The Smackdown is just six days away so as the panelists finish their screenings, remember that your ballots are due Friday. After a few old movie screenings in a row I get nostalgic for those old school title cards. I hate that so many modern movies are skipping opening credits altogether and doubling up at the end to fulfill their star contracts. Anyway, let's look at the billing situation for the Supporting Actress nominees just for fun after the jump...
Taking them in order of billing.
2nd billed
Jennifer Jones in Since You Went Away. Second billed! She had just won the Best Actress Oscar (The Song of Bernadette) at the previous Oscars but she's directly behind Claudette Colbert. Since the movie is 3 hours long (I haven't watched it yet) I'm assuming she's a co-lead and she has more screen minutes than most winners in this category. We'll see. (Ethel Barrymore in None but the Lonely Heart is also second billed in her film)
3rd billed
Aline McMahon in Dragon Seed. Wonder what kind of strange loopholes or negotiations had her and Walter Huston receiving small font for their first names when actors below them get the all caps treatment!
4th billed
Agnes Moorehead in Mrs Parkington. Check out this insane cast list below. So much movie history with 18 nominations and 1 win between, or if you count only "prior to this movie" it was 9 nominations and 1 win between them but still. So many fine character actors in play. (Incidentally Agnes Moorehead is also in Dragon Seed but she's 8th billed in that one and on the second title card so if they would have had the SAG Ensemble nominations back then she would not have been included. Not that Dragon Seed would have been nominated for that, don't be silly!
5th billed
Angela Lansbury in Gaslight, her motion picture debut. She's second only to Dame May Whitty in the "with..." department (right after the three headlining movie stars) but Whitty was already a two-time Oscar nominee (Mrs Miniver & Night Must Fall)
