Vote on the '72 Smackdown
Friday, April 19, 2019 at 6:00PM The 1972 Smackdown was long delayed but it's finally happening a week from this Sunday on April 28th with this awesome panel. If you still want to play along you have time to vote...
- Jeannie Berlin, The Heartbreak Kid
- Eileen Heckart, Butterflies are Free [iTunes | Amazon]
- Geraldine Page, Pete N' Tillie
- Susan Tyrrel, Fat City [iTunes | Amazon]
- Shelley Winters, The Poseidon Adventure [iTunes | Amazon]
YOU (the collective you) are the final panelist for each smackdown so your votes count toward the outcome. To vote e-mail us with 1972 in the subject line by Friday April 26th. Give each performance that you've seen a 1-5 heart rating.
OTHER SUPPORTING WOMEN OF 1972 THAT WEREN'T NOMINATED ARE AFTER THE JUMP...
Marisa Bereson must have been very close to a nomination for "Cabaret"
Just for fun and if you have some spare screening time (haha, I know right), here are the only other 8 supporting performances I could find that were honored in some way that year. There weren't even a tenth as many awards bodies around in the early 70s -- even the Los Angeles Film Critics Association hadn't started up yet!) -- so there aren't as many people who are documented as being "in the discussion" as there would be in any contemporary year.
- Sian Barbara Allen, You'll Like My Mother (Globe "promising newcomer" nominee)
- Marisa Berenson, Cabaret (Globe nominee, BAFTA nominee, NBR win... so the obvious just-miss of the year for the Oscar nomination in this category) [Filmstruck | Amazon]
- Mary Costa, The Great Waltz (Globe "promising newcomer" nominee - this might be a leading role? I'm not familiar with this movie but it's about the composer Johann Strauss and she plays his mistress. Costa was not principally an actress but an opera singer and also the voice of Aurora in Disney's Sleeping Beauty !)
- Madeline Kahn, What's Up Doc? (Globe "promising newcomer" nominee) [Amazon | Filmstruck]
- Helen Kallianiotes , Kansas City Bomber (Globe nominee) [Amazon]
- Ida Lupino, Junior Bonner (runner up at both National Society of Film Critics AND New York Film Critics Circle)
- Victoria Principal, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (Globe "promising newcomer" nominee)
- Cybill Shepherd, The Heartbreak Kid (National Society of Film Critics, 4th place)
Other actresses in supporting roles that year...
Diane Keaton received no honors for her performance in "The Godfather"
- Ellen Burstyn, The King of Marvin Gardens [Filmstruck]
- Ava Gardner, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean
- Blythe Danner, 1776 [iTunes]
- Diane Keaton, The Godfather [iTunes]
- Sissy Spacek, Prime Cut
- Sally Struthers, The Getaway [iTunes]
- Louise Lasser and Lynn Redgrave in Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex... [iTunes]
- Susan Anspach and Diane Keaton, Play it Again Sam [iTunes]
- Nell Potts and Roberta Wallach, The Effect of Gamma Rays...
- Virna Lisi and Raquel Welch, Bluebeard
- Carol Lynley and Stella Stevens, The Poseidon Adventure
And once again we weep at how hard it is to find certain movies to stream or buy affordably! How, pray tell, are Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Richard Burton, and Joanne Woodward movies from 1972 or Oscar favorites like The Heartbreak Kid unavailable period OR if they are available $50 and up?!
Reader Comments (48)
One of the five Oscar nominees is among my all-time favorite Best Supporting Actress contenders - and another one would win for me in most other years.
Also memorable this year:
Joan Collins (TALES FROM THE CRYPT)
Barbara Leigh-Hunt (FRENZY)
Charlotte Rampling (ASYLUM)
Talia Shire (THE GODFATHER)
I agree this will be a close race. I have to say having watched the nominees this list is rather impressive. Other than one standout for the wrong reasons this list is acceptable unlike the last smackdown covered.
I will say that I wish Madeline, Stephane Audran (Discreet Charm), Vivien Merchant (Frenzy) and Ida Lupino could've happened. Especially Madeline who's the most genius comedic actress I've ever seen in film. Her abilities are unrivaled and the fact we lose her sooner than her still upsets me.
madeline kahn - shoulda been nominated, shoulda won.
As of right now, "Heartbreak" and "Pete n Tillie" are pretty easy to find to stream online.
Keaton is better in The Godfather Part II. She has this amazing fight with Pacino that gives me chills every time.
Speaking of figths, have you guys seen Pete 'n' Tillie or not yet?
Peggy Sue I so agree on Keaton in Part II. How Shire got the nomination is beyond me.
