Smackdown '47: Anne, Ethel, Marge, Celeste Holm and noir goddess Gloria Grahame
Friday, May 29, 2020 at 9:30AM IT'S HERE! Welcome to the Supporting Actress Smackdown, a summer festival in which we investigate Oscar shortlists from years past. 1947 was a fine cinematic vintage and Oscar made room for a ghostly judge's wife, a countrified mother of 15, a jaded dance hall girl, a single New York City fashion editor, and a righteous rock of a mother in the Supporting Actress race. What's most historically interesting about this particular set is that it's a who's-who of character actress superstars of the 1940s. Get this: all but one of them won this category and received multiple nominations within an eight year span from the mid 40s to the early 50s.
THIS MONTH'S PANELISTS
Here to talk about these five nominated turns and the movies and Oscars of 1947 are, in alphabetical order: critic Angelica Jade Bastién (Vulture), actress Dana Delany (China Beach, Desperate Housewives), lyricist and librettist Thomas Mizer (The Marvelous Mrs Maisel), and actor Patrick Vaill (Broadway's Tony-winning revival of Oklahoma), And, as ever, your host at The Film Experience, Nathaniel R. Let's begin...
1947
SUPPORTING ACTRESS SMACKDOWN + PODCAST
The companion podcast can be downloaded at the bottom of this article or by visiting the iTunes page...
Ethel Barrymore as "Lady Sophie Horfield" in The Paradine Case
Synopsis: A judge's mistreated wife is fascinated with his current murder trial.
Stats: Then 68 yrs old, 21st film, 5th billed. Third (of four) nominations in this category all within a six year span in the forties. 4 minutes of screen time (or 3% of the running time)
Angelica Jade Bastién: Ethel Barrymore plays Lady Sophie Horfield with a tremulous, nervous energy that immediately makes legible the dark aspects of her marriage. There is a tragic, said air that Barrymore imbues the character with. Unfortunately, she’s in two thin scenes and we don’t get to spend much time with her character in order to flesh her out further. ♥♥
Dana Delany: The remarkable thing about Barrymore’s performance is how much she conveys in such little screen time. Evidently the Academy was shown Hitchcock’s longer cut in which she had two more scenes, hence the nomination. But it doesn’t matter because her pas de deux with Charles Laughton is terrifying. She knows her husband is a lecherous sadist but is paralyzed by his abuse. She stutters and apologizes and longs for the young man she loved. But she knows he no longer exists. “Doesn’t life punish us enough Tony?” Her final exit is like a ghost, slipping away. ♥♥♥♥
Tom Mizer: It’s hard to say “Ethel Barrymore” without doing a grand bow to the balcony—so when her character first appears so inconsequential and dithery, I was disappointed. But then I recognized a look in her eye, that of an abused puppy, wanting love but fearful. It’s a small detail that lingers. In a later scene, Laughton doesn’t even seem to notice she’s in the same movie, let alone a longterm marriage. Barrymore’s quick brushstrokes help us see this as a choice and fill in a lifetime of neglect. It’s smart character work that supports theme (smart women kept out of a wealthy man’s world), but this near cameo doesn’t allow her to do much else. . ♥♥♥
Patrick Vaill: This is a headscratcher for me. She's Ethel Barrymore, I get that, but surely there were other performances that could have made this list! She's good, no doubt, but this feels a bit like Ellen Burstyn's 14 second Emmy nominated performance. There's much subtext that she's able to bring out in that last scene, but it feels like a perfunctory nom, like Judi Dench in Mrs. Henderson Presents or Chocoloat. Her eyes are glorious and she is every inch worthy of her legend, but I can't get behind a role this insubstantial being nominated, regardless of the actor. This movie is interesting to me and I really liked it. Apparently its budget doubled over the course of the shoot and the whole thing sounds a bit of a nightmare! Gregory Peck is really gorgeous in both movies. ♥♥
Nathaniel R: I'll say this: despite what is at best an incomplete performance (I didn't know until after viewing that her scenes had been cut and boy does it show in retrospect) she leaves a gossamer haunted impression anyway. She reminded me of Vanessa Redgrave in Howards End, off in her own meditative longing just to the side of the tangled earthier mess all around her. Torn between two and three hearts I opted for generosity due to that fleeting bit where this delicate creature is clearly fantasizing about poisoning her husband. ♥♥♥
Reader Write-Ins: " Nice to see her give it a go against type." - Debby (Reader average: ♥♥½)
Actress earns 16½ ❤s
Gloria Grahame as "Ginny" in Crossfire
Synopsis: A dance hall girl wants nothing to do with the murder investigation she accidentally steps into when she invites a soldier to her place.
