Best Actress Ranking - Update

Here is a new update. The newly added performance is highlighted in bold. 

My winning performances are higlighted in red.

1. Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind (1939)
2. Jessica Lange in Frances (1982)
3. Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard (1950)
4. Olivia de Havilland in The Heiress (1949)
5. Anne Bancroft in The Graduate (1967)
6. Janet Gaynor in Seventh Heaven (1927-1928)   
7. Jill Clayburgh in An Unmarried Woman (1978)
8. Glenn Close in Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
9. Geraldine Page in The Trip to Bountiful (1985)
10. Susan Sarandon in Thelma & Louise (1991)

11. Edith Evans in The Whisperers (1967)
12. Norma Shearer in Marie Antoinette (1938)
13. Greta Garbo in Ninotchka (1939)
14. Faye Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
15. Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth (1998)
16. Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
17. Simone Signoret in Room at the Top (1959)
18. Bette Davis in The Little Foxes (1941)
19. Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music (1965)
20. Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame (1958)

21. Glenda Jackson in Women in Love (1970)
22. Joanne Woodward in The Three Faces of Eve (1957)
23. Elizabeth Taylor in Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)
24. Barbara Stanwyck in Ball of Fire (1941)
25. Emily Watson in Hilary and Jackie (1998)
26. Julie Christie in Away from Her (2007)
27. Shelley Winters in A Place in the Sun (1951)
28. Audrey Hepburn in Wait until Dark (1967)
29. Ingrid Bergman in The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945)
30. Anne Baxter in All about Eve (1950)

31. Judi Dench in Mrs. Brown (1997)
32. Helen Hayes in The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1932)
33. Jane Fonda in Coming Home (1978)
34. Greer Garson in Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)
35. Doris Day in Pillow Talk (1959)
36. Meryl Streep in One True Thing (1998)
37. Deborah Kerr in From Here to Eternity (1953)
38. Katharine Hepburn in Guess who’s coming to dinner (1967)
39. Marsha Mason in Chapter Two (1979)
40. Jane Wyman in The Yearling (1946)

41. Martha Scott in Our Town (1940)
42. Teresa Wright in The Pride of the Yankees (1942) 
43. Jennifer Jones in Love Letters (1945)
44. Ellen Burstyn in Same Time, Next Year (1978)
45. Susan Hayward in My Foolish Heart (1949)
46. Eleanor Parker in Detective Story (1951)
47. Vanessa Redgrave in Mary, Queen of Scots (1971)
48. Diane Keaton in Marvin's Room (1996)
49. Loretta Young in Come to the Stable (1949)  
50. Mary Pickford in Coquette (1928-29)

51. Sissy Spacek in The River (1984)
52. Shirley MacLaine in The Turning Point (1977)
53. Irene Dunne in Cimarron (1930-1931)
54. Ruth Chatterton in Madame X (1928-29)
55. Diana Wynyard in Cavalcade (1932-1933)

Simone Signoret as Alice Aisgill in Room at the Top

I don’t want to comment yet if I would have voted for Simone Signoret in 1959’s Best Actress race but I can start my review with the words that it is still one of my favorite Oscar wins for reasons that go beyond the actual performance. To say it better – even if it might not be my favorite winning performance, it is still one of my favorite wins. 

Because how many times does a win like this happen? Simone Signoret plays the elderly lover of a young man with limited screen time that a lot of other actresses might have caused to go the supporting route. Also, even if she was an internationally acclaimed actress, she was still up against four American superstars – Elizabeth Taylor, Doris Day, Katharine Hepburn and Audrey Hepburn. Especially Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor had roles that were extremely showy while Simone Signoret played a part that was often a cliché. Add to that that Simone Signoret underplayed her part and actively refused to take any chances that would have allowed her to go broad and it just makes you happy to think that Academy members really voted for her to win because they actually thought that she was the best and they were able for once to forget their love for BIG acting (just look at the previous Best Actress winners Grace Kelly, Anna Magnani, Ingrid Bergman, Joanne Woodward and Susan Hayward who all had chances to let their acting overwhelm the screen and took it eagerly). So this is a fantastic win simply because of how unusual it is – and the best thing is that the enthusiasm for Simone Signoret’s performance is also mostly completely justified.

