Kate, Barbra, and Oscar Part 2: The Diva
Thursday, October 24, 2013 at 2:00PM Anne Marie with the second half of the two-part post on the Best Actress tie for 1968. Part One is here if you missed it.
The audience of the 41st Academy Awards roared its approval when Ingrid Bergman announced that Hollywood newcomer Barbra Streisand had tied Katharine Hepburn for Best Actress in a Leading Role. But though Streisand has since achieved immense popularity and icon status, this win is still questioned by some. After all, Hepburn was a giant among giants, giving the performance of her career in The Lion in Winter alongside a stellar cast with a sizzling script. Barbra was certainly the best part of an otherwise unremarkable musical. As a highly fictionalized version of famous vaudevillian Fanny Brice, Stresiand packed a ton of charm, chatter, charisma, and chutzpah into one role. But is that enough to warrant an Academy Award?
Actually, yes it is...
The defining feature of Funny Girl--beyond the glamor, the laughs, the heartbreak, and the single greatest use of a tugboat in cinema history--is that the movie's success rests entirely on Streisand's petite shoulders. Without Babs, Funny Girl would be another Gigi: sweet, loveable, but not something that glues you to your seat. (To all the Gigi lovers out there: That's right. Come at me!)
With the exception of the underused-but-still-fabulous Kay Medford (more about her in the upcoming Supporting Actress Smackdown), most of the cast dims next to Streisand's electricity. This is largely the fault of the screenplay; the story is so focused on Fanny that nobody else gets much to do, director William Wyler included. It's rare for one performer alone to catapult a film to iconic status. The fact that Babs could do that singlehandedly made her Oscar-worthy.
Since Funny Girl is a musical, the most lauded part of Barbra's performance is her voice. Barbra is part brassy Ethel Merman, part classy Judy Garland. Her singing combines raw talent and technical prowess to rip through a song with emotion.
While much has been (justifiably) made of the star's voice, the rest of her performance is equally strong. As Nathaniel has pointed out before, early Babs was a very talented comedienne. In Funny Girl, Babs brings that emotive power behind her musical numbers to straight scenes as well. For instance, take this brief scene during the prologue when Fanny catches her reflection in the mirror. Streisand's first line, "Hello, gorgeous!", is one of AFI's 100 Best Movie Quotes for a reason. The quiet humor of her delivery contrasts with the unvoiced sadness in her eyes:
[Side note: I've had the worst time pulling video clips for this series. Apparently not even YouTube can contain the power of a diva in her prime.]
As career-defining as it was, Funny Girl was just the beginning for Streisand. But a great beginning is what all Oscar wins for breakouts are meant to foreshadow.
Admittedly, Babs probably didn't need the encouragement, since after 1968 she charged forward to four more nominations and another win, directing, producing, concerts, Grammy awards, and even a book on home decorating. But this first award was a sign of the good things to come.
These iconic tied performances represent two sides of the same golden statue. Streisand's star turn is a celebration; Hepburn's is a lament. Streisand's win was a "welcome"; Hepburn's was an encore. I don't mean to overstate the significance of this moment (too late?), but to me the tie between these two radically different actresses shows the range that the Academy can achieve. It can award tragedies and comedies, newcomers and veterans, and salute those performances which define a star, a film, or even a year. That is the reason why 1968 stands as my favorite year in Oscar history.
Reader Comments (35)
I like Omar Sharrif here, but then I like him generally. I'm due for a re-watch of FUNNY GIRL bu I remember it more fondly than many seem to even with the unusual omissions of the original score's finest songs. Barbra is divine and gives the role everything it needs. Her win will always amuse though for the what-if of if she hadn't become a member of the AMPAS just a year before - would this tie have ever happened?
(Aside: I love the anecdote in one of Kate's bios (I think it was the Garson Kanin Kate and Spence one) where he mentioned loving Barbra but feeling she was missing some key aspect of Fanny on stage - the classiness and he'd asked Kate to suggest a way of giving a fresh young star an idea on how to be classy of something of the sort. Knowing Kanin, who knows if this ever happened.)