Stats: Then 24 yrs old, 5th film, 4th billed. Her first (of two) nominations in this category - she won the second time. 10 minutes of screentime (or 11% of the running time)
Angelica Jade Bastién: Gloria Grahame is an actress that reminds me why I love film in the first place. She undoubtedly gives the most fully realized, multi-faceted performance finding the fault lines of moral complexity and yearning in a figure that could be so easily played at a single register. She’s prickly, knowing, sexy, and carries all that wrapped up in a sullen quality. This is a woman who within a few seconds of seeing Grahame you can understand the totality of the life she’s lived and the things she desires. She’s bursting with such energy and intriguing bramble it’s easy to imagine her leading a film of her own. I could watch Gloria Grahame move for hours on end and still want more. ♥♥♥♥
Dana Delany: Disclaimer: Anyone who knows me, knows Gloria Grahame is my favorite actress. Crossfire is where Grahame establishes her film noir credentials. Right from her golden halo entrance she finds the perfect balance of toughness and vulnerability. But absolutely no sentiment which I adore. She’s got a chip on her shoulder because she’s had to support herself her whole life and she doesn’t belong to any man. When she finally allows, “I liked him. I felt sorry for him” the clouds part for a second and then the sun is gone. One thing I found fascinating about these 1947 films is the way the woman have to “manage” the men. It’s after the war and all the upper-class women must behave and find a way to get what they need somewhat surreptitiously. I appreciate that Grahame’s Ginny has no time for that. ♥♥♥♥♥
Tom Mizer: Her horn blaring, shock of blonde entrance is a lot to live up to. And boy does Grahame scrap and punch to deliver. She’s a live wire, just when the film needs her to break up its talky, repetitive rhythms. She poses, she jabs, she lets silences unsettle—and then she herself is caught speechless for a moment by the gentleness of a dance. In that moment, she gives us a glimpse of the girl from Wilkes-Barre. It’s a lot of performance, but isn’t the character performing for her life? When the film leaves her behind, I wanted to be left with her.. ♥♥♥♥
Patrick Vaill: This movie is gorgeous to look at and I think it's good. It feels sometimes self-conscious of its being the first movie to confront antisemitism-like it's thrilled by its own daring. Traffic is a movie that feels that way too sometimes. Grahame is so fascinating. I think in all of her work she has a strength and a withholding quality that seems borne out of experience; experience that she'll never tell. Her unknowability is used well here. She often seems tormented and uninterested in being 'saved', which I like. She finds strength in her vulnerability, if that makes sense. I wish she had more to chew on here but she's captivating I think it's a good nomination! ♥♥♥
Nathaniel R: She gets the kind of dreamy "star" introductory scene (beginning with a true close up blurring into focus and ending with a slow dissolve on her face) that suggests that the director and cinematographer are going to be doing half the work for the actor. But Grahame is no slouch and their assistance feels like gilding the lily. Especially since this lily doesn't like all the fuss of gilding. The world weary vibe here is incredible as is the push-pull of the carelessly fast way she lets a soldier in to her heart and how the demands of her flirty dance hall job are at war with a default hostility. ♥♥♥♥
Reader Write-Ins: "Nobody's asking for a three-dimensional take on a taxi dancer in a B movie in the '40s. But Gloria Grahame doesn't phone it in, dammit, so we get smarts in a "dumb blonde" archetype, strength when everyone is trying to manipulate her, and interiority for a role intended to be all surface." - James P. (Reader average: ♥♥♥⅓)
Actress earns 23⅓ ❤s
Celeste Holm as "Anne Dettrey" in Gentleman's Agreement
Synopsis: A good time city girl and successful fashion editor pines for a crusading journalist at her magazine.
Stats: Then 30 yrs old, 3rd film, 4th billed. First (of three) nominations in this category. 14 minutes of screen time (or 12% of the running time).
Angelica Jade Bastién: I loved Celeste Holm’s energy and style in this film. She’s a breath of fresh air. Holm also nails her final monologue that concerns her tangled feelings for Gregory Peck’s character and how to root out antisemitism in a way that is fully realized. ♥♥♥
Dana Delany: This was Holm’s third film and there is a Broadway brassiness to it. She is “clever, beautiful and dangerous.” I understand why she won the Oscar. She has the 11 o’clock Moss Hart speech in a prestige film. And she knows how to deliver it righteously, with just enough mist in her eyes. I always find Holm’s to be a bit too shiny and bright. It feels a bit crafted, but it definitely works. I also get why Holm went back to the stage after getting slotted in the gal pal role too much. ♥♥♥♥
Tom Mizer: If they gave Oscars for who I’d most want to have drinks with, here’s your winner by a landslide. She’s fast, funny, and wounded—like watching the first seeds of Sex and the City being planted in Bryant Park. Holm breathes life into the New York gal details and knows when to step back and be just one of the magazine gang (in her first scene, her hair says more than she does). But I think the screenplay lets her down in the end. Her last big scene is full of hairpin turns and she holds tight and flies around them, but the character she’s built just barely keeps together.. ♥♥♥
Patrick Vaill: She is so alive and so easy. She swaggers, basically, and it's so unlike any other actor's energy except maybe Rosalind Russell. She has no interest in proving herself to anyone and that moxie gives this movie so much. That last scene is so good and she's so good in it because you see in the beginning what she wants, but then she puts that want on the back-burner, waiting until her moment. Like Revere, Kazan has focused her so clearly that what we see is an actor bringing her character to fruition. That speech is wild and she so easily mixes the charm and the hardness. Really marvelous. I want to also mention that June Havoc is excellent. ♥♥♥♥♥
Nathaniel R: She's in less of the movie than I'd remembered but she paints such a complete picture, if you care to look, of a single professional and progressive city girl. Her charismatic editor compartmentalizes well and knows herself, too. Gentleman's Agreement would be so much less satisfying without her final scene where she lays her heart on the line, gingerly but bravely, knowing full well that it'll be trampled. Hey, she's gotta try! It's a rarely seen crystallization of the go-getter spirit when there is no getting but merely going (Anne has been here before and probably will be again.) I longed for a spin-off romantic comedy where someone would choose her. Catch up, men, catch up. ♥♥♥♥
Reader Write-Ins: "Holm’s blend of intelligence and charisma make her an easy winner for me. A strong field even if the actresses are all somewhat limited by their scripts. " - Ray L (Reader average: ♥♥♥♥¼)
Actress earns 23¼ ❤s
Marjorie Main as "Phoebe 'Ma' Kettle" in The Egg and I
Synopsis: A poor farm wife and mother of 15 (!) befriends a neighbor who is having trouble acclimating to the farm-wife life.
Stats: Then 57 yrs old, 51st film, 3rd billed. First and only nomination. 11 minutes of screentime (or 10% of the running time.)