As mentioned above, Simone Signoret played the part of Alice Aisgill, a middle-aged woman who starts an affair with a much younger man who wants to get ahead socially by courting the daughter of some rich business man while also falling in love with Alice. As also mentioned above, the role of Alice is very often a cliché and doesn’t actually offer a lot on paper – Alice is a sad woman, trapped in a loveless marriage, seeking opportunities for have affairs until she falls in love with Joe; at this moment she finally seems to find a chance for a better life but her happiness has ultimately no place in Joe’s ambitious plans. It is also a secondary role as Joe is the clear center of the story and other characters in his story come and go just the way Alice does. 

So, there is a lot going against Simone Signoret in this part – and it’s so fascinating to see how she took all of these disadvantages and turned them into something truly captivating. Because everything that is so fascinating about Alice as a character comes only from Simone Signoret’s performance and presence – not from the screenplay not from the direction, not from her co-stars, only from her. Her unique appearance, that French accent, that completely calm style create a performance that is as unexpected as it is fulfilling.

I am not sure if there is another performance in this category that so much defines the words “mature” and “erotic”. Simone Signoret embodies the kind of mature wisdom that is so often attached to performers but in her case, the praise is more than earned. Her Alice has not necessarily seen it all nor knows everything but she has accepted what life has to offer while grabbing every chance for happiness at the same time. There is nothing “flirty” about her, she is as straight-forward as one can possibly be without creating any false illusions but you’d be hard-pressed to find a performance that radiates more sex-appeal. After watching Room at the Top, it feels almost impossible to not think that Simone Signoret could be the most beautiful woman on earth. Her Alice is a cool, composed figure without any grand emotions but she possesses a face and eyes that can tell the whole story of her life. And she portrays all this in such a calm and composed manner that it creates a fascinating contrast to everything that we might expect of her.

So it is no surprise that Simone Signoret always shines most in scenes that ask her to portray her depth of feelings, that constant sadness, that hesitation of joy and that sexual maturity, and mostly focus on her face – sitting in the car next to Joe talking about her marriage, seducing him only with her eyes, being a friendly advisor in his quest to conquer another woman, saying goodbye to him at a train station or quietly telling him all he did wrong and how he threw away every chance for happiness without ever raising her voice but still creating the most condemning effect.

My main reason for not putting her higher in my ranking despite my enthusiasm is that, even if she is able to overcome the obstacles put in her way, she is still held back by the screenplay that never really explores Alice as a character – even Simone Signoret cannot fully explain just why Alice is so obsessed by Joe, why she would have been involved with her husband in the first place and why the character would end up the way she does. And since the fascination from Simone Signoret comes from her being such a calm presence, any scenes that demand a more “active” acting from her don’t achieve the same effect – mainly her first break-up scene with Joe feels a bit out-of-place when she walks around the apartment and insults him in a more direct manner.

So, this is a unique and truly one-of-a-kind Oscar winner that proves that, in some cases, less is truly more.

YOUR Best Actress of 1965!

Here are the poll results:

1. Julie Christie - Darling (20 votes)

2. Julia Andrews - The Sound of Music (9 votes)

3. Simone Signoret - Ship of Fools (3 votes)

4. Elizabeth Hartman - A Patch of Blue (2 votes)

5. Samantha  Eggar - The Collector (0 votes)


Thanks to everyone for voting!

Best Actress 1965 - The resolution!

After having watched and reviewed all five nominated performances, it's time to pick the winner!

5. Simone Signoret in Ship of Fools

Simone adds a lot of dignity to her part but apart from suffering for 20 minutes, she barely gets anything to do. She is the female part of a very romantic, hopeless and tragic storyline but her presence is too limited and her character too underdeveloped to really shine.

