Here are the results of the poll:
1. Luise Rainer - The Good Earth (38 votes)
2. Greta Garbo - Camille (24 votes)
3. Irene Dunne - The Awful Truth (13 votes)
4. Janet Gaynor - A Star is Born & Barbara Stanwyck - Stella Dallas (4 votes)
Thanks to everyone for voting!
Showing posts with label Irene Dunne. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Irene Dunne. Show all posts
12/14/2010
11/24/2010
Best Actress 1937 - The resolution
After having watched and reviewed all five nominated performances, it's time to pick the winner!
Barbara Stanwyck provides some unforgettable moments and is able deliver a moving and emotionally engaging portrayal but unfortunately it is mixed with too many moments of uncomfortable over-the-top acting that almost ruin the entire experience but at the same time, she deserves some credit for following the screenplay and showing the ugly and unlikable sides of her character.
It’s a performance that could have been a lot of things but unfortunately settled for only a little bit. Janet Gaynor does all the things she is asked to do but, despite a role that seems so juicy and challenging on paper, all this is actually rather undemanding and simple. The movie doesn’t ask much of her but she adds her own charm and grace to give a quite loveable performance.
Nothing in Irene Dunne's work feels forced, ever line is delivered in a rather casual way but still always includes a little irony, a little sarcasm or some hidden meaning. With the gifts of a real comedian, she plays her part in a way that never seems to try to be funny even thought her Lucy is very aware of her own behavior and her merry character. She jokes, she trades sarcastic bon-mots with her husband and recognizes even the slightest bit of humor in (almost) every situation.
2. Greta Garbo in Camille
In a part that was tailor-made for her, Greta Garbo didn’t need to stretch herself as an actress and she solely concentrated on the dramatic effects of her work but at the same time, these dramatic effects are so wonderful to watch and so easy to admire. She created something flawless here even if it’s not. Marguerite Gauthier isn’t her greatest performance but everything that made her such a legend is on full display.
Overall, the whole performance could have been a complete disaster – the obvious miscasting of European actors and the nature of the part might have ended in a boring, inappropriate or at worst unbelievable performance but in the hands of Luise Rainer, O-lan becomes one of the great female characters in movie history. She often seems invisible because she is so withdrawn and always prefers to stay in the background but when her husband tells her that everything they have is owed to her, it becomes really clear how strong O-lan’s and Luise Rainer’s presence really is. An all-around stunning achievement.
11/19/2010
Best Actress 1937: Irene Dunne in "The Awful Truth"
Among the drama, the suffering, the dying and the tears that formed the Best Actress line-up of 1937, one performance stood out as the proof that, sometimes, the Academy does like to laugh. Irene Dunne’s witty and charming performance as socialite Lucy Warriner in the classic screwball-comedy The Awful Truth further established her as one of the great screen comedians even though she was just as well cast in musicals or dramas. Overall, her five Oscar-nominated performances impressively show her talents and her repertoire which included epics like Cimarron, comedies like Theodora goes Wild or drama like I remember Mama and while one can debate if the ever actually deserved to win a competitive award, it’s certainly a shame that the Academy never rewarded her with an Honorary Oscar.
The Awful Truth is a movie that seems to be universally loved today by everyone who has seen it even though it sometimes feels overshadowed by other comedies of the time, like Bringing Up Baby or His Girl Friday. It’s no coincidence that all of these three movies starred Cary Grant in the leading role as he was undoubtedly the most gifted comedy actor that ever graced the screen while various actresses of the time established themselves as gifted comedians – like Katharine Hepburn, Rosalind Russell, Claudette Colbert and Irene Dunne. To be honest, I have never been a true fan of The Awful Truth – while I admire its wit, its players and its playfulness, I never consider it truly funny or captivating. Leo McCarey’s win for Best Director is also rather a mystery to me but I won’t deny that there is still much to enjoy in the whole production.
