Supporting Actress Smackdowns, All Episodes
Sunday, August 5, 2018 at 10:38PM by Nathaniel R
The Supporting Actress Smackdown began at StinkyLulu's dearly departed blogspot many years ago. We revived the series here for summertime airings with his blessing a few years ago, and get this, there are only 25 years that haven't been visited. If you axe the years that are too recent for retrospectives and remove the years that have a missing film (neither streaming nor available on DVD) than we're down to only 12 years that we can visit!
In total 56 years have been reviewed. In those Smackdowns, the rotating panel has agreed with Oscar 48% of the time (if you count ties that included the Oscar winner as agreement. Though Oscar has never had a tie in a Supporting category there have been six ties at the Smackdown.) Herewith an index of where we've been and where we might go next...
Hattie McDaniel with her Supporting Oscar plaque (it was a plaque for the supporting winners until 1943)
ALL THE SUPPORTING ACTRESS SMACKDOWNS TO DATE
Bold = Smackdowns from the "sequel" series conducted here at TFE.
Asterisk = Smackdowns that were done concurrently with the Oscar race, not as retrospectives.
1930s
- 1936 -Oscar: Gale Sondegaard in Anthony Adverse; Smackdown: Bonita Granville in These Three
- 1939 -Oscar AND Smackdown: Hattie McDaniel in Gone With the Wind
Claire Trevor and Mercedes McCambridge both won in the 1940s1940s
- 1940 -Oscar AND Smackdown: Jane Darwell in The Grapes of Wrath
- 1941 -Oscar: Mary Astor in The Great Lie; Smackdown: [TIE] Astor and Patricia Collinge in Little Foxes
- 1942 -Oscar: Teresa Wright in Mrs Miniver; Smackdown: Agnes Moorehead in The Magnificent Ambersons
- 1943 -Oscar: Katina Paxinou in For Whom the Bell Tolls; Smackdown: Paulette Goddard in So Proudly We Hail
- 1944 -Oscar: Ethel Barrymore in None but the Lonely; Smackdown: Angela Lansbury in Gaslight
- 1945 -Oscar AND Smackdown: Anne Revere in National Velvet
- 1948 -Oscar AND Smackdown: Claire Trevor in Key Largo
- 1949 -Oscar: Mercedes McCambridge in All the King's Men; Smackdown: Ethel Waters in Pinky
Gloria Grahame won the Oscar but couldn't win her Smackdown1950s
- 1950 -Oscar: Joseph Hull in Harvey; Smackdown: Hope Emerson in Caged
- 1952 -Oscar: Gloria Grahame in The Bad and the Beautiful; Smackdown: Jean Hagen in Singin' in the Rain
- 1953 -Oscar: Donna Reed in From Here to Eternity; Smackdown: Geraldine Page in Hondo
- 1954 -Oscar AND Smackdown: Eva Marie Saint in On the Waterfront
- 1955 -Oscar AND Smackdown: Jo Van Fleet in East of Eden
- 1956 -Oscar AND Smackdown: Dorothy Malone in Written on the Wind
- 1958 -Oscar AND Smackdown: Wendy Hiller in Separate Tables
- 1959 -Oscar: Shelley Winters in The Diary of Anne Frank; Smackdown: Juanita Moore in Imitation of Life
Ruth Gordon wins for Rosemary's Baby (1968)
1960s
- 1961 -Oscar AND Smackdown: Rita Moreno in West Side Story
- 1962 -Oscar: Patty Duke in The Miracle Worker; Smackdown: [TIE] Duke and Angela Lansbury in The Manchurian Candidate
- 1963 -Margaret Rutherford in The VIPs; Smackdown: Lilia Skala in Lilies of the Field
- 1964 -Oscar AND Smackdown: Lila Kedrova in Zorba the Greek
- 1966 -Oscar AND Smackdown: Sandy Dennis in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
- 1967 -Oscar: Estelle Parsons in Bonnie & Clyde; Smackdown: Katharine Ross in The Graduate