Also I do not like GIGI either. I love musicals, but GIGI is among my least favourite Best Picture winners, so you're not alone Anne-Marie.
Joanne Woodward gave the BEST performance by an actress in 1968. Neither of the eventtual winners came close. The winners were adored by the Academy, Woodward had one already, and Farrow not being nominated is shocking. Neal' performance doesn't hold up well and Redgrave's reward was the nomination itself. And how the hell did Streisand become a voting member of the Academy before she had completed even 1 film?
So, as many authors have already noted, Streisand most certainly voted for herself, thus giving herself the Oscar that would have been Hepburn's alone.
I was a dancer for many years and love, love musicals... I have walked out on 2 movies in my life and Gigi was one of them.
It's been a while since I've seen Funny Girl, but I cannot remember being overly impressed. The music is fantastic, but when the songs stop, so does the movie. Barbra is electrifying and deserving of the Oscar for the reasons stated--she IS the movie. Wyler is my favorite director, and this, his only musical, is one of his least distinctive pictures.
I wholeheartedly endorse Barbra's win. This is a seismic star-making performance from first moment "hello gorgeous" to that "my man" finale. wow. the first time i managed to see it on the big screen it just sort of exploded at me.
love this movie. and i guess it doesn't hurt that it's the Boyfriend's favorite movie. (or in the top three at least)
Oh my. Gigi is one of my favorite musicals. Besides that, I do love both Babs and Kate.
I saw Funny Girl for the first time recently and I was surprised by how dated it was... not just in a 2013 context, but in a 1968 context. Compared with Cabaret or even West Side Story, it seems *so* old-fashioned, like something that should have been released in the early 1950s (and even then, it would have seemed undistinguished to me). It was unbelievable to me that it was released the same year as Rosemary's Baby and 2001.
As for Barbra... I'll just say I agree with Patryk, Woodward should have won that year, though Farrow gave the best performance by an actress of 1968.
I've said it before, but Barbra is not a natural. She tries too hard: she is not charismatic, she acts charisma. I strongly disagree with the idea this is a star turn. It's a extremely calculated and focused performance in every single scene. She is very good faking a star turn, but you can see how hard she is trying.
Barbra was never a star like Diane Keaton, for example, a girl that you see in Annie Hall and you just love her, and that's it. Barbra is a control freak, a character actor that happened to sing superbly and thus became a leading actress.
I don't dislike the performance, not at all, but I can't see greatness there.
FYI, Streisand has a total of FIVE Oscar nominations -- wins for Best Actress and Best Song (Evergreen). Then another Best Actress nomination for "The Way We Were," (yay!), a nomination for "Mirror Has Two Faces'" song "I Finally Found Someone" (belch!), and a producing nomination for "The Prince of Tides" (meh).
Good heavens! Nathaniel, we're minority! Is this the end of the world as we know it? People questioning Barbra in Funny Girl? I think I'm going to need a pill or something.
Peggy -- right? This is a MIRACLE performance. Every time i see it i am blown away anew. for some reason i thought TFE was very Funny Girl friendly but maybe not. lol.
I've never considered her Oscar-worthy, but if I had to give Babs a prize for acting it'd be for The Way We Were, a movie in which we're not supposed to buy her a superstar, but as the annoying overachiever ugly duck she actually is. That role just becomes her.
I think I'll need therapy.
Hmm, I, too, am surprised as how divided the verdict seems. Gun to my head and I'd choose Kate but Barbra is so good here. I have to disagree with Cal, because as much as Barbra was never a conventional beauty she surely is beautiful woman.
She's got so many actorly moments in FUNNY GIRL but a sentimental favourite is "You Are Woman" (she and Omar have great chemistry) it's such a fun monologue song and it highlights the very best thing about her here, more than her singing, it's her comedic timing with the line-readings. "If I stop him now, can he sue me?"
cal roth, I'm cracking up!
Yup, 5 nominations, though unfortunately none for Best Director... though not for lack of trying.
Oh dear lord people, what are you smoking? Barbra in Funny Girl is the reason movies were invented in the first place. It's the height of actressing and the definition of charisma.