Most of all it’s the leading stars who delightfully carry the story and provide the charm, the sparkling personalities and the ability to appear easygoing while never forgetting about the emotional core of their characters. Cary Grant had the ability to develop wonderful chemistry with every leading lady he had – and Irene Dunne is no exception. Both sparkle as a married couple that is waiting for the divorce to become final while the awful truth is much too obvious – that they still love each other and will never find new partners that could complete them in the way they had. Both are from the upper end of society where life is a big party that consists of cocktails and dancing – and the usual risky confusions and sexual misunderstandings. So, when one day Jerry comes home unexpectedly and finds out that his wife is not at home only to see her walking in the door a few moments later with her singing coach with whom she spend the night because the car broke down, it all leads to divorce very soon – also because Jerry didn’t quite spend his holiday the way he had told his wife. Both seem to feel a stubborn anger – but maybe divorce is only another way for them to amuse themselves and very soon they begin dating new partners to provoke some jealousy.
Cary Grant and Irene Dunne perfectly portray two characters from the upper class who enjoy every moment of life and for whom no real worries seem to exist. Thanks to their wonderful chemistry and their natural way of appearing ‘high class’ without being snobbish or arrogant they create a wonderful couple and it’s very easy to imagine the two going from club to club, dancing the whole night, drinking champagne and laughing at each other’s jokes. The biggest plus in Irene Dunne’s performance is that she is able to remain so completely natural throughout the whole movie. Nothing in her work feels forced, ever line is delivered in a rather casual way but still always includes a little irony, a little sarcasm or some hidden meaning. With the gifts of a real comedian, she plays her part in a way that never seems to try to be funny even thought her Lucy is very aware of her own behavior and her merry character. She jokes, she trades sarcastic bon-mots with her husband and recognizes even the slightest bit of humor in (almost) every situation.
Right after their divorce, The Awful Truth begins with the typical fight of the sexes. Since Lucy is a woman and this is the 30s, she doesn’t flirt or finds herself a little adventure but instead immediately gets engaged to a simpleton from Oklahoma. It’s clear that this isn’t a match made in heaven since the rather clumsy Dan, who travels to New York with his mother, is no man for a woman like Lucy – and Lucy surely knows this, too, but at the beginning it’s her spite and her anger that makes her get engaged to him. Dan is a rebound for her to get back at Jerry and make him jealous but this plan doesn’t work out since he is having too much fun to see her with this man who so obviously isn't even close to being in the same league as her. While Irene Dunne uses the opportunities the script offers her very wisely, her performance in these scenes often feels a bit pushed into the background. Not because of limited screen time but rather because she often is overshadowed by Cary Grant and the hilarious Ralph Bellamy. When Lucy and Dan meet Jerry and his new girl-friend, a naïve chanteuse, she makes some sarcastic remarks in his direction that Irene Dunne delivers with great comic effect but Cary Grant gets the last laugh when he paints Lucy a picture of her future life in Oklahoma City – and since Irene Dunne has established her character as a fun-loving and sophisticated New-York-girl, her painful reaction shots are comedic gold, just as her embarrassed face when Dan forces her on the dance floor and moves rather…unconventional. Irene Dunne wonderfully and hilariously shows the anger and embarrassment in Lucy as she realizes that she has lost this round. The most fun in her performance comes at moments like these when she is caught in awkward situations – the scene when Dan is reading his ‘poetry’ to her is another example and it’s very amusing to see her sophisticated character deal with him. Irene Dunne certainly makes good use of these scenes but, as mentioned before, is often in danger of being overshadowed by her co-stars. But luckily she is always able to prevent this from becoming damaging to her performance since she is able to fill even the most banal moments with a refreshing idea, with an alive outburst of emotions or a dry joke – all with entertaining results.