Angelica Jade Bastién: Marjorie Main as Ma Kettle is one of the most grating, broadly rendered rural stereotypes I’ve witnessed in a while. I must admit that I am finding it hard to judge Marjorie Main by her own merits considering I found the film a hellish journey through the dregs of patriarchal expectations placed on women. ♥
Dana Delany: Main makes a great entrance and never stops. She is a wild-eyed dervish with a low-slung bosom that she is constantly itching for fleas. She is rough and tumble and laughs at life. It’s clear why Ma and Pa Kettle had nine spin off movies of their own. Main takes what could have been a bumpkin caricature and infuses her with a generosity of spirit. And seems to be having great fun with absolutely no vanity. It’s not easy to raise fifteen kids! I laugh when I think of Percy Kilbride who played Pa, quitting the role after “Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki.” I mean, c’mon! ♥♥♥♥
Tom Mizer: Is it wrong to give an extra half star for not giving in to all the prejudiced stereotypes she could have? Others in this movie certainly don’t hesitate to wallow. Main brings unexpected warmth, weight and history to the hillbilly archetype. She employs a mean change up to pitch laughs. (Watch how she undersells a “joke” line then swipes a table clean in a clattering rimshot.) And she out-Streeps Streep when she rubs at her tattered clothes and sagging breast the first time she’s in the mortifyingly, gorgeous presence of Claudette Colbert. This is a stage pro at work...but this sitcom doesn’t have enough air to really let her fly. ♥♥♥
Patrick Vaill: I liked this and her performance! Her first scene is so great and her energy is so warm and loose-it brings something really bouncy and special to the movie. Where some actors use moments of introspection to reveal a darkness or something subversive, she seems to use it to reveal a kindness, a gentleness. I like that. It is such a special piece of work. Her boob scratch in her first scene made me howl on my couch. She anchors the chaos surrounding her gorgeously and gives kind of comedy performance from a spring movie that makes me so happy when it's nominated. And it became a franchise, which I also love. ♥♥♥♥
Nathaniel R: That the dud of this particular shortlist is still a warm lively performance means Oscar's acting branch did pretty well in '47. This is cartoonishgly broad, yes, but Marjorie does manages to surprise twice by letting the hilbilly shtick drop when "Ma" is taken off guard -- first with the sudden realization that her son doesn't belong in her world (maybe he should be in college) and then by a surprise win at a local fair (her reaction is sweetly shy). ♥♥
Reader Write-Ins: "Pretty broad of course, but she's creating something here and I think she succeeds with a sympathetic reading..." -Troy B (Reader average: ♥♥♥)
Actress earns 17 ❤s
Anne Revere as "Mrs Greene" in Gentleman's Agreement
Synopsis: The ill tough mother of a journalist supports him through a difficult time and longs to see a more tolerant world.
Stats: Then 44 yrs old, 28th film, 5th billed. Third (and final) nomination in this category. 19 minutes of screentime (or 16% of the running time.)
Angelica Jade Bastién: Anne Revere turns in a sturdy performance that is undergirded by an essential morality and strength I found fascinating. I wasn’t blown away by her work but she is an essential aspect to the film itself and fills the role admirably. ♥♥♥
Dana Delany: I find Anne Revere’s performance even more moving, knowing what happen to her 4 years later. Kazan named names, she didn’t and was blacklisted. She didn’t make another movie for 20 years. In her final speech she says, “I want to be around to see what happens. (It’ll be) EVERYBODY’S CENTURY.” Not quite. I appreciate how real and no-nonsense she is. She doesn’t play “movie maternal.” Maybe because she was only 13 years older than Peck. She’s a wonderful listener and brings authentic human behavior to the part. (But because she has a natural intensity, I think I prefer her in slightly unhinged roles, like the mother in A Place in the Sun. A movie where her part was cut to nothing after HUAC and yet she is memorable.) ♥♥♥♥
Tom Mizer: Sure she seems a bit too young but THAT is what I imagine when I think Gregory Peck’s mother. She smartly mirrors his physical and emotional uprightness. But she’s not just a reflection, she has a humor and history and pain all her own. We see it in how she is always busied with multiple thoughts and props and actions. And we feel it in her impassioned (nearly impossibly preachy) final speech, that she somehow fills with rage and specificity. I swear I could see some long-ago breadlines in her eyes. The quality of her performance helps me believe our lead would do what he does—and that seems almost textbook exemplary supporting ♥♥♥♥
Patrick Vaill: I love this performance. She's like a patrician Thelma Ritter and such a great listener. Her early scene at the breakfast table listening to Peck explain antisemitism is so good without her even saying a word. Her last scene, too, is remarkable and moving, an expression of something she was building so quietly that you didn't notice until she shared it. Kazan's direction of actors is so focused and keeps them so attuned to what they're doing in their lives. Gregory Peck may be the moral center in this movie, but she is its conscience and as an actor shows such skill in conveying that with ease. She is great. ♥♥♥♥
Nathaniel R: When I'm searching for photos to illustrate these posts, I have to skim back through the movies for a variety of stills. It was frustrating here. Gentleman's Agreement isn't doing any work to elevate this great actress, always letting others share her frames or the focus. But that said, Revere was ALWAYS inhabiting this tough woman beautifully, and with all sorts of three-dimensional non-stock feeling. I particularly loved watching her watch her own son parenting. She has a few notes but she'll keep them to herself unless he asks. Mostly she knows she did a damn fine job of raising the hero and she's proud that he's following suit. ♥♥♥♥
Reader Write-Ins: "Nobody plays the understanding mother better and she nails all aspects of her character, the love and understanding for her son, the willingness to believe." - Daniel O. (Reader average: ♥♥¾)
Actress earns 21¾ ❤s
Celeste Holm won the Oscar. And though the reader vote was passionate about her (Holm handily wins there) the talking-head panel was otherwise slightly more obsessed. Gloria Grahame wins the Smackdown in a crazy tight squeaker, it came down a third of a heart (Graham) versus a fourth of a heart (Holm) in the end. Both are special actresses and we love a truly competitive race.
THE FULL PODCAST CONVERSATION
Download at the bottom of this post 👇 or on iTunes to hear the in-depth discussion.
NEXT UP: The 2002 Oscar race will be discussed on Wednesday, June 17th. Watch Chicago, About Schmidt, Adaptation, and The Hours before then to maximize your pleasure. [All Previous Smackdowns]
Reader Comments (54)
That's a tight race. While I prefer Holm's work to Grahame's, I can't say I'm mad at the results. Great smackdown, as always.
My votes:
1) Celeste Holm in GENTLEMAN’S AGREEMENT, ♥♥♥♥♥ (5 hearts)
In a film full of stuffy archetypes and bloodless moralizing, Celeste Holm’s Anne is a person who lives and breathes, a human. Truth be told, Gentleman’s Agreement doesn’t deserve her fiery blast of sarcasm and sensuality, a platonic ideal of actressing on the edges that is often the only thing standing between the picture and utter mediocrity. She takes a role that could have been a clichéd non-entity and makes it specific, makes it powerful and makes it true. Moreover, she makes it look easy, nailing the shifting tones of her last scene like few actresses could. Funny, sexy, brassy and rueful, Holm is perfect.