- 1968 - Oscar AND Smackdown: Ruth Gordon in Rosemary's Baby
- 1969 -Oscar: Goldie Hawn in Cactus Flower; Smackdown: Susannah York in They Shoot Horses Don't They? •
Meryl's first Oscar (Kramer vs Kramer, 1979)1970s
- 1970 -Oscar: Helen Hayes in Airport; Smackdown: Lee Grant in The Landlord
- 1971 -Oscar AND Smackdown: Cloris Leachman in The Last Picture Show
- ...1972 -NEXT UP ON AUGUST 26TH, 2018
- 1973 -Oscar: Tatum O'Neal in Paper Moon; Smackdown: [TIE] O'Neal and Madeline Kahn in Paper Moon
- 1974 -Oscar: Ingrid Bergman in Murder on the Orient Express; Smackdown: Valentina Cortese in Day for Night
- 1975 -Oscar: Lee Grant in Shampoo; Smackdown: [SPECIAL AWARD] The Women of Nashville
- 1976 -Oscar: Beatrice Straight in Network; Smackdown: Piper Laurie in Carrie
- 1977 - Oscar AND Smackdown: Vanessa Redgrave in Julia
- 1978 -Oscar: Maggie Smith in California Suite; Smackdown: Maureen Stapleton in Interiors
- 1979 -Oscar AND Smackdown: Meryl Streep in Kramer vs Kramer
Anjelica won the Oscar but Oprah took the Smackdown for 19851980s
- 1980 -Oscar: Mary Steenburgen in Melvin & Howard; Smackdown: Eva le Galliene in Ressurection
- 1982 -Oscar: Jessica Lange in Tootsie; Smackdown: [TIE] Lange and Terri Garr in Tootsie
- 1983 -Oscar: Linda Hunt in The Year of Living Dangerously; Smackdown: [TIE] Hunt and Cher in Silkwood
- 1984 -Oscar: Peggy Ashcroft in A Passage to India; Smackdown: Christine Lahti in Swing Shift
- 1985 -Oscar: Anjelica Huston in Prizzi's Honor; Smackdown: Oprah Winfrey in The Color Purple
- 1988 -Oscar: Geena Davis in The Accidental Tourist; Smackdown: Sigourney Weaver in Working Girl
- 1989 -Oscar AND Smackdown: Brenda Fricker in My Left Foot
Dianne Wiest won the Oscar in a landslide but just barely held on to her Smackdown1990s
- 1990 -Oscar: Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost; Smackdown: Diane Ladd in Wild at Heart
- 1992 -Oscar: Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny; Smackdown: Judy Davis in Husbands and Wives
- 1993 -Oscar AND Smackdown: Anna Paquin in The Piano
- 1994 -Oscar AND Smackdown: Dianne Wiest in Bullets Over Broadway
- 1995 -Oscar: Mira Sorvino in Mighty Aphrodite; Smackdown: Mare Winningham in Georgia
- 1996 -Oscar: Juliette Binoche in The English Patient; Smackdown: Barbara Hershey in Portrait of a Lady
- 1999 -Oscar: Angelina Jolie in Girl, Interrupted; Smackdown: Toni Collette in The Sixth Sense
Jennifer Hudson won for her film debut in Dreamgirls. But the Smackdown went in a different surprising direction
2000s
- 2003 -Oscar:Renée Zellweger in Cold Mountain; Smackdown: Holly Hunter in thirteen
- 2006* -Oscar: Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls; Smackdown: Abigail Breslin in Little Miss Sunshine
- 2007* -Oscar AND Smackdown: Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton
- 2008* -Oscar AND Smackdown: Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona
- 2009* -Oscar AND Smackdown: Mo'nique in Precious
2010s
- 2016* -Oscar AND Smackdown: Viola Davis in Fences
- 2017* -Oscar: Allison Janney in I, Tonya; Smackdown: Laurie Metcalf in Lady Bird
THE YEARS THAT HAVEN'T YET BEEN DONE
RED = years we can't do (*cries*) because at least one of the films is not available (at all) OR far too expensive to obtain for the smackdown.