Cary Grant and Irene Dunne both show how alike Jerry and Lucy are and how wonderful they fit together. It seems that there is nobody else to hold up to their speed. So it’s no surprise when Lucy finally admits to her aunt and to herself that she is still in love with him. Here, Irene Dunne is also allowed to play some more serious moments and she effectively puts them into the context of her own character and the nature of the story. When she learns about Jerry’s engagement to another woman, Lucy tries to hide her true feelings and Irene Dunne is able to say a lot with no words. Her expressive eyes and face, which suddenly loses its glow in these moments, tell the story.
In her most famous scene, Irene Dunne pretends to be Jerry’s sister in front of his fiancée and her family to embarrass him and end their engagement. Her loud and inapt behavior, her dance routine and pretended drunkenness are certainly very funny but also feel a little bit too over-the-top sometimes and Irene Dunne unfortunately also goes a little too far in the later scenes in the car and with the police officers and ends up being rather annoying in these moments. But at the end, she triumphs again with the sudden display of cool eroticism when Lucy and Jerry sleep next door to each other and wait until their divorce becomes final at midnight. Suddenly, Irene Dunne makes everybody notice what should have been noticed the whole time – her sexiness and sensual side. The way she looks at Jerry at the end, lying in bed, makes clear that there is something else that Jerry and Lucy seemed to have done pretty well together…in a moment that feels suddenly very private but also very fascinating she thrillingly shows that ladies like her are still no saints.
Irene Dunne's Lucy has the style and the grace of Jerry’s fiancé, but not her snobby character, and she has the humor of his first girlfriend, but not her naivety or vulgarity. Her Lucy is a wonderful mix of various styles who doesn’t take herself too seriously but also knows what’s best for her (and Jerry). That way Irene Dunne memorably played a woman from the high society while destroying so many of these images at the same time – and having fun at it. It's a performance that is constantly very amusing and could be best described with 'elegant comedy'. For this, she gets
The Awful Truth is a movie that seems to be universally loved today by everyone who has seen it even though it sometimes feels overshadowed by other comedies of the time, like Bringing Up Baby or His Girl Friday. It’s no coincidence that all of these three movies starred Cary Grant in the leading role as he was undoubtedly the most gifted comedy actor that ever graced the screen while various actresses of the time established themselves as gifted comedians – like Katharine Hepburn, Rosalind Russell, Claudette Colbert and Irene Dunne. To be honest, I have never been a true fan of The Awful Truth – while I admire its wit, its players and its playfulness, I never consider it truly funny or captivating. Leo McCarey’s win for Best Director is also rather a mystery to me but I won’t deny that there is still much to enjoy in the whole production.
Most of all it’s the leading stars who delightfully carry the story and provide the charm, the sparkling personalities and the ability to appear easygoing while never forgetting about the emotional core of their characters. Cary Grant had the ability to develop wonderful chemistry with every leading lady he had – and Irene Dunne is no exception. Both sparkle as a married couple that is waiting for the divorce to become final while the awful truth is much too obvious – that they still love each other and will never find new partners that could complete them in the way they had. Both are from the upper end of society where life is a big party that consists of cocktails and dancing – and the usual risky confusions and sexual misunderstandings. So, when one day Jerry comes home unexpectedly and finds out that his wife is not at home only to see her walking in the door a few moments later with her singing coach with whom she spend the night because the car broke down, it all leads to divorce very soon – also because Jerry didn’t quite spend his holiday the way he had told his wife. Both seem to feel a stubborn anger – but maybe divorce is only another way for them to amuse themselves and very soon they begin dating new partners to provoke some jealousy.