It's sad that two Oscar nominees are not widely available but if anyone's struggling both are watchable on youtube.
Like almost everyone else, I think Madeline Kahn should have been nominated and would have won for What's Up, Doc
My other four: Nell Potts (The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds); Roberta Wallach (The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds); Cybill Shepherd (The Heartbreak Kid): Claire Bloom (Limelight) (hey, she WAS eligible!)
And: Karen Black (Portnoy's Complaint), Bulle Ogier (The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie); Monica Zetterlund (The Emigrants); Carmen Mathews (Sounder)
Too bad Cries and Whispers has to wait until 1973. Otherwise Harriett Andersson would be my #1 choice
Eoin-it is so bone-headed to me that AMPAS keeps changing its rules to become "relevant" when it could serve a public good by starting a movement to get every Oscar-nominated film onto streaming outlets or home release. It'd be modern, get press, and bring classic cinema to the world at large.
Such a lackluster batch of nominees. The balloting must have been very close in 1972 with so many deserving performances passed over.
Of the nominees, Susan Tyrrell is my clear choice.
Such odd movies in the line up.
Diane Keaton received no honors for her performance in "The Godfather"
Her character is a weak link in the franchise.
Eileen Heckart
John T - what an obvious and apt suggestion, it really is ridiculous that The Academy doesn't make access to nominated films more of a priority.
I liked Eileen Heckart's win at the time, (she livens up the film), but Madeline Kahn was divine.
I wish there was an institute or critics group that preserved and celebrated just comedies.
Cary Grant, Madeline Kahn, Catherine O'Hara, Hugh Grant, comedy just never gets the recognition it deserves. Such stupid snobbery.
Talia Shire - The Godfather
Charlotte Rampling - Asylum
Maria Schneider - Last Tango in Paris
Monica Zetterlund - Nybyggarna
Poor Ida Lupino just couldn't catch a break with the Academy! Runner up for two of the most prestigious award bodies and still no nomination? She's so good in the film too. Along with Marisa Berenson and Madeline Kahn she must have been close to getting in. A classic case of always being excellent in her work so it's expected and garners no awards acknowledgement-See Myrna Loy!
The King of Marvin Gardens is not a film for everyone and I think that hurt Ellen Burstyn's chances but she is wonderful in the movie.
I'd also say Uta Hagen could have been in the conversation for The Other, though its a genre the Academy usually ignores.
The Berenson snub. Could it be that they were not into awarding young hot actresses yet? It feels like they saved the category for kids and veterans for the entire decade.
I expect once Smackdowners are confronted with Susan Tyrrell's stunning, emotionally naked work in "Fat City", she'll win this one hands down. If I had to choose the greatest supporting actress performances of all-time Tyrrell would be right up there near the top. Plus "Fat City"s a sensational movie - one of John Huston's top achievements - and Stacy Keach is beyond remarkable in it.
I watched The Heartbreak Kid on YouTube just yesterday and saw Pete N Tillie there in July. Both in fairly good prints for You Tube!
I love Geraldine Page but she received some strange nominations. Pete N' Tillie isn't the best showcase of her talent.
@Ken: agree that Susan Tyrell is terrific in Fat City - and that the movie itself is exceptional.
Just a note about the 1943 Smackdown. For all of you who have never seen The Ox-Bow Incident, and are wondering why so many of us were raving about Jane Darwell's performance, it will be shown on TCM on Aug 22 at 8:00 Eastern time.
My line up: Heckart, Winters, Kahn, Bondarchuk (from Solaris, who some would put in '71), Keaton. I haven't seen the other three nominees though, and I'm going to track them down if they get praise in the Smackdown. (As I side note, I often *hate* Winters but she was terrific here.)
Also forgot to mention - to those who weren't as impressed with Keaton, I would say her final shot, where it seems to dawn on her that she has walked into a life outside of her control, still resonates. I think it's one of the most telling moments of the trilogy.
Nell Potts ("The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds) is the stage name for Elinor Newman, daughter of Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman.
She didn't make acting her career as an adult. She won the Rachel Carson Award from the National Audubon Society in 2014.
I echo eurocheese re: Winters - I actually think she's leaps and bounds better here than in her two Oscar-winning turns. Even so, she isn't quite my #1 in this category...
eurocheese: I feel that too about the final shot! I think Keaton would have been a worthy nominee for her performance in The Godfather.
/3rtful: I don't think she is. I think she's crucial, because she is our surrogate - the outsider trying to make head or tail of what this giant Mafia family is up to.