4. Samantha Eggar in The Collector

                     

Samantha Eggar’s character never really lets her go beyond the tasks of the script but it is nevertheless a very effective and absorbing portrayal of a frightened woman. She shows Miranda's struggle and hope to escape and how she goes through various psychological states of minds from refusal to acceptance to sympathy for her kidnapper and pure fear of death. Besides that, she is also able to prevent her character from stepping too much into the background next to the diabolical work from Terrence Stamp.

 3. Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music

Everything in this movie is too sugarcoated and sweetish but Julie is magically able to be believable in an unbelievable part. She took cheesy, underdeveloped material and turned it into something much deeper and more mature than expected and that way gives a warm, humorous and touching performance that helps to keep the movie going.

2. Julie Christie in Darling

Julie Christie totally inhabits the character of Diana to the point that she doesn’t seem to be acting anymore. She is completely natural at everything she is doing in this performance is able to deliver a firework of emotions without ever making it seem unreal or overdone. She finds exactly the right tone for her character to fit her performance to the style of the movie.      

1. Elizabeth Hartman in A Patch of Blue

Elizabeth Hartman gives a wonderfully simple performance that illuminates the simple character she is playing at every second. She avoids any grand gestures and emotions and instead gives an honest and emotionally captivating performance that turns Selina into one of the most tragic and at the same time uplifting characters of all time which is a remarkable feat.

Best Actress 1965: Simone Signoret in "Ship of Fools"

After having won an Oscar for suffering subtly, Simone Signoret received her second nomination for a role in which she showed again that no great overacting is needed to create a memorable character.

Ship of Fools is an ensemble piece that tells the story of various characters who are on a passenger ship on their way to Germany shortly before Hitler’s raise to power.

Almost all of the characters are introduced in a rather simple way. While they are eating in the dining room, the scenes cuts from table to table and show the various passengers and introduce the viewer to their storyline. There is a Nazi sympathizer, a friendly Jew, a woman hunter and others.

Only one character enters the movie in a rather spectacular way and that is the La Condesa, played by Simone Signoret. When the ship makes a stop in Cuba to take hundreds of Spanish peasants back to Spain, there is suddenly a cheer in the crowd and all the people start to joyfully shout and wave and call “Condesa!” And then the Condesa enters, accompanied by two prison guards. This almost royal entrance already sets her character apart from all the others on the ship.
Simone right from the beginning shows her talent for quiet suffering: we see no joy in the Condesa, she rather appears sad and defeated and not once does she look at the joyful crowd that is cheering to her.

Soon we are told the reason for her unhappiness: her house was burned down, all her things were taken away from her and she is being transferred to a prison in Europe.

Like in Room at the Top, Simone again plays a mature, adult woman who is dealing with a rather stern and humorless man. To make her Condesa an effective counterpart to Oskar Werner’s Dr. Schumann, she mixes her character’s sadness with a hint of humor and relaxed openness. She seems to take an interest in him, she is amused by him. This results in a wonderful, interesting and captivating chemistry with Oskar Werner and the two of them easily turn their storyline into the most interesting one of the movie (but to be honest, that’s not that difficult since almost all the other storylines tend to be underwhelming or downright horrible; especially José Ferrer is too awful to describe).

Simone and Oskar are very charming in their relationship. There is something about their acting that makes it seem like they are two curious teenagers but at the same time the burden and problems of their lives and their experience are obvious in every frame.

There is also the question if she really loves him or is trying to get his sympathy to receive drugs from him. Unfortunately, this aspect of the story is rather undeveloped and Simone seems to try to make her characher more likeable by focusing on the romantic aspect of the story.

La Condesa is a women who openly talks about personal things without holding anything back. She is a very honest person and Simone is, as usually, able to show tragedy and sorrow on her expressive face in a very remarkable way.

