1933 Flashback: Kate vs. May vs. Diana
Wednesday, October 20, 2021 at 7:58PM ;)
For the last few years, Kevin Jacobsen's And the Runner-Up Is has been one of my favorite movie podcasts. After examining every Best Picture race, from 2020 to 1927, the podcast will now focus on the Best Actress category, exploring the nominated performances, the actresses' legacy, and how each race turned out. Who were the likely runners-up?
It's with great pleasure that I announce that I guested on the 1932-33 episode - a dream come true. The nominees were Katharine Hepburn's Oscar-winning turn in Morning Glory, May Robson in Frank Capra's beloved Lady for a Day, and Diana Wynyard in the much-maligned Best Picture-champion Cavalcade. While the trio isn't AMPAS' most inspired selection, there's a lot to talk about. In the episode, Kevin and I unravel Hepburn's major Rachel Berry energy and drunk acting mastery. We talk about the short story that inspired Robson's awards bid and her unlikely stardom. There's also much to analyze in Wynyard's misbegotten flick, including bizarre adaptation choices and the art of performing listening. If you're a Wynyard fan, you might want to avoid this. That being said, I did see some of her other movies, so it's not all hate. I'd go so far as to say that she's as good as Ingrid Bergman in the original 1940 Gaslight. Please give it a listen!
Who would you vote for in this lineup? Also, if you have a dream 1933 Best Actress ballot, please share that too.
Reader Comments (15)
Great work, Cláudio! And what a great series! I don't know how KJ gets access to so many of these movies, but I appreciate the breakdown of all of these performances!
Kate
I was thoroughly entertained in this 90+ minute discussion. Of course, Great Kate has my vote. I thought both Kevin and Cláudio well articulated how the drunken Shakespearean monologue was a true Oscar moment.
My dream ballot of 1932-33 would not include any of Oscar’s choices. Kate would still be the victor but for her Jo in Little Women. Hepburn was masterful in taking the simplicity of the story and evoking an infectious exuberance.
I didn’t catch my other two choices for Best Actress nominees mentioned during the podcast. The first would be Garbo in Queen Christina. That final shot as she stands in the bow of the ship leaving for her home while mourning the untimely death of her lover is unforgettable.
My other choice is surprising. Fay Wray took the role of Ann Darrow, the object of affection in King Kong, and created a lasting portrait that has endured for decades. The Hollywood Reporter 1933 review read, “Wray has never been more beautiful before the camera, nor acted as well as she does in this production.”
Had I been an AMPAS voter then, I would cast my ballot to recognize the work of these three actresses.
Thank you guys for listening to the episode and for the lovely feedback :)
Finbar McBride -- For some reason, QUEEN CHRISTINA was only eligible for the 1934 Oscars, hence why Garbo wasn't mentioned. I do love that final scene and shot.
For the record, my Best Actress lineup would have been:
Marion Davies, BLONDIE OF THE FOLLIES
Marlene Dietrich, BLONDE VENUS (winner)
Barbara Stanwyck, BABY FACE
Honorable Mentions: Hepburn in LITTLE WOMEN, the women of TROUBLE IN PARADISE, Francis in ONE WAY PASSAGE, Stanwyck in THE BITTER TEARS OF GENERAL YEN, Harlow in RED DUST, Hopkins in DESIGN FOR LIVING and THE STORY OF TEMPLE DRAKE. It was a great year!
I know that is not allowed. Only actresses who are possible according to the rules of the Oscars should be nominated. But I always go by the actual years and my nominations would be:
1. Barbara Stanwyck in „THE BITTER TEA OF GENERAL YEN“ (USA)
2. Yoshiko Okada in „TÔKYÔ NO ONNA“ (Japan)
3. Margaret Sullavan in „ONLY YESTERDAY“ (USA)
4. Barbara Stanwyck in „BABY FACE“ (USA)
5. Sumiko Kurishima in „YOGOTO NO YUME“ (Japan)
6. Sumiko Mizukubo in „KIMI TO WAKARETE“ (Japan)
7. Katharine Hepburn in „LITTLE WOMEN“ (USA)
8. Magda Schneider in „LIEBELEI“ (Österreich)
9. Greta Garbo in „QUEEN CHRISTINA“ (USA)
10. Joan Blondell in „GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933“ (USA)
special Mention to: Jean Harlow in „BOMBSHELL“ (USA) Takako Irie in „TAKI NO SHIRAITO“ (Japan) Madeleine Renaud in „LA MATERNELLE“ (Frankreich) and Loretta Young in „MAN'S CASTLE“ (USA)
My Oscar ballot:
Film: I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
Actor: Paul Muni I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
Actress: May Robson Lady for a Day
Director: George Cukor Little Women
Original Story: One Way Passage
Adapted Screenplay: Little Women
Cinematography: A Farewell to Arms
Art Direction: Cavalcade
Sound: Gold Diggers of 1933
Unfortunately I am not qualified to comment on this year. But I do think there have been three years that the Best Actress lineup was perfect:
1939
Bette Davis--Dark Victory
Irene Dunne--Love Affair
Greta Garbo--Ninotchka
Greer Garson--Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Vivien Leigh--Gone With the Wind
I realize that some consider Greer to be supporting. But for me, this is a gray area, and I consider her lead due to the brilliance of her performance and the impact she has on the story.
