1960s ~ Best Actress "Character"
Saturday, August 6, 2011 at 12:40PM Okay, voting was robust enough on the 1970s -- THAT POLL IS STILL OPEN -- that we're adding ten more years to take us back a full half century to 1961. If you're joining us late, here are the results from the 80s, and 1991 thru 2010. As before these polls are not asking you to choose the five best performances from fives years but to name which character creation hogs your mental real estate. (Sometimes those are the same things, sometimes they're not.)
Two polls so scroll down to make sure you get both.You choose up to five from each five year grouping. Here we go...
1961-1965
and once more for the next five years.
1966-1970
* please note on the following poll "Maggie Ross" The Subject was Roses should read "Nettie Cleary" The Subject Was Roses. I can't correct it lest I lose all your votes. So keep that in mind should you happen to be a fan of thise subject they call roses.
This might be easier for some of you the further we go back, with less screenings winnowing down your vote. How many of you are unfamiliar with most of these roles? Lately I have begun to realize that anything older than the 1970s in the cinema -- unless it's epically famous -- tends to draw blank stares. I'm less well versed in 60s cinema than 50s or 70s cinema for some reason myself.
If you feel utterly flummoxed by a lack of personal experience here, why not use the results for rental ideas? Some of these movies (and/or performances) deserve bigger modern audiences than they get. I'll tell you who I'd have voted for a little later on.
Best Actress, Oscars (60s), polls
Reader Comments (21)
Myra Savage (among my Top 3 in her group, besides Holly Golightly and Baby Jane Hudson) certainly deserves a higher rating than a mere 8%. And seeing Maggie Ross (among my Top 3 in her group, besides Martha and Jean Brodie) with a mere 5% makes me almost want to cry.
Seems like more people should watch 'Seance on a Wet Afternoon' and 'The Whisperers'...
By the way, that other 'Maggie Ross' in your poll (from 'The Subject Was Roses') should probably be 'Nettie Cleary'.
The 1960's are my favorite film decade; so many wonderful films, characters, and performances.
Anne Bancroft's nominated turns convey how exceptionally talented she was--Annie Sullivan, Jo Armitage, and Mrs. Robinson---three impeccable and totally different characterizations.
I wish Séance on a Wet Afternoon was more widely seen. Myra Savage is as haunting, strange, and beautifully-acted a character as any.
Mr W -- OOPs. TYPO. i can't fix lest i reset the poll to 0 but i have notated it in the post.
Mike -- I think we may have to have a follow up post on the most underseen gems from these races.
Kim Stanley in "Seance on a Wet Afternoon" is a must-see. She's incredible. After Nick D's praise of Edith Evans in "The Whisperers" in his Best Actress project, that film is certainly high on my list.
I did pretty well with this decade I've seen all but The L-Shaped Room (virtually impossible to catch), The Shop on Main Street, The Great White Hope, The Collector and the two Sophia Loren films, the last four are all already in my Netflix queue so I'll have the majority of the top actress performances covered. For me even though it's not as well known one of the best performances was by Jean Simmons, one of the best actresses ever, in The Happy Ending although I thought the film was only average her work was wonderfully realized and the ending of the film marvelously presented, simple and true.
I have a recently bought copy of Seance On A Wet Afternoon on my shelf waiting for a first viewing, definitely have to pop it in this week. I also want to see Jean Simmons performance because I really like her. I think it was on youtube last time I checked.
Leslie Caron in The L Shaped Room and Sarah Myles in Ryan's Daughter probably won't get much traction (neither film is great so it's understandable why they've faded from the public consciousness) but I am a big fan of both characters and performances. They elevate their movies tenfold.
@joel6
I caught The L Shaped Room on Turner Classic Movies. It's worth seeing. I recall a sort of OK copy of it being on YouTube in 10 parts or so a year ago. Not sure if it's still there.
To state the obvious, Nathaniel you are awesome. THANK YOU for taking us back to the sixties, although now I'm eating my words. I hate to be THAT guy (and by "that" I mean neurotic) because I'm going to take some time weighing the options, there are so many characters to choose from. The only one that's completely out of the running is Rosy Ryan, because there's no way I'm voting for Ryan's Daughter but Eleanor, Fanny, Marta, Isadora, Maria, Gudrun, Mary, Bonie, Jean. Ugh!