And also like in Room at the Top, Simone Signoret lacks screen time compared to other leading ladies but the big difference is that she was still a central character and dominated the story. In Ship of Fools, Simone only exists in her own storyline and even though it is clearly the best of the movie, she is quickly forgotten whenever she leaves the screen. It’s a clear ensemble piece and it’s hard to point out Simone as a leading character and she is not able to lift the whole movie to a greater level. She also suffers from the fact that Oskar Werner overshadows her.

Simone adds a lot of dignity to her part but apart from suffering for 20 minutes, she barely gets anything to do. She is the female part of a very romantic, hopeless and tragic storyline but her presence is too limited and her character too underdeveloped to really shine.

Overall, it’s an effective performance that getes

Best Actress 1965

The next year will be 1965 and the nominees were

Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music

Julie Christie in Darling

Samantha Eggar in The Collector

Elizabeth Hartman in A Patch of Blue

Simone Signoret in Ship of Fools

YOUR Best Actress of 1959!

Here are the results of the voting:

1. Simone Signoret - Room at the Top (28 votes)

2. Katharine Hepburn - Suddenly, Last Summer (6 votes)

3. Audrey Hepburn - The Nun's Story (2 votes)

4. Doris Day - Pillow Talk & Elizabeth Taylor - Suddenly, Last Summer (1 vote)


Thanks for voting!

Best Actress 1959 - The resolution!

After having watched and reviewed all five nominated performances, it's time to pick the winner!

5. Doris Day in Pillow Talk

In Pillow Talk, Doris Day combines child-like innocence with a good deal of sex and creates a character who stands for everything that she is famous for – Jan is a little naïve, pure and innocent, apparently independent and happy without a man while secretly desperate to meet one. It’s an honest and good-hearted characterization that is mostly overshadowed by the hilarious work from Miss Day’s co-stars but she acts with ease and simplicity and helps to turn Pillow Talk into a charming comedy.

4. Elizabeth Taylor in Suddenly, Last Summer

                     

Elizabeth Taylor gives the kind of exaggerated performance that a character like Catherine in a movie like Suddenly, Last Summer surely needs. She is melodramatic and over-the-top but never does she become unbelievable. She performs her challenging part with an astonishing rawness and dedication that is almost exhausting to watch.

3. Simone Signoret in Room at the Top

Simone Signoret’s wonderful voice, her captivating accent and her unique beauty help immensely to give the suffering and melancholic Alice all the qualities the script demands from her. Her no-nonsense and thoughtful approach to this passionate character is very unique and she wonderfully underplays all the emotions of Alice to give a very subtle performance of a very fervid woman.

2. Audrey Hepburn in The Nun's Story

In a performance that is a masterwork in subtlety and grace, Audrey Hepburn as usually shines like an angel but she also flawlessly demonstrates her character’s constant inner struggle with a mix of doubt and confidence that is beautiful to watch in its simplicity. She works from inside to bring Gabrielle to life and carries the movie wonderfully as she is always believable in every step of her character.

1. Katharine Hepburn in Suddenly, Last Summer

Katharine Hepburn leaves little doubt that Mrs. Venable is very close to a mental breakdown but she chose to avoid any grand gestures or crazy facial work and instead decided to play the part as straight-forward and subtle as possible without ever making it too subtle – the craziness is always there but in a very controlled and hidden way which makes her whole performance incredibly mesmerizing. She dominates the screen with self-security and self-assurance but there is always a desperation and loneliness behind her façade that gets her closer and closer to the edge of insanity.

Best Actress 1959: Simone Signoret in "Room at the Top"

Room at the Top tells the story of Joe Lampton, a young and ambitious man who tries to make it to the top by getting close to Susan, the daughter of a powerful man but he also falls in love with Alice, an older and unhappily married woman.

Everything in Room at the Top is very British – the actors, the locations, the whole atmosphere. So the casting of French actress Simone Signoret in the part of Alice was a genius idea – it perfectly underlines that Alice is a woman who sticks out from all the other people in the movie and also points out the loneliness of the character. Alice is a woman in a world that does not fit her. When she talks about her youth in Paris, it’s clear that she did not imagine that life would bring her in some English town as the wife of a British snob who (almost openly) cheats on her.