Actually, the nonchalant part of her performance doesn’t begin right away. Right at the beginning, Irene Dunne uses her charming and appealing personality to establish the character of Lucy but in these first scenes, her comedy work seems to be a bit too forced and it feels that she is rather trying to emphasize her performance too hard. But these impressions get lost very quickly once she finds the free-spirited screwball-heroine in Lucy. The court-room scene during the divorce hearing becomes an early highlight of her work when she talks non-stop to the judge about how she met her husband and that they agreed to live happily ever after – until today, she adds with a coquet laugh. In scenes like this, Irene Dunne seems very much to enjoy herself and lets her satisfaction with her part and her screen-partner shine in her own performance. Her Lucy becomes a true whirlwind, sassy, outspoken and extravagant. As every true comedian, she makes acting look easy. But actually, like every true comedian, she doesn’t even make it noticeable that she is acting at all.
Right after their divorce, The Awful Truth begins with the typical fight of the sexes. Since Lucy is a woman and this is the 30s, she doesn’t flirt or finds herself a little adventure but instead immediately gets engaged to a simpleton from Oklahoma. It’s clear that this isn’t a match made in heaven since the rather clumsy Dan, who travels to New York with his mother, is no man for a woman like Lucy – and Lucy surely knows this, too, but at the beginning it’s her spite and her anger that makes her get engaged to him. Dan is a rebound for her to get back at Jerry and make him jealous but this plan doesn’t work out since he is having too much fun to see her with this man who so obviously isn't even close to being in the same league as her. While Irene Dunne uses the opportunities the script offers her very wisely, her performance in these scenes often feels a bit pushed into the background. Not because of limited screen time but rather because she often is overshadowed by Cary Grant and the hilarious Ralph Bellamy. When Lucy and Dan meet Jerry and his new girl-friend, a naïve chanteuse, she makes some sarcastic remarks in his direction that Irene Dunne delivers with great comic effect but Cary Grant gets the last laugh when he paints Lucy a picture of her future life in Oklahoma City – and since Irene Dunne has established her character as a fun-loving and sophisticated New-York-girl, her painful reaction shots are comedic gold, just as her embarrassed face when Dan forces her on the dance floor and moves rather…unconventional. Irene Dunne wonderfully and hilariously shows the anger and embarrassment in Lucy as she realizes that she has lost this round. The most fun in her performance comes at moments like these when she is caught in awkward situations – the scene when Dan is reading his ‘poetry’ to her is another example and it’s very amusing to see her sophisticated character deal with him. Irene Dunne certainly makes good use of these scenes but, as mentioned before, is often in danger of being overshadowed by her co-stars. But luckily she is always able to prevent this from becoming damaging to her performance since she is able to fill even the most banal moments with a refreshing idea, with an alive outburst of emotions or a dry joke – all with entertaining results.
Cary Grant and Irene Dunne both show how alike Jerry and Lucy are and how wonderful they fit together. It seems that there is nobody else to hold up to their speed. So it’s no surprise when Lucy finally admits to her aunt and to herself that she is still in love with him. Here, Irene Dunne is also allowed to play some more serious moments and she effectively puts them into the context of her own character and the nature of the story. When she learns about Jerry’s engagement to another woman, Lucy tries to hide her true feelings and Irene Dunne is able to say a lot with no words. Her expressive eyes and face, which suddenly loses its glow in these moments, tell the story.
In her most famous scene, Irene Dunne pretends to be Jerry’s sister in front of his fiancée and her family to embarrass him and end their engagement. Her loud and inapt behavior, her dance routine and pretended drunkenness are certainly very funny but also feel a little bit too over-the-top sometimes and Irene Dunne unfortunately also goes a little too far in the later scenes in the car and with the police officers and ends up being rather annoying in these moments. But at the end, she triumphs again with the sudden display of cool eroticism when Lucy and Jerry sleep next door to each other and wait until their divorce becomes final at midnight. Suddenly, Irene Dunne makes everybody notice what should have been noticed the whole time – her sexiness and sensual side. The way she looks at Jerry at the end, lying in bed, makes clear that there is something else that Jerry and Lucy seemed to have done pretty well together…in a moment that feels suddenly very private but also very fascinating she thrillingly shows that ladies like her are still no saints.