This is so hard.
(Excuse me while I go rank these characters on an excel sheet.)
Grmpf.
I just realize I forgot to vote for Rozalie Lautman, who definitely deserves a higher rating than her meager 3%.
But the 60s certainly were a decade full of great characters. However, why so many people love 'The Sound of Music' is something I will never understand.
Pookie and Gloria Beatty are unforgettable! And Isadora – one of the best performances ever in cinema, and I hate signifiers like that. It pains me that more people don't talk about Redgrave's performance. Every character she creates is unforgettable.
a) Julie Andrews, Audrey Hepburn and Shirley Maclaine? I just noticed that there was a lot of twee/avant la lettre Manic Pixie Dream Girl action in the early 60's. I'd count Leslie Caron and Natalie Wood although I've only seen two movies from the former and the latter is less cute and more haunting in Splendor in the Grass, which had good results. And of course, the latter half swan dived into sexy tragic mother roles, but we can't complain about that.
b) FYC Rachel Cameron, guys. That lady is foxy and fierce.
Yes! I enjoy these polls so much! even when I (sometimes) get so angry with the results... but that's the greatness of the whole thing, isn't it?
How did you came up with the idea? I love the fact that you don't necessarily have to vote for the best performance but for the character that speaks to you the most.
A rare gems selection would be great and a supporting actress poll... pure heaven!!!
Wow, I really need to catch up on those early 60's options, having only seen 8. Had more options in the latter half poll. Martha could/would not be denied. I sing Fanny numbers daily, so had to pick her. Also Barbara makes her easily the funniest in the bunch. Bonnie and Mrs. Robinson had a big advantage in that their movies are two of my favorites and hold up so well today. Last, but not least, I went with Gloria. She still haunts me. Jane gave such a lived in performance, it almost felt too real.
* thanks for the pool ;)
*Miss Jean Brodie - First, Last, Always! -> it's such a perfectly defined character it's impossible to forget once you've seen the film. Unfortunately the mere 26% it has scored so far tells me that not many people have watched the film. The performance is so unique it's out of scale. Thank God the Academy had brains that year!
the 60s are my favorite as well:
"MARTHA" Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
"BONNIE PARKER" Bonnie & Clyde
"ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE" The Lion in Winter
"JEAN BRODIE" The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
"BABY JANE HUDSON" Whatever Happened To Baby Jane
"JO ARMITAGE" The Pumpkin Eater
"DIANA SCOTT" Darling
"MARY TYRONE" Long Day's Journey Into Night
Jean Brodie more than any performance aside from Blanche and Stanley. Though that heartbreaking final scene in the Whisperers-chilling.
OMG This Sporting Life I love that movie. Haunting.
But come on: who could beat Mrs Robinson for most memorable female part ever? (and it's a supporting role!!!)
Such Iconic performances! Who doesn't know and love Breakfast at Tiffany's, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf & Bonnie & Clyde. The 60's is such an amazing decade with all those new, young and independent filmmakers. Some of my favorite films are from the 60's. Movies from this decade are so progressive that it feels like they could have been mere days ago.
I had a hard time voting for the 70's performances, because I think that's a decade with mostly standout performances by men and not by women. But in the 60's the actresses are back!
Martha, Maria, Bonny and Isadora!
But I also love:
Liv Ullmann as Elisabeth Vogler in Persona (not in the poll from 1966)
Bibi Andersson as Alma in Persona (not in the poll from 1966)
As you can tell Nathaniel, Im a big Bergman and Ullmann fan
I often think about Diana in Darling because it was such an antihero role, and there weren't a lot of those going to women back then. She was more than just a straight up bitch and was never redeemed. Take that Hollywood! Plus Julie sneaked in a mini at the Oscars and gave Edith Head a conniption fit.
I think about Fanny Brice repeatedly, and sing her songs in my head, ditto Maria Von Trapp (it must be the Mormon thing). I think about Holly Golightly, but mostly about how much I don't like that movie, though I love Audrey.
I hated Rachel, Rachel (well, not hate but it denied 2001 its spot), and yet I loved Jane Fonda in They Shoot Horses. Talk about Bette Davis eyes.
Wow, so many great performances and characters, and still so many to see!