2) Gloria Grahame in CROSSFIRE, ♥♥♥♥ (4 hearts)
Blessed with the visage of a cherubic femme fatale and a talent for suggesting bruised humanity, Gloria Grahame was the perfect actress for the murky cosmos of film noir. Despite only having a couple of scenes in Crossfire, her characterization is solid and sharp, creating a world-weary woman who has known pain and is reluctant to experience it again. There’s sorrow in her performance, a longing that is all the more fascinating because it coexists with lived-in cynicism. She’s a mystery and a shock, a soul who lives in the margins of this story but could be the subject of a whole movie.
3) Ethel Barrymore in THE PARADINE CASE, ♥♥♥ (3 hearts)
With a role that was mostly left on the cutting room floor, Ethel Barrymore is as nervous as she is unnerving. Her Lady Horfield is a spectral whisper of a woman, someone so used to abuse that she made herself into little more than a ghost in her own house. The Paradine Case’s neurotic procedural sees Hitchcock portray marriage as a beastly horror, and Barrymore shines as both a beacon of sincere kindness and the most obvious victim of the monster that is matrimony. Despite her limited screen time and unsubstantial role, Barrymore leaves a haunting impression.
4) Marjorie Main in THE EGG AND I, ♥♥ (2 hearts)
From this supporting role an entire franchise was born. For that bit of career reinvigoration virtually unparalleled among Old Hollywood character actors, I must applaud Marjorie Main’s Ma Kettle. That said, this is a very broad comedic turn that often errs on the side of exaggeration, telegraphing jokes with too much force and little to no finesse. It’s in the quieter moments that Maine shines best, when she’s allowed to intercut her rough matriarch shtick with whispers of tenderness, reticent pride and a surprising bit of bashfulness. For a few short-lasting instants, she makes this hillbilly caricature into a person. I only wish there were more of those instants.
5) Anne Revere in GENTLEMAN’S AGREEMENT, ♥♥ (2 hearts)
Because I’ve seen her two other Oscar anointed performances, I feel a bit bored by Revere in Gentleman’s Agreement. She repeats the same notes of maternal sturdiness and finds next to no variation between her many movie mothers. Still, that feels unfair towards Revere, almost as if I’m judging her career rather than her individual work. For what it’s worth, this is a solid effort and she’s a great listener, while also finding the right tone of impassionate moral rectitude for her last scene. In the end, I wonder who this woman is beyond a supportive mother. I get a feeling the actress might have figured that out but the movie never lets her flesh out the character.
Celeste’s performance is great and my personal favorite, but I can’t begrudge Gloria the win! Glad they both won in the end.
I too think the Academy got this one right, though are no shortage of pleasures to be found in all five of these performances, including Barrymore's cameo.
This was fun. Thanks to all the participants for their write-ups.
I would have loved a whole other post on each of the performances. But this is great! I have not watched the movie, but what did Celeste Holm do there?!
Happy to see my personal top two be so neck and neck for the win. Was hoping Holm would pull it out but can’t be begrudging about Grahame who is really wonderful in Crossfire. A strong field of actors and performances where everyone manages a full characterization in spite of some of them being limited by their scripts. Thanks for including my quote Nathaniel!
As always, thanks for hosting these! They are so enjoyable. Glad to see my top two go neck and neck in this vintage -- and thanks for using my quote!
James & Ray -- my pleasure. Holm is my favourite so i was a bit sad to see her lose but i gave them the same rating because we dont do half stars or what not so it's partially my fault. ;)
Rama -- there's a lot more discussion of the performances on the actual podcast so i think you'll enjoy.
andrew - yup. i think it's a really good vintage.
Really loved this. The further back in film the smaller my viewings become. Prior to the announcement of this smackdown I'd only seen like 5 films from 47 and now I've seen at least over 100 others. I'm thrilled to see the top two so close because they really were great. Looking forward to 2002 because having re-watched all five films my opinions sort've changed from what I thought the last time I'd watched them.
Ethel Barrymore, The Paradine Case:
Blink and you’ll miss almost the entirty of Barrymore’s performance. I for one will never complain about a small performance getting in supporting as this is the category where they belong. I will say against Barrymore is there’s nothing entirely standout or memorable about this role. In her three scenes she’s asked to play a dumb and unknowing wife of the judge (Charles Laughton). I can’t even give credit to Barrymore for making me want to know more about the character as she’s sort’ve written into a corner and never being able to get out. The character is played as the butt of a joke and I don’t get this nomination. With Ann Todd doing far greater work in a supporting role in the same film this nomination feels even more unearned.
Rating: 2 stars
Gloria Grahame, Crossfire:
Only being in two scenes Grahame is tremendous in Crossfire. Even with such little screen time she plays both the overused woman of the night and the damaged little girl wanting for more in life. Grahame an actress I’ve seen a few times on screen shows why she’s one of classic noir actors. Her second scene where she’s questioned by the wife of the accused and the detective investigating the case you see a great display of diversity. I’d seen Crossfire before and I was thankful to see it again as Grahame + the picture are so good. While I hate remakes can I request we get a remake of Crossfire sticking true to the source material about a gay man being killed instead of a Jew. I enjoyed the change but I think someone like a Todd Haynes could easily direct a more faithful remake.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Celeste Holm, Gentleman’s Agreement:
As a person who considers Elia Kazan the greatest film director to ever live I have to admit to being quite unimpressed with his first academy award winning feature. While the film was mostly dull the same cannot be said about Oscar winner Celeste Holm. She shouts her way into the film at the 52 minute mark and the times she’s featured for the rest of the film was when I felt invested in the film. Holm is a delightful presence in the film up until her final scene where the true nature of her character is exposed when she comes forward about her true feelings towards our main character. The expert delivery by Holm is rather affecting and understandable why she claimed this years award. It’s not a particularly special role, however Holm makes the role feel new due to her great skill as a performer.
Rating: 4 stars
Marjorie Main, The Egg and I:
Playing what would eventually become a spin off character Main brings a full character creation throughout this film. She’s a lot of fun in the film whether it’s her introduction scene as she literally throughs an object at her kids or the scene at the dance where she’s surrounded by all her children. She’s good in the film but sometimes the performance hits just the one note and there’s nothing other for her to play other than the wild southern woman.
