The nominees were ...
- Irene Dunne in Theodora Goes Wild
- Gladys George in Valiant Is the Word for Carrie
- Carole Lombard in My Man Godfrey
- Luise Rainer in The Great Ziegfeld
- Norma Shearer in Romeo and Juliet
... when they should have been ...
- Jean Arthur in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
- Mary Astor in Dodsworth
- Jean Harlow in Libeled Lady
- Carole Lombard in My Man Godfrey
- Ginger Rogers in Swing Time
And the Oscar went to ...
At this writing, Luise Rainer is 103 years old, the oldest living winner of the Oscar for acting (and possibly for anything). She was, as every Oscar trivia expert knows, the first person to win two consecutive acting Oscars. Born in Düsseldorf, she was a teenager when she began studying with Max Reinhardt in Vienna, and became a successful stage actress in Vienna and Berlin. An MGM talent scout discovered her while searching for "the next Garbo," and she signed a contract with the studio in 1935, making her debut in a film called Escapade. Her role in The Great Ziegfeld is small, its highlight being a scene in which she congratulates her ex-husband, Ziegfeld, on his remarriage, then breaks into tears when she hangs up. If this hadn't been the first year for the new category, and MGM hadn't been so eager to promote a new star, she might well have been nominated for best supporting actress instead.
... when it should have gone to ...
 |
| Carole Lombard and William Powell in My Man Godfrey |
As the giddy socialite who goes in search of a "forgotten man" during a scavenger hunt and finds down-and-out former socialite William Powell, Lombard scored her only Oscar nomination. She probably deserved one for Twentieth Century, and later for Nothing Sacred and To Be or Not to Be, all movies that demonstrated her peerless comic gifts. She had the looks of a leading lady, but something, a natural effervescence perhaps, made her seem out of place in serious roles. Maybe we should give the sober-sided Academy credit for even nominating her.
No comments:
Post a Comment