Alice is different and that differences makes her an incredibly fascinating woman. A lot of this is owed to the fact that Simone Signoret is a very unique presence of the screen. Her wonderful voice, her captivating accent and her unique beauty help immensely to give Alice all the qualities the script demands from her. Her no-nonsense and thoughtful approach to this passionate character is very unique. Simone wonderfully underplays all the emotions of Alice and gives a very subtle performance of a very passionate character.

This underplaying of Alice is the most fascinating aspect of Simone’s performance. The loneliness of her life seems to have made her a rather withdrawn woman but at the same time, Simone constantly hints that there is a very loving and living character beneath the calm surface. As another character in the movie puts it: “Alice is all woman.”

Simone Signoret’s ability to turn Alice into such a complex character is wonderful to watch. And she is also able to bring the much needed tragic quality to Alice – because Alice is a woman who is mostly sad and Simone’s sad smile is an unforgettable image. Simone is flawlessly able to show melancholy and tragic in every second of her performance but at the same time, she never overplays the sadness of the character. She doesn’t use Alice’s unhappy life and marriage to create any sympathy for her and instead, she suffers quietly inside. Despite the passion that Alice possesses, she is also a rather logical and matter-of-fact character and her suffering is only another matter-of-fact circumstance that doesn’t need any accentuation.

But Alice is also longing for love and passion. And she finds happiness in an affair with 25-year old Joe. Joe is a very complicated character. On the one hand, he likes to shout out loud that he is proud to be a member of the working class but on the other hand he tries everything to get ahead and leave this class. And he envies the rich and powerful just as much as he seems to despise them – so his love to Susan is never a real love. The only real love that Joe experiences is with Alice because with her he can be just as he is. There is no pretending between the two and Alice knows that. She knows how much their loves is worth and that she, even though she is older than him and they have to hide their love, can give him more than any other woman. Simone Signoret is able to portray this by making Alice an incredibly mature character – she is far beyond girlish romance but instead she knows life and love and what it all means. Simone wonderfully balances two aspects of Alice – on the one hand, she is mature and grown-up and it’s obvious that Joe isn’t her first lover and her quiet confidence seems to show a strong character but on the other hand her constant melancholy drive her into a state of dependency from Joe and the love she has for him goes far beyond a casual affair. Simone’s ability to mix strength with weakness and toughness with loving softness keep Alice a believable character.

To see Simone Signoret express so much with so little is amazing. She would have a lot of opportunities to show big emotions and break downs. Her break-up with Joe could have been such a scene but she chose to simply sit on a chair and talks very quiet and calm, but the viewer can see her heart breaking inside. During their whole time together she helped him to develop himself and become a better person. As the more mature and experienced of the two, she seemed to take the lead but at the same time she needed love and protection herself but he ultimately chose his own interests over her. When she tells him how wrong he is, her eyes are so reproachful that she can make Joe feel ashamed of all his behaviors without having even to raise her voice.

This voice is another big plus in Simone’s performance. Her French accent works wonderfully to turn Alice into this passionate woman whose voice sounds sad and hungry for life at the same time.

It’s an unforgettable portrayal that doesn’t need any big outbursts or break-downs – Simone's ability to show any kind of feeling or emotion only with her eyes is enough to stay in the viewer's mind.

The only thing that works against Simone is the script that unfortunately reduces Alice to one of two love-interests of Joe without any life beside him.

Still, a marvelous performance from one of the great actresses that gets

Best Actress 1959

The next year will be 1959 and the nominees were

Doris Day in Pillow Talk

Audrey Hepburn in The Nun's Story

Katharine Hepburn in Suddenly, Last Summer

Simone Signoret in Room at the Top

Elizabeth Taylor in Suddenly, Last Summer