Rating: 2 stars
Anne Revere, Gentleman’s Agreement:
Always type cast as the loving mother Revere by this nomination had perfected the loving mother role (winning 2 years prior). She quickly makes an impression in the film and just as quick she becomes less of a focus from the plot. I will say though each time we return to Revere she provides a comfort and I wasn’t complaining each time she appeared. In her final scene when she’s proud of her son this emotion rang true as we’d seen Peck’s character struggle but more importantly we’d seen the levels Revere would go to care for her family. While not a terribly difficult task being asked of Revere I have to give credit to her strong maternal work.
Rating: 3 stars
Ranking:
1. Celeste Holm, Gentleman’s Agreement
2. Gloria Grahame, Crossfire
3. Anne Revere, Gentleman’s Agreement
4. Marjorie Main, The Egg and I
5. Ethel Barrymore, The Paradine Case
My Personal Lineup:
Mary Astor, Desert Fury
Serafima Birman, Ivan the Terrible, Part I
Kathleen Byron, Black Narcissus (WINNER)
Esther Howard, Born to Kill
Helen Walker, Nightmare Alley
I was rooting for Celeste but Gloria was easily my 2nd choice, so swell! (I knew it would be between those two.)
Can't wait to listen to the podcast. The assessments from the panel up above were super fun and interesting to read. Thanks again for a great smackdown!
I am ashamed to say that all 5 of these films remain on my “to watch” list - Crossfire and Gentleman’s Agreement just shot to the top...
Nice to have a true “Supporting” smackdown as we now head into 2002 - I can sense the arguments brewing already and would love a post contemplating just how fraudulent 3 of the campaigns arguably are... I personally see The Hours as a 3 Lead film and Zeta-Jones as unequivocally Supporting (if she’s Leading, so is Streep in Adaptation!)
Anyway, 1947 has been a dream to read about - huge thanks to the whole team!
Thanks for the fun read. I'm not surprised Grahame and Holm fought for the prize. Thank you!
This was so much fun to read! Thanks to all who participated and to Nathaniel for keeping the smackdown going!
Anne Revere- Gentlemen's Agreement
Revere is the main character's mother. She agrees to go along with his plan to pretend to be Jewish. Then she gets sick. But she is still supportive. That's it. That's literally it. Nothing else happens. I can't remember anything else that she does. Can't remember anything that Revere does either. Bland is worse than bad. 1.5 hearts
Marjorie Main- The Egg and I
When Nathaniel said he would be continuing the series and asked for recommendations, some people suggested 1947. Whoever suggested 1947, I will never forgive you for forcing me to watch this movie. Claudette Colbert's character seems lost but I don't think she is acting but questioning the life choices she has made that got her to this point. This movie has two things going for it: the art direction- I spent my summers as a youth around the backwoods in Missouri and the slopshacks look appropriately dilapidated- and Marjorie Main. Main is Ma Kettle and while she plays the character generally broad, we get to see some deeper character shadings- that she has pride in her hard work, that she loves her husband despite frustrating and aggravating her, and even, like Colbert, questioning of her life choices. Little shadings, but still generally broad. I'm giving it two hearts but that still feels generous. 2 hearts
Gloria Grahame- Crossfire
Playing the traditional Oscar bait role of the tough hooker who hides her heart of gold, Grahame is in her wheelhouse. It's the kind of character she seems designed to play. Grahame is better at the beginning, her hardness still there, remarking how she doesn't get paid if men just look at her. But that hardness wears away and we realize maybe she's not so bad. But again, she was known for playing these parts. She plays them well, but in this movie, she has such little screentime that she can't expand on much. It's like expecting a B student to get a B. It's a good grade but not surprising. 3 hearts
Ethel Barrymore- The Paradine Case
Ethel Barrymore had the least screentime but my goodness she makes the most of it. I feel like I know all about her, not just currently, but in the years before the events of the movie take place. Barrymore lets you know everything about this women by the way she looks at her husband, and how she looks when he looks at her. It is wordless wonderful acting. I also want to shout out Ann Todd who also should have been nominated. She has more ingredients than Barrymore but still makes a wonderful meal out of the part. But Barrymore deserves so much credit for making a meal out of almost nothing. 3.5 hearts
Celeste Holm- Gentlemen's Agreement
She is the obvious winner. She has a great character as written, but she spices it up. Holm makes Anne seem so modern, a woman not out of place with the Sex and the City gals. Holm infuses a sparkling personality into Anne and verbally keeps up with everyone in the room,often leading the charge. But in her final scene, where the sparkling turns sour, and she launches into a speech about how the world won't change with weak and cowardly people refusing to stand up and do the right thing, Holm completely takes over the whole movie. It's the most memorable scene, and a speech that needed to be said. There really isn't any reason for Gregory Peck to go back Dorothy McGuire when Holm's Anne is standing right there (expect the script demanded it) Anne doesn't need to be taught a lesson on how to be a decent human being. Portrayed expertly by Holm she is a modern, compassionate, and passionate woman, intelligent enough to know how the world works and how she can try to make it better. 4.5 hearts
A great Smackdown as always, for a year I was largely underwhelmed by - I didn’t give any of them more than 3 stars, although in retrospect I might upgrade Grahame as she’s really lingered. So, happy with the winner and I’m glad that Holm <I>has</I> an Oscar. Best of both worlds!
There are some great diverse opinions across this bunch and definitely several insightful points that made me think again about the performances. I particularly love the gilding the lily bit, Nat, and all the Ethel Barrymore write-ups - it’s such a tiny performance that it would be easy to gloss over, but the readings here do show what a great she was, even with a role that was shredded in the editing room.
Looking forward to listening to the podcast!
Honestly wish that Gloria Grahame was honored for Crossfire by the Academy and not The Bad and the Beautiful.
Nice tight race but my girl Gloria squeezed out a win! I would have much rather seen her win the actual award for this than her nothing role in The Bad and the Beautiful (honestly she should have won for The Big Heat but with no nomination for that this is where she should have picked it up).
The rankings fell in line with mine and out of these women I can't really fault Celeste's win in the actual ceremony. She finds and shows us a great deal about Anne. It was always how imagined Holm to be off-screen until I read many times that she was an imperious, haughty rather cold woman who turned the warmth on for show and who for all intents and purposes deserted her children to pursue her career. Quite disappointing but she's hardly the first entertainer that is different from their public face.