Manuel: Don't you think that Maria Schneider is a lead in Last Tango in Paris? (I think she's good in it either way, and even better in The Passenger.)
eurocheese -- Of course! That's a great shot and an iconic end, but in terms of "acting" with a capital A -as they love in the Academy- I prefer the fight in Part II
I never remember Keaton or Shires scenes in The Godfather films just the men esp Caan in the first and Gazzo in the 2nd.
Madeline Kahn....
Geraldine Page
Both hilarious comic performances
Eileen Heckart shoulda won for the Bad Seed so it was a great consolation prize
No mention of Talia Shire at all? Who curiously got the nod for the sequel but I always found her much better in the first one
I'm all for the Heckart win. It is physically a great performance, playing off Goldie's manic butterfly. For me, Berlin is the weakest of the five. Kahn should have been nominated for basically everything. Is it wrong that I think Shelley Winters is really kind of awesome in the Poseidon Adventure?
I know her part is really brief, but Isabel Sanford's snuffing madam in "Lady Sings the Blues," was hilarious. And dare I suggest Edith Massey in "Pink Flamingos?" And if Mama Corleone had been given some screen time, jazz singer Morgana King (7 years younger than Brando) might have been a great character to consider.
As a little boy watching my second broadcast, I was devastated by the losses of Shelley Winters and Diana Ross. And how rude was Robert Duvall while presenting Best Supporting Actress? And how arrogant was Raquel Welch's "Let's hope she hasn't got a cause," comment while presenting Best Actress? And Clint Eastwood's comment on "cowboys being shot in John Ford westerns?"
Talia Shire in "The Godfather?" Her presence on screen was so attenuated that Pauline Kael latter called it an instance of reverse nepotism. It's one of the only flaws in that film. Structurally, Connie is very important, but the character barely gets a close up. If later roles didn't belie it, one would think Coppola cast her because she was his sister, but then she couldn't act so he had to all but cut her out of the film.
O/T but Peter Bradshaw is up on youtube raving about A Star Is Born. The hype is real.
I am for Heckart--she is just a delight in this. I have a soft spot for Stella Stevens--she has so many great moments in TPA. I love Shelley, but I think Stella is even better.
brookesboy: Better, and also kind of terrible. I was drawn to Stevens performance, for sure.
Noooo, pushed back again! This is one of my most anticipated smackdowns in some time, and it keeps getting rescheduled! I can't wait - but I guess I'll have to.
As much as I love Keaton, she should have been nominated for Part II (and not the first movie), for the Beatrice Straight-like scene with Pacino. It's the best scene of her career, and the best scene of Pacino's career, too. Maybe the best scene between two actors Coppola has ever directed. It's one the best scenes ever. I remember the impact of the first time I saw it like I am seeing the scene now.
Eileen Heckart #1
I, too, loved Kahn.
Rob -- it couldn't be helped sorry.
How can Diane Keaton been ignored she was sooo great in The Godfather perhaps that's why (and I love her in Annie Hall don't get me wrong) she won that Oscar so quickly
It's so weird to me that Susan Tyrell was ever nominated for an Oscar.
I get sad whenever I'm reminded that Marisa Bereson was not nominated for Cabaret :/
Eunice Burn is probably my favorite female comedic performance of all time. I said it. Should have won.
I'm also shocked that there was no Diane Keaton. Dang.
Marisa Berenson-Cabaret
Diane Keaton/Talia Shire-The Godfather
Kari Sylwan-Cries & Whispers
Irm Hermann-The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
There's a great actress missing from this list: Margaret Leighton in "X, Y & Zee". She was also in "Lady Caroline Lamb" the same year.
All leads were terrific in this film, Liz Taylor, Michael Caine and Susannah York. Taylor's performace was also worthy of Best Actress consideration. She was basically reworking her "Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf" antics. Susannah York was should also be in this list too.
Fun fact: Leighton was married to Taylor's ex-husband, Michael Wilding.
I agree about the disappointment of streaming in general. The streaming giants really should have all titles available. That’s what I was expecting in streaming’s infancy. Instead we get a lot of recent straight to video junk and tons of tv shows.
I got The Heartbreak Kid from our local video store - Video Vortex
For Pete ‘n’ Tillie— I was in Seattle and rented it from the amazing video store in the U District— SCARECROW VIDEO They have EVERYTHING. like 130K titles. Over 10x as many as amazon, etc. they r awesome. Wish there were here.
What a funny little factoid from today's podcast re: that none of the nominees here were from any of the Best Picture nominees. One of the reasons I like this lineup is because it's such a grab-bag of different cinematic styles - without any stuffy Oscar-baity stuff (no bio-pics). It's downright refreshing.