joan was quite excellent in the part.

As far as Stewart, I agree that he is one of our best screen actors, but to say that he wasn't mannered is... just not true! My god, he mumbled, stumbled, and gee-golly-goshed (in a very endearing way) through nearly all of his films. His genius comes from how he was able to adapt his own ticks and personality traits to fit these widely varied characters. He was not a chameleon like Meryl Streep. He was always "James Stewart," but for some reason... it always worked. And that's pretty brilliant.

1967 --- In the Heat of the Night---Now, then and always! It's a brilliant film. Perfectly directed, written and (especially) acted. Great competition that year, but I wouldn't change Best Picture at all.