Irene Dunne's Lucy has the style and the grace of Jerry’s fiancé, but not her snobby character, and she has the humor of his first girlfriend, but not her naivety or vulgarity. Her Lucy is a wonderful mix of various styles who doesn’t take herself too seriously but also knows what’s best for her (and Jerry). That way Irene Dunne memorably played a woman from the high society while destroying so many of these images at the same time – and having fun at it. It's a performance that is constantly very amusing and could be best described with 'elegant comedy'. For this, she gets
10/27/2010
Best Actress 1937
The next year will be 1937 and the nominees were
Irene Dunne in The Awful Truth
Greta Garbo in Camille
Janet Gaynor in A Star is Born
Luise Rainer in The Good Earth
Barbara Stanwyck in Stella Dallas
11/29/2009
YOUR Best Actress of 1939!
Thanks to everyone who voted!
Here are the results of the poll for Best Actress 1939:
1. Vivien Leigh - Gone with the Wind (64 votes)
2. Greer Garson - Goodbye, Mr. Chips (2 votes)
3. Greta Garbo - Ninotchka (1 vote)
4. Bette Davis - Dark Victory & Irene Dunne - Love Affair (0 votes)
Here are the results of the poll for Best Actress 1939:
1. Vivien Leigh - Gone with the Wind (64 votes)
2. Greer Garson - Goodbye, Mr. Chips (2 votes)
3. Greta Garbo - Ninotchka (1 vote)
4. Bette Davis - Dark Victory & Irene Dunne - Love Affair (0 votes)
11/09/2009
Best Actress 1939 - The resolution!
After having watched and reviewed all five nominated performances, it's time to pick the winner!
5. Irene Dunne in Love Affair
Irene Dunne gives an intelligent performance of a romantic character and her ability to combine drama with comedy turn Terry into a real human being but her chemistry with Charles Boyer is disappointing and the writing often lets her down.
Greer Garson is incredibly charming in the role of Kathy, the woman who gets Mr. Chipping out of his shell and turns him into a popular school master. Unfortunately, the part of Kathy is mostly a plot device and never turns into a three-dimensional character.
Greta Garbo's deadpan line deliveries and her stone-faced expression turn a stern Soviet Comrade into a hilarious character while her chemistry with Melvyn Douglas makes this movie a real classic.
Playing a rich, care-free young girl diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor, Bette Davis delivers one of the most moving performances ever put on the screen. All her talents are used to maximum effect in showing this strong-willed woman's acceptance of her own death.
Carrying the most famous movie of all time, Vivien Leigh delivers the best-known and most iconic performance in motion picture history that gets better with each viewing. She becomes one with Scarlett O'Hara, a character she was born to play and brings to life in the most unforgettable way.
10/29/2009
Best Actress 1939: Irene Dunne in "Love Affair"
When one thinks of love that begins on a boat, the Empire State Building and a wheelchair, then mostly these thoughts come up: An Affair to Remember! Cary Grant! Deborah Kerr! Handkerchiefs!
Irene Dunne is certainly one of the bright stars of Hollywood’s golden age. She brings warmth and humor to her characters, has a lovely singing voice and can combine comedy and drama with ease.
Her talent for witty one-liners and sarcasm are very well used at the beginning of the movie when Michele and Terry first meet. As every other woman in the world, she is enchanted by this famous Frenchman but she holds her own against him. She is playful and charming, out-spoken, a bit sassy but also honest and loving. Irene always shows Terry as a woman with brain and heart. She is a complete opposite to the visible arrogance of Michele and their unlikely pairing becomes even better because of that.
Despite the thin screenplay, Irene is able to make a full-flesh human being out of Terry, shown in so many scenes like when she says Michele that she doesn’t want to be seen with him anymore or the wonderful scenes with his grandmother.
Irene gives an intelligent performance of a romantic character which is no small feat.