I think people must be looking at this performance through the prism of everything that came after it. You know the godawful Jon Peters hair (and movies), the self-important stuff like MIrror Has Two Faces, etc.
I was as gobsmacked as Omar Sharif and William Wyler in this movie. Just step aside and let Barbra find her keylight and let her rip.
If someone doesn't like Funny Girl, I can't be their friend (I'm only sort of joking).
Alright, I know that I wrote both pieces so my opinion is fairly obvious, but why all the Barbra-hating? I'm with Nathaniel and Peggy Sue! I'm surprised there's so little love for Babs.
Woodward gave a fantastic performance, so I'm not touching that one. However, while Mia Farrow was very good in Rosemary's Baby, she's not the best part of Rosemary's Baby. This was a year of movie-dominating performances (even by Woodward), which I think is why Farrow wasn't nominated. I'm NOT saying she shouldn't have been, and I'm NOT saying she wasn't good. I'm saying that with Ruth Gordon's scene-stealing, Polanski's great direction, the fantastic editing, and the layered screenplay, it was easy to overlook Mia Farrow.
As for the accusations that Barbra is trying too hard in Funny Girl: Of course she is. That's the point of Funny Girl. Even more than The Way We Were, Funny Girl is the story of (to paraphrase cal roth) an annoying overachiever ugly duckling. She just happens to be an insanely talented annoying overachiever ugly duckling in a star turn.
Oh, geez, cal roth. You just made your point moot with that last comment. But let's just continue like you didn't just call someone "ugly" like a preschooler would.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Fanny Brice SUPPOSED TO BE someone who tries really hard? Due to her insecurity with her looks? She never quite believes she nabbed herself Mr. Arnstein. She doesn't recognize her worth until late in the film.
Hear hear, Rene!.
i saw 'funny girl' on tv one afternoon when i was a kid; before i was aware of fanny or barbra, before i understood how movies worked, before i'd even heard the words "diva" or "showstopper" or "oscar winning actress"
but by the time the credits rolled, i knew....
So what about What's Up, Doc? I love Funny Girl and The Way We Were but when I'm thinking of early Babs in movies I think about What's Up Doc ? and the dragon going down the street in San Francisco.
As for The Oscar, I bet that Katherine voted for herself too...
adelutza: I actually want to suspect Kate may have voted for Vanessa, seeing how she was a big fan of hers.
You're so right on WHAT'S UP DOC - one of Barbra's funniest, along with the underseen/underloved ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER.
Miraculous performance. Groaner of a movie.
Saw Streisand on Broadway. Saw Streisand in the film. The Broadway performance was much grander.
anne marie -- that's the best explanation i've ever read for why Mia may have been overloooked (funny how quality is sometimes a deterrent rather than a bonus) but I still can't take it. I actually like Rachel Rachel a lot but I would trade out Woodward in a second if I could have Farrow in there. (i have not yet seen "Isadora" or "The Subject was Roses" though so maybe I could trade one of them out)
adelutza -- lol. OF COURSE katharine voted for herself. everyone votes for themselves... although one of the most hilarious oscar anecdotes when I was a kid was something about debra winger voting for meryl streep (1982) ... or maybe her mother being like "congratulations on your oscar nom... BUT MERYL STREEP." or something... i dont even remember why it was funny or what it was exactly but just remember that i loved it and it made me love debra winger and love the absurdity of acting competitions even more.
I'm sorry, but did I just read that Barbra is not believable as a superstar? Huh? That is some crazy Barbra bashing! I recently re-watched Funny Girl and wracked my brain afterward to think of any other performance that so indelibly matches actor with character and renders any other casting choice unimaginable. There's a very good reason why Funny Girl has never been revived on Broadway and why that planned Lauren Ambrose production ultimately collapsed. For better or worse, few people are interested in seeing anyone else's Fanny Brice, and that's 115% a testament to Barbra.
Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice is divine. She is all-encompassing. I've never seen THE LION IN WINTER though so I can't enter the debate.
I'm with Nathaniel, Peggy Sue, and the "yay" crowd.