My take:
Anne Revere:
Gentleman’s Agreement-I love Anne Revere, her resolute strength always added a great deal to any of her characterizations but with that said I don’t see why she was singled out for a nod for this tiny role. In her two big scenes she glows with a sort of motherly love and pride which suits the role but isn’t revelatory in any way. It was a bit chilling watching John Garfield and she in a story about injustice knowing they were both at the top of their profession and that within three years both their career would be scuttled by a different form of injustice but that bit of irony doesn’t impact my view of her work. Since the picture was such an awards magnet if they were looking for a tiny role to acknowledge with a nomination I thought June Havoc showed more in her hiding in plain sight Jewess Elaine Wales/ Estelle Wilovsky. 2 ½ hearts.
Celeste Holm:
Gentleman’s Agreement-What could have been just an understanding friend role is made into a great deal more by Celeste’s intricate shading of Anne. Though she’s in a bit more of the film than Anne Revere she again only has two key scenes that impact her character and she works wonders with both with subtle body language or vocal timbre. She fills Anne out so completely that it skews the ending somewhat. She’s obviously a near perfect match for Gregory Peck’s Phil but the script insists on matching him with the pallid, cowardly Kathy though their union is clearly doomed from the start. 3 ½ hearts.
Ethel Barrymore:
The Paradine Case-Things I’ll never understand: manbuns, face/neck tattoos and Ethel Barrymore’s Oscar nomination for The Paradine Case!! A wonderful and distinctive actress it’s not her fault, the role is an absolute nothing. Her character is meaningless to the story, serves no function other than to highlight what a callous pig Charles Laughton’s judge is. During the first of her few scenes she has a nice moment when she silently registers the sting of what is obviously a near lifetime of demeaning, thoughtless remarks that Laughton has made in her presence but beyond that she quivers and shakes and vanishes. She had to score the nod because of her position and reputation in the entertainment world. That would make some sense if she wasn’t already an Academy Award winner by this point but she was so it’s a complete head scratcher of a nomination. 1 heart.
Gloria Grahame:
Crossfire-Two scenes and it’s like she opens up Ginny’s soul for our inspection in that tiny microcosm. As she works through her scenes she shows glimpses of the vulnerable girl she must have been in Wilkes Barre, the diamond hard number she’s become and the insecure, lonely, frightened woman lurking under that shell. Unlike all the other nominees except Celeste you’re curious about her and what her life is like outside the confines of her particular purpose in the film. 4 ¼ hearts.
Marjorie Main:
The Egg and I-Marjorie is brash, boisterous, cantankerous, gruff and a whole lot of fun as Ma Kettle….in other words she’s the classic Marjorie Main character that she’d played in dozens of movies for the 15 years previous to this. So why this time out? She’s hugely enjoyable but an Oscar nomination? No. 2 ½ hearts.
A terrific read and I enjoyed revisiting these films but if it were up to me none of these women would have made the short list.
My ballot would run in this order:
Kathleen Bryon-Black Narcissus-Winner
Agnes Moorehead-Dark Passage
Jane Greer-Out of the Past
Helen Walker-Nightmare Alley
Shelley Winters-A Double Life
Gloria and Celeste would place 6th and 7th.
Not seen any of these.
Mark -- WE GAVE YOU A WHOLE MONTH'S NOTICE!
Joel -- wow. cant believe you left out both of them. I haven't seen enough '47 films yet but my line up is currently
BYRON -Black Narcisuss *gold*
GRAHAME - Crossfire *bronze*
HOLM - Gentleman's Agreement *silver*
REVERE - Gentleman's Agreement
WOOD - Miracle on 34th Street
Blondell and Walker are just outside the list for Nightmare Alley at this writing but i stil have some films to see.
I think Dana Delany needs her own blog where she discusses great actresses. Oh my god, she’s so good at it.
It was a great podcast with a flawless lineup of guests. And now I have a whole list of '47 recommendations to jump into!
I know I know.
Thanks for another great Smackdown, Nathaniel!
I start the month having seen no 1947 releases and ended the month at 26.
I was at first pessimistic about the year as I started out the horrid The Egg and I, and then some of the lighter comedy faire that I found uninspired. But once I got the the noir and foreign offerings, the year ended up aces.
My top ten:
1. Lured
2. Snow Trail
3. One Wonderful Sunday
4. Shoeshine
5. Crossfire
6. Odd Man Out
7. Brute Force
8. Born to Kill
9. Out of the Past
10. Black Narcissus
Celeste Holm was my favorite for supporting actress of the nominees. Every moment she was on screen was elevated. The movie itself, while admirable for the time and for taking on those who sit silence in face of prejudice, had some cringe-worthy moments. Particularly the scene where the gentile lectures the jew on not being self-denigrating.
Nathaniel-It's been a long time since I've seen A Double Life so on a rewatch Shelley Winters might switch places with Gloria but the rest are rock solid in their placement.
Joan Blondell is hovering just outside for me too. There really are so many fine supporting actresses turns this year it's hard to understand how a whisper of a role like Ethel Barrymore's got in.
Aside from the ones already mentioned there are among others:
Rita Johnson in They Won't Believe Me
Ann Dvorak in Out of the Blue (the movie is minor but she gives an absolute gem of a performance)
Shirley Temple in The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
Ava Gardner in The Hucksters
Judith Anderson in The Red House
Audrey Totter in The Unsuspected
Eve Arden in Voice of the Turtle
Happy to see Nathaniel recognize the performance of Natalie Wood in Miracle on 34th Street. I think Wood is the holiday movie's female lead and would award her the Best Actress Oscar.
Doris Walker, a divorced mother, chooses not to indulge her elementary school age daughter Susan (Natalie Wood) in fantasies like fairy tales and a belief in Santa Claus. An attractive neighbor in their elegant apartment house Fred Gailey is enamored with Doris and manipulates Susan to win her mother's attention. While Doris is welcoming of his kindness, Fred quickly alienates her with his efforts to help Susan discover the value of faith and imagination, concepts her practical minded mother ardently dismisses. This battle over what is best for Susan first comes to prominence when Fred walks Susan to Macy's where her mother works as an executive. Fred escorts Susan to visit Santa Claus before going up to see Doris in her office. After skeptically greeting Santa, Susan explains that he is simply a nice man that her mother employed to be Santa for the store. Wood employs a simple cutting of the eyes each time an adult asks her to believe a myth that her mother has debunked. The expression is beautifully executed and age appropriate. Later, when doubt creeps in and Susan is tempted to believe in these stories, the indecision is unspoken. Wood conveys Susan’s consideration in her lightly furrowed brow and those beautifully expressive eyes. Near the end of the film, Susan experiences joy. Wood visibly shivers with pleasure and our hearts melt.