After her accident, Dunne gets a little more to do and she handles her dramatic scenes like the one in the hospital beautifully. Also impressive is the scene in the theatre when Michele and Terry meet again for the first time since their boat trip. Irene convincingly shows Terry as a strong, good-natured woman who is never broken by her tragic fate. She never looses her lively personality and that way Irene Dunne is able to prevent the movie from becoming too sentimental. She never turns her scenes into schmaltz but instead stays true to Terry’s personality. I also like that she never tries to get the audience’s sympathy: Terry is strong and accepted her fate but she doesn’t do it in a ‘saintly’ way that makes her look like a tragic heroine.
She also has some nice close-ups during the scene with the children who sing about “wishes”.
And her final, famous scene is also done very nicely even if she is overshadowed by Charles Boyer (who, up to that moment, was rather disappointing, mainly because there is something so cold about him as an actor that makes it impossible for him to appear as a loving person).
Overall, Irene Dunne gives a lovely, romantic and intelligent performance that gets
The remake has clearly overshadowed the original from 1939 with Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne who ironically, like Deborah Kerr, is one of Oscar’s biggest losers.
In Love Affair, Irene Dunne plays Terry McKay who falls in love with Charles Boyer’s French womanizer Michele Ferrante during a boat trip. They agree to meet on the top of the Empire State Building 6 months later but tragedy prevents Terry from making the appointment.
Irene Dunne is certainly one of the bright stars of Hollywood’s golden age. She brings warmth and humor to her characters, has a lovely singing voice and can combine comedy and drama with ease.
Her talent for witty one-liners and sarcasm are very well used at the beginning of the movie when Michele and Terry first meet. As every other woman in the world, she is enchanted by this famous Frenchman but she holds her own against him. She is playful and charming, out-spoken, a bit sassy but also honest and loving. Irene always shows Terry as a woman with brain and heart. She is a complete opposite to the visible arrogance of Michele and their unlikely pairing becomes even better because of that.
Despite the thin screenplay, Irene is able to make a full-flesh human being out of Terry, shown in so many scenes like when she says Michele that she doesn’t want to be seen with him anymore or the wonderful scenes with his grandmother.
Despite that, I am not blown away by her which is mostly the fault of the movie. The story seems very rushed, making Terry often a hard to understand character. They meet and without any real story they are already in love, they want to wait 6 months until they have taken care of things like their other relationships which is never shown, tragedy happens and the end follows. The speed of the movie somehow affects the performances and I must say that I never really see or feel any chemistry between Dunne and Boyer. Sadly, Irene is also not able to keep her character as interesting as it was in the first few minutes of her performances. After a while, she turns into an average love interest. And even though I love Dunne’s soprano, I think that she is seriously miscast as a night club entertainer.
After her accident, Dunne gets a little more to do and she handles her dramatic scenes like the one in the hospital beautifully. Also impressive is the scene in the theatre when Michele and Terry meet again for the first time since their boat trip. Irene convincingly shows Terry as a strong, good-natured woman who is never broken by her tragic fate. She never looses her lively personality and that way Irene Dunne is able to prevent the movie from becoming too sentimental. She never turns her scenes into schmaltz but instead stays true to Terry’s personality. I also like that she never tries to get the audience’s sympathy: Terry is strong and accepted her fate but she doesn’t do it in a ‘saintly’ way that makes her look like a tragic heroine.
She also has some nice close-ups during the scene with the children who sing about “wishes”.
And her final, famous scene is also done very nicely even if she is overshadowed by Charles Boyer (who, up to that moment, was rather disappointing, mainly because there is something so cold about him as an actor that makes it impossible for him to appear as a loving person).
Overall, Irene Dunne gives a lovely, romantic and intelligent performance that gets
10/24/2009
Best Actress 1939
The next year will be 1939 and the nominees were
Bette Davis in Dark Victory
Irene Dunne in Love Affair
Greta Garbo in Ninotchka
Greer Garson in Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind
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