There are a few performances in movie history that I think are stronger (a very, very few), but I can think of no performance that is as much a ball of fire as Barbra in Funny Girl. She sings all but one song in the film and in that song, she's hamming it up on roller skates. So many of the tunes are iconic and not as much for the song but for the way in which Barbra sings them. Vocalists have, for 45 years now, been forced to copy her style on them to live up to the memory of her versions. Every moment she's on-screen screams "look at me" (perfect for a show biz musical) and, even as its detractors have noted, the film slows a bit when she is not front and center. It is a tour de force vocally, comedically, and dramatically to which select few performances can compare.
I'm a huge Streisand fan and spent almost a month's salary to see her in concert many years ago.
However there's always been some doubt about her Oscar victory for Funny Girl. The story goes that Barbra was made an Academy member BEFORE her very first film was released - so if she and Hepburn were tied, if AMPAS had followed the rules re membership - Hepburn would have beaten her by just ONE vote. This is all based on the assumption that Barbra voted for herself of course.
But I don't begrudge her her oscar win - especially after the snubbing of Yentl for Best Picture and Director, Prince of Tides for director, and Lauren Bacall for supporting actress for Mirror has two faces and the wonderful song 'I finally found someone'.
Despite how annoying I find La Streisand as a personality, her breakthrough decade (1964-1974) is undeniable, and that includes the tour de force that is Funny Girl.
(For the record, I'm on Team Woodward, because of the five nominees I like her film as much as I do her performance. Redgrave would be my second choice. I find Funny Girl and The Lion in Winter clever and shallow, The Subject Was Roses stagey,)
How anyone could think this wasn't an award worthy performance is beyond me. The only comparable musical performance for sheer star power and a display of talent is Judy Garland in A Star is Born. Barbra drives her movie even more though since she doesn't have an actor of the caliber of James Mason working with her, don't jump on me about Omar Sharif I like him and he's charming and able in the movie but nowhere near Mason's level of skill.
I agree that except for Kay Medford the rest of the cast recedes against Babs juggernaut, I'd love to see the Anne Francis scenes that were excised for time or whatever, ego?. I've always heard that there was talk that she was so good that a nomination was rumored before her part was cut to ribbons. I'm sure there was more to the part when she accepted the role, she was a name actress at the time coming off a high profile series and unlikely to accept what ended up being a cameo in newcomer's vehicle.
The right thing happened though, Kate is at her very best in Lion in Winter. It's one of the years, rare that they are, where all five woman were worthy of the award. The Subject Was Roses is the most dated today but Neal is wonderful even more so when you take into account that this was her first film after the paralyzing strokes she had suffered a few years before and she was still suffering the aftereffects including memory problems. I'm actually a bit surprised that the combination of those factors didn't get her the prize, I wonder how close the voting was for all the ladies considering the tie.
I just want to reiterate that I love Barbra in this and she definitely deserved the Oscar. It's just the movie itself that I'm kinda cool to. If you just strung all of the musical numbers together and made that the film, it would be perfect.
I went to see this last week with my Mom, Cineplex in Toronto shows classic movies on the big screen sometimes. It's really the way to see this movie. You can see the costumes (the nails!) and hear her voice in all its glory. It's a fabulous performance -- I'd forgotten how funny she is -- and she totally deserved the win.
Hollywood welcom the new queen Barbra！
I saw Funny Girl for the first time just days ago... and I instantly fell in love with the movie. One of the rare instances (for me) where I just couldn't help myself and had to watch almost the whole thing again within hours. Streisand's performance, to me, is easily one of the best of all time. (I don't feel qualified to judge if it's THE best, or what is - but I think it's beyond doubt that it's one of the best.)
I also adore Gigi, by the way. Just as much, possibly more. And I also think The Lion in Winter (which I plan on seeing again later today) is a great movie and probably deserved to win Best Picture that year. (Oliver! definitely didn't.) Although I obviously would've given it to Funny Girl, had I been voting. Because I love it, not necessarily because it's better - that's hard to judge.
Hepburn was also Oscar-worthy, but not in that lineup, not going up against THAT performance... (I've also seen Rosemary's Baby and Rachel, Rachel - again, no comparison!)