My choice for supporting Oscar would be Martita Hunt in Great Expectations.
Recreating her stage role, Hunt brought the famed literary old maid Miss Havisham to the screen with great skill. Dressed in tattered lace of an aged bridal gown, Hunt showed us the rage Miss Havisham harbored for the man who failed to show up on her wedding day while permitted glimpses of the still fresh pain and shame of the thwarted marriage. When the heartbroken Miss Havisham finally meets her untimely end, we understand Pip’s grief and urgent efforts to save her. Hunt has made this rather petty and cruel woman still measurably demonstrate a vulnerability that we wish to protect.
Fun fact - Celeste Holm originated the role of Ado Annie in Oklahoma! in 1943. Gloria Grahame would later play the same role in the film version.
Thrilled to see Grahame eke out a victory here. Count me among those who wish she had won for this instead of The Bad and the Beautiful (if we’re omitting non-nominated work, of course), but at least she got her little gold man. I can’t begrudge Holm anything. She’s a terrific actress and her work in All About Eve is an all-timer for me.
Celeste Holm has wonderful control of her voice in Gentleman's Agreement. It's no wonder they hired her to do the voiceover in A Letter to Three Wives.
This was great. One of the best you've put together. Thanks!
Nine Arbitrary Musings:
1) Good Smackdown! And a nice improvement: compared to the previous Smackdown, these comments were more detailed, and the the writing was considerably more polished in general. Well done.
2) I wonder if these five performances constitute the shortest average screen time (not even ten minutes!) for this category. I was surprised to discover how little Celeste Holm appears in "Gentleman's Agreement," especially since she seemed to dominate the film the first time I saw it. There seems to be a lot of Anne Revere in the same movie, but she's there for less than twenty minutes. Main seems to be in "The Egg and I" much more than she is. It's a testament to the caliber of these three actresses that they make such a big impact in such short time.
3) "Gentleman's Agreement" isn't art; it's a public service announcement.
4) I'd have replaced Barrymore and Grahame with Jean Simmons ("Great Expectations") and Helen Walker ("Nightmare Alley").
5) Rewatching these films means that I've now endured four hours of watching Gregory Peck trying to act. The man has almost no emotional resources to draw upon for a performance. Watching him in "Gentleman's Agreement" awkwardly pound a wall in simulated frustration was painful.
6) I learned from watching "The Egg and I" that if you can't afford college, all you have to do is take first prize at your county fair. My heifer Bessie could have given me a four-year stint at New York University, What a fool I've been!
7) How do all of you interpret Celeste Holm's final speech? Anne denounces Kathy for her unwillingness to address anti-Semitism (and social issues in general), but we never see Anne address those problems either. Does she really mean what she says (she certainly seems impassioned), or her speech merely lip service, a ploy to snag the newly unattached Phil for herself? This is just about the only interesting, ambiguous element of the movie.
8) Nathaniel, I like it when you ask your podcasters to swap the five actresses into different but still-appropriate roles, It might be fun to ask the panel what the WORST re-casting ideas would be. For this roster, my money would be on Marjorie Main (in her Ma Kettle get-up) in "Crossfire."
9) Nathaniel (and everyone else): Since we're running out of years, what do you think about adding another feature to the Smackown? Tie-breaks! We could return to each year that ended in a tie and re-analyze/re-vote/re-do whatever with the two remaining performances.
This is always such fun... thanks again Nathaniel for putting this on. I can't wait to listen to the podcast now. I had never seen any of these movies and had a good time exploring. And I learned a lot about Hollywood and the postwar era and early message movies, antisemitism in Hollywood, connections w/ early HUAC proceedings.. all so interesting- especially the connections b/w Crossfire and Gentleman's Agreement. Sometimes Smackdown is like the film class i never got to attend in college. I also really enjoyed watching "Lured" last week and am about to see "Brute Force". A few thoughts:
Ethel Barrymore in The Paradine Case- 2 stars. I mean she did a good addled, but was barely in the movie.. and now i know her performance was mostly cut. BTW- i had never really swooned for him before this movie, but my god Gregory Peck was beautiful in this movie -- especially in that closing shot. and don't even get me started on hunky Valet Cheekbones. I've already put Bird of Paradise in my queue.
Gloria Grahame in Crossfire- 4 stars. probably b/c this was my favorite of the 4 movies
Celeste Holm in Gentleman's Agreement - 3 stars adequately perky
Anne Revere in Gentleman's Agreement - 3 stars. that was the most dramatic heart attack I maybe have ever seen. Too dramatic? Loved being surprised at the appearance of baby Dean Stockwell in this one.
Marjorie Main in The Egg and I - 4 stars. see my thoughts above in the thread. i think she gives this character some heart. and my parents in law love the Kettle series that followed (and the source material most of all)
Matt L -- interesting interpretation of that moment. I took it less ambiguuously. I think we're meant to assume from the parties she throws and her scenes with the various men that Anne is already living this way (inclusively) and doesn't get why people have issues not being hateful. She's a true city girl and very social/friendly by nature. We don't see her in action denouncing the system but we do see her mouthing off about it... we just dont see her in a situation like Mcguire's where she'd have to sacrifice something for her principals. But i think that's not an intentional ambiguity but just the film's disinterest in her personal life outside of her reaction to Phil.
SFO -- baby Dean Stockwell. OMG yes. what a treat that was. It's so rare that child stars grow up into actual successful adult actors so it's always fun to see that across several decades of films.
joel6 -- i still need to see most of those.
Cute winner. I caught The Big Heat for the first time a few weeks before rewatching Crossfire for the smackdown so I wonder if my impression was tainted by it. Grahame plays a similarly slimy character, but the role in Lang's film is so much more fascinating and complex. It allows Grahame for a much wider range to play from, and adds enormous complexities to it that her shorter part in Crossfire doesn't.