1962
Anne Bancroft--The Miracle Worker
Bette Davis--What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Katharine Hepburn--Long Day's Journey Into Night
Geraldine Page--Sweet Bird of Youth
Lee Remick--Days of Wine and Roses
Bancroft is the rightful winner. But what a scarily close contest.
1977
Anne Bancroft--The Turning Point
Jane Fonda--Julia
Diane Keaton--Annie Hall
Shirley MacLaine--The Turning Point
Marsha Mason--The Goodbye Girl
This is the correct Top Five. And what a year, because there wasn't room for Liza Minnelli, Gena Rowlands, Julie Christie and Shelley Duvall.
It's fascinating that Davis and Bancroft are in two of these lineups.
Here is my dream ballot:
Barbara Stanwyck, Babyface (her more famous performance) or Ladies They Talk About (the more popular film that inspired the title of a book about Ore-Code Hollywood)
Greta Garbo, Queen Christina
Mae West, She Done Him Wrong
Jean Harlow, Bombshell
Kay Francis, Mary Stevens MD (the obligatory melodrma)
I know that the Academy would never nominate them because of the Hollywood Code that studios ignored. Probably, my favorite of the nominees is Robson but I understand why Hepburn won.
Thomas -- Thank you for sharing. Lots of enticing recommendations I haven't seen.
Amy Camus -- From the actual nominees, I think my choices in those categories would be...
Picture: 42ND STREET
Actress: Hepburn, MORNING GLORY (though my heart leans Robson)
Actor: Laughton, THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII
Director: Cukor, LITTLE WOMEN
Original Story: ONE WAY PASSAGE
Adapted Screenplay: LITTLE WOMEN
Cinematography: A FAREWELL TO ARMS
Art Direction: A FAREWELL TO ARMS
Sound: I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG
brookesboy -- Some of my favorite Best Actress years include 1938, 1950, 1962 1974, and 1987.
Lenard W -- I NEED(!) to watch Mary Stevens.
It's probably too much to ask for without Nat winning Lotto but a best actress smackdown is what my dreams are made of :D
Claudio--OMG, you're right about 1950, except I still haven't seen Caged. Once I watch that one I"ll know LOL.
1987 is great, but I feel that Diane Keaton needs to be in there for Baby Boom. So I would take out Streep or Kirkland, I just can never decide which one. Sigh.
My Ballot (I go by full qualifying year of 1933 to be less confusing):
Barbara Stanwych (Baby Face)
Katharine Hepburn (Little Women)
Greta Garbo (Queen Christina)
Miriam Hopkins (Design for Living)
May Robson (Lady for a Day)
I tink K Hepburn wld still have won, as Stanwych, Garbo & Hopkins' films are considered too bold/ daring/ risque for the Academy's taste then.
My personal vote wld be Stanwych!
Thank you, Claran. I knew I was forgetting someone and couldn't remember the film (Miriam Hopkins). The early years of the Academy were split and I don't know the actual cutoff date. This was the first year that the whole year was considered.
I find Cavalcade fascinating- not so much for the plot itself- but for it's time capsule views of the world and the impending doom of the second world war on the horizon. That final scene of the parents staring ahead, knowing that worse things are coming for the new generation and that they will have to experience national heartbreak all over again just stops me. And WW2 was almost a decade away! I always found movies from the 1930's that predicted WW2 to be interesting. Another example is Lost Horizon from 1937. There is one scene where a character says that civilization will end if the world doesn't change. That way he talked about the world burning up seemed to be predicting the atom bomb.
brookesboy -- Hope you enjoy CAGED when you get to it. The movie's full of superb performances from a stacked cast. Hope Emerson, in particular, is brilliant and fully deserved her Oscar nomination.
Claran912 -- I do love Stanwyck's Pre-Code movies, great choice.
Lenard W -- Yes and no. The first Oscars purported to cover all of 1927 too, plus some of 1928, similar to how these 1933 Oscars considered the entire year of 1933 plus some of the last months of the previous year. You can find letterboxd lists with the cutoff dates and eligible titles on my letterboxd account if you're interested.
TomG -- I get that. There's something fascinating about the interwar movies that feel as if they're anticipating the incoming catastrophe.