1937 -Alice Brady in In Old Chicago
1938 -Fay Bainter in Jezebel
1946 -Anne Baxter in The Razor's Edge
1947 -Celeste Holm in Gentleman's Agreement
1951 -Kim Hunter in A Streetcar Named Desire
1957 -Miyoshi Umeki in Sayonara
1960 -Shirley Jones in Elmer Gantry
1965 -Shelley Winters in A Patch of Blue
1981 -Maureen Stapleton in Reds
1986 -Dianne Wiest in Hannah and Her Sisters
1987 -Olympia Dukakis in Moonstruck
1991 -Mercedes Ruehl in The Fisher King
1997 -Kim Basinger in LA Confidential
1998 -Judi Dench in Shakespeare in Love
2000 -Marcia Gay Harden in Pollock
2001 -Jennifer Connelly in A Beautiful Mind
2002 -Catherine Zeta Jones in Chicago
Which of those 12 remaining years would you most like to read a Smackdown on?
Too Recent for a Retrospective
2004 - Cate Blanchett in The Aviator
2005 - Rachel Weisz in The Constant Gardener
2010 - Melissa Leo in The Fighter
2011 - Octavia Spencer in The Help
2012 - Anne Hathaway in Les Miserables
2013 - Lupita Nyong'o in 12 Years a Slave
2014 - Patricia Arquette in Boyhood
2015 - Alicia Vikander in The Danish Girl
Reader Comments (67)
1986 because that first Wiest win is one of my favorites of all time.
'97 was my first year of really getting interested in the Oscars. I was 11 and had seen three of the films so I felt like such an insider.
I'm happy with whatever years are chosen but being a classic movie lover my first picks would be '37, '38, '47 and '65.
I’ve been fortunate to have seen EVERY Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner and nominee since the inception of the category. It took several years, but it was an incredibly rewarding and instructive experience.
Of the years you have left, I’d advocate for ‘86, ‘91, and ‘47.
One of my most prized possessions is a painting my husband commissioned from a local artist featuring me with 4 of my favorite winners and one nominee. 😀
Remarkable that in all the years of smackdowns, there's been only two performances that got perfect, 5-star scores (Jean Hagen & Rita Moreno) and only one that got perfect, 1-star scores (Ingrid Bergman for Murder on the Orient Express).
I'm happy to read about any year (and to participate where I can), but I'd especially like to do 1965 (Peggy Wood and the Othello ladies!), 1981 and 1986. And, if Gaby is legally available, 1987.
Do 1947 and 1991.
I loved Stinky Lulu for bringing to light some obscure Oscar nominated performances.
I don't think 2004 is early for a retrospective!
I vote for '81 and '86. I really do not want to sit through Othello again or The Sound of Music, so '65 is a big no for me.
1947 would be my runner-up. Jus saw Gentleman's Agreement and wouldn't mind catching up on the other 3.
It’s really something to go back and read what people thought of Saoirse Ronan in Atonement knowing that she would go on to become one of the best actresses of the 2010s. “Well directed” is always the phrase thrown around for child performances, but in retrospect, that performance is AMAZING compared to her shockingly different follow-up work. I think it deserve
Sorry, forgot to finish that sentence: I think it deserves another look.
For what it's worth, I have a VHS copy (I have not one but two VCRS!) of "The Bachelor Party" (Carolyn Jones was the last nominated performance in this category I'd yet to see) and a shitty-yet-still-watchable DVD of "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs," both of which I'd be willing to mail out to you, Nathaniel, if and when you decide to do those respective years. Then you could mail it off to another panelist and so on until all the panelists have watched them. I also might have a DVD copy of "The Blue Veil," but I might have tossed it (I didn't care for it). But I did buy it fairly recently online, so you probably can still get it.
I don't see any reason we can't do Smackdowns for recent years. Good panelists will be able to evaluate performances and recognize trends regardless of the year.
‘38, ‘47, ‘65.
Joel - Well don't leave us in suspense! Who are your favorites? I'm dying to know!
Joel -- i second Suzanne's quesiton. Who is in the painting?!
Would most like to read a Smackdown about 1947, 1986, 1997 and 2001.
1981 please 😁
It's such a pity that you cannot visit 1952, for Kim Hunter's Stella in "A Streetcar Named Desire" is one of my favourite supporting actress performances EVERRRRRR. I have seen "Detective Story", and as much as I love Lee Grant, she cannot hold a candle to Kim's sensuous and pragmatic rendition of Stella. I look forward to your next reviews....