Shirley Knight (1936-2020)

by Nathaniel R

Two-time Oscar nominee Shirley Knight has passed away at 83 years of age of natural causes. Knight began her enduring screen career with guest starring roles in TV series of the 1950s in her early twenties and by 1959 she'd made her credited big screen debut as a nun in the violent B movie Five Gates to Hell (1959). It didn't take her long to achieve the pinnacle of Hollywood accolades, though, with nominations for Best Supporting Actress for just her third and fourth movies (the family drama Dark at the Top of the Stairs in 1960 and the Tennessee Williams adaptation Sweet Bird of Youth in 1962...

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Smackdown '60: Glynis Johns, Janet Leigh, one Mary and two Shirleys

A lusty bar owner, a vengeful hooker, a teenage wallflower, a doomed secretary, and a sexually liberated suffragette made up the Best Supporting Actress quintet for 1960.

That shortlist found room for two established Hollywood stars (Glynis Johns and Janet Leigh), both overdue for their first nominations, two rising starlets named Shirley (Jones & Knight) and an acclaimed Scottish import (Mary Ure). They all caught Oscar's attention and it didn't hurt that their films were so popular (all but Dark at the Top of the Stairs were major contenders in multiple categories, and Dark surely intended to be, being a prestige transfer from Broadway). This resulted in one of the most homogenous lineups ever -- all blondes (though Glynis was a redhead for her role) and from their early 20s to mid 30s (average age: 29).

THIS MONTH'S PANELISTS    

Here to talk about these five nominated turns and the movies that housed them (Psycho, The Sundowners, Sons and Lovers, Dark at the Top of the Stairs, and Elmer Gantry) are writer/director Leslye Headland (Russian Doll, Bachelorette), theater and screenwriter Peter Duchan (Dogfight), freelance critic Kyle Turner, and your Film Experience co-hosts Murtada Elfadl  and Nathaniel R

1960
SUPPORTING ACTRESS SMACKDOWN + PODCAST  

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