I don't think I love *any* of these but it's not a weak lineup per se.
The title of the article totally gives everything away. The perfect way to kill suspense. Lol.
Loved this smackdown. Five true supporting performances and all five doing terrific work in different ways. I love Celeste, Gloria and Anne while always being fond of Marjorie as Ma Kettle--who else could have pulled that role off as well as she did?
Offtangent -- oops you're right. my bad.
Is that Meryl Streep as Celeste Holm or Celeste Holm as Meryl Streep? Still dying for MS to play Joan Fontaine.
The three times that Holm was nominated, she was competing against another actress in the same film:
Gentleman's Agreement, with Anne Revere
Come to the Stable, with Elsa Lanchester
and
All About Eve, with Thelma Ritter
Everyone who enjoyed Gloria Grahame here should go watch her in Human Desire too. Sublime performance.
Greatest supporting performance is...... Dana Delany! Such great insights. This months MVP. I need to finally see THE EGG AND I.
Great smackdown! A list of supporting nominees where none of them have more than 19 minutes / 16% of screentime. Would it be possible nowadays?
Caveat: I haven't listened to the podcast yet, but I'm glad that someone finally mentioned Ado Annie in Oklahoma because it's such a crazy coincidence and I think it may have tipped the award to Holm.
Both Holm and Grahame (and Revere) were in the prestige movies, and about equally worthy as shown by this smackdown, but I think people may have thought that Holm was the better/more seasoned actress because of her age and pedigree. When in doubt, give the award to the person you think is the most versatile actor. Holm here is wildly different from Ado Annie. I wonder how many people in the Academy knew what she was capable of?
Also, Marjorie Main is one of my favorite kind of nominations. Sometimes it's considered a career nom, but I love it when someone is rewarded with a nom for distilling their essence as a star into the right role. I am one of the few who has no problem with wins by people who are showing what they can do within a narrow range of "skills." See also Sandra Bullock, Gregory Peck, John Wayne, etc.
I agree with Daniella. I loved Dana Delaney's comments and hope she returns to the panel for many more future smackdowns.
Just listened to the podcast a short while ago and it was a great one! So many terrific observations.
I agree about Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray not having much of a connection in The Egg and I which is strange because they had been teamed quite fortuitously over the years, though they had their other misses as well-"Maid of Salem" is eye gougingly awful-but they could also be very appealing together.
So glad someone commented on Paul Kelly as Gloria Grahame's husband in Crossfire! He's haunting. He's one of those "Oh it's that guy!" actors who is always welcome when he shows up but it was usually in support.
He had quite a prolific career but a messy early private life-In the late 20's when he was a promising Broadway performer he was having an affair with married actress Dorothy Mackaye and got into a drunken brawl with her husband which resulted in that man's death. Kelly did time for it, Mackaye provided testimony that turned out to be false and also was imprisoned. When she was released she wrote a play about the experience called Women in Prison which was adapted into the Barbara Stanwyck film "Ladies They Talk About". Kelly and Mackaye married after their releases and he adopted her daughter from her first marriage but Mackaye was killed in a car crash before the decade ended. He did remarry afterwards and seemed from that point on to live a quiet happy life and worked steadily until his sudden death at only 57.
Also nice to hear Robert Young mentioned. With all the powerful magnetic actors in the film I think he gets forgotten (that opening title card with all the Roberts is a bit startling but all are so well cast) but his resolute uprightness is a perfect fit for his role. He did play against his established type this same year in the noir "They Won't Believe Me" (an excellent picture) as a cad on trial for murder. He's surrounded by a trio of fantastic actresses too-Susan Hayward, Jane Greer and Rita Johnson.
And it was great to hear all the love for Gloria Grahame!! LOVED Dana Delaney's story about meeting her and being unable to tell her how much she admired her! So frustrating but so relatable. It's overwhelming to meet someone you admire so much.
Thoroughly enjoyed the entire podcast and loved this Smackdown!!
Dave -- i dont mind that at all *for nominations* it's when a win is extended for that that I tend to get frustrated.
@joel6: was also really impressed w/ Robert Ryan's performance in Crossfire as well and was glad to see that he was nominated. He was just excellent, and scary!
@Dave & Nathaniel: I'm with you both. It's totally ok when a big star with a fairly limited range gets a "We Appreciate You" nomination, but most of the time I feel their getting the trophy is undeserved. The fact that Sandra Bullock has an Oscar (for a White Savior movie that I pretty much hated) while consummate actresses like Deborah Kerr and Glenn Close lost many times over, strikes me as, you know, unfair.
(And don't even get me started on Charlton Heston's Oscar)
Have to agree with a Natalie Wood supporting nomination for Miracle on 34th Street (which a BP nomination and won for BSActor and 2 writing awards). I’d easily boot Barrymore to the curb. Head scratcher on why the Academy didn’t even bother to award her an Honorary Academy Award for Best ‘Juvenile’ performance when the Academy bestowed that type of award in 1934/Shirley Temple, 1939, 1944, 1945, 1946, skipped over 1947 (!), 1948, 1949, then finally 1960 to Hayley Mills. It’s not like NWood had Any other kid performances that outshined hers.
I love the Smackdown art work with the five actresses and those elegant letters in gold. Classy.
Definitely one of the best smackdown's - brilliant chat on the podcast and fine selection of films. Can't wait for 2002!
Forgot to ask: What did everyone think of that insane sequence in "The Paradine Case" in which Louis Jourdan suddenly appears at Gregory Peck's cottage, and the two of them begin a bizarre conversation full of homoerotic double entendres? I'm not sure if the Smackdowners discuss this in the podcast, but I almost choked on my popcorn laughing during the following exchange:
Gregory Peck (with stiff, pompous dignity): I came on you entirely by chance.
Louis Jourdan (overacting): But you WANTED to come on me, sir!
This couldn't have been intentional. Could it?
Matt --- i mean. the whole thing was so sexually charged (in a repressed way). I'm guessing it *was* intentional. Hitchcock made ROPE the very next year which has even more obviously gay-coded dialogue.Of course ROPE was partially written by a gay man (Arthur Laurents) while PARADINE's screenplay was by collection of straight people... but still. Hitchcock was hardly ignorant about sexual connotations.