Leading Actress 1964

Some huge names in this group. Super eager to watch and see what they offer up. Of course, if you are looking at this come nomination day, would we say it's a stacked group? Probably not and would just want the super popular film to win. I dunno, can't judge my nonexistent past self. But I am excited for this group so let's get it.

1964 Best Actress

Julie Andrews - Mary Poppins

Now we finally get to Andrews' win. I feel like if she had not won for her very first film role here, that she would have won in 1965 for The Sound of Music. Or would have won for whatever film she was in, because she was almost in My Fair Lady, and I could totally see her winning for that role. I have gotten to watch a lot of Andrews' films in this project, not always because she has been nominated. But I have always enjoyed her and her acting style. How can you not like Julie Andrews? Besides being beautiful, she is so charming and quick witted that she just feels natural in whatever character she is playing. She can sing and dance and act and hit comedic notes with just the right precision. She is sort of a do it all actress and it's been fun to see her growth, albeit in a non-linear way. This character is similar in a lot of ways to her Maria Von Trapp and feels like almost a primer for her Oscar win. The character is iconic because of Andrews, but it's also a unique character on its own. She can fly and defy the laws of physics and has all these little tricks and abilities that wow the children and endears the viewer to her. She clearly has a good time with it even when the character can be a bit serious at times, Andrews still makes it warmly comfortable. Her singing is top notch, as is her dancing, and her scenes with Dick Van Dyke are a lot of fun to watch. It is simply an immensely enjoyable performance for someone in their film debut. She was coming from Broadway but it is still very impressive that she could just step in and dominate and feel like this had been her role for her whole life. It's a classic role with an indelible performance that will be hard to unseat as the winner.

Anne Bancroft - The Pumpkin Eater

I had to rewrite this little review because sometimes you just can't quite get good momentum while writing and every sentence sounds like a random thought or non-sequitur. I wish this film had a better title than being based off the nursery rhyme of Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater, which I think one of the children says in the background of the film. It's a character study of Bancroft's character, who is on her third marriage and has like eight or nine kids. We see her marriage breakdown right alongside her psyche and there's a lot of reasons as to why. Her newest husband, Peter Finch, cheats on her while away on a film shoot and constantly lies to her. She seems to only engage in sex to have a kid, so the bedroom is dead. It seems she likes the thrill of getting married and everything that comes with the new beginning and with have another child. There's a lot of neuroses and psychological issues going on for Bancroft's character and she has to go through a wide range of emotions, many of which are shown in closeup. So she has to use her face and her looks to convey exactly what her character is feeling and thinking without much context at times. This was honestly a nice change of pace to the musicals and lighter fare I had seen before this. This is pure dramatic work and a really strong effort from Bancroft. I like when an actor can show us so much range and emotion without doing much more than a look or a shift in body language or her eyes not having a spark like in other scenes. It reminded me of Gena Rowlands work in that this is serious work in a sort of indie type of film. There's a scene where Bancroft breaks down crying in a store that is just incredible acting and she is like that all the way through the film. She is radiant and beautiful in scenes where she is happy and all is well and then gloomy and morose with sunken eyes in scenes where her depression is rearing it's head and her marriage is falling apart. So much range that yo-yo's back and forth throughout the film and it is impressive to watch Bancroft do her thing in this film. I would for sure recommend this since I'm sure no one has heard of it, let alone seen it.

Sophia Loren - Marriage Italian-Style

I am always a little worried when we get a foreign film in this category, or really any category, because I never know if I'm reading the performance/film the right way. Meaning is something getting lost in translation or with me reading subtitles? I want to take everything in and not miss the tiniest of glances or tonal inflections. At least with Loren, I kinda know what I'm getting already. What's left is to see just how good of an actress she is in her native tongue. And... I'm not the biggest fan of the film. I get it, Loren was this super sexy world famous actress who had won an Oscar only three years prior and this feels like the Academy doing what it does best and rewarding someone after a recent win. They do it all the time and I've highlighted it in numerous reviews. I am excited to watch her win and I know she's a great actress, but here she underwhelms a whole lot. Story is about Loren who is rescued when a teenager by a charming Marcello Mastroianni, who we have had the pleasure of reviewing a couples times before. Story continues fluctuating between modern day where the two are estranged and flashbacks where the two are falling in and out of love. It feels like a typical romantic Italian film. Loren doesn't have to really do much heavy lifting and relies on her looks for a lot of scenes but does have some depth to her in those small instances where she can show it off. I just feel like their is better films of this type and for the major actors involved. It feels like this is a sort of milquetoast Italian romance film starring two mega stars in Loren and Mastroianni and everything feels like its being sleepwalked. Feels like a token nomination for Loren because the old white men were infatuated with her and that's it. Not worth the time but I am looking forward to seeing her winning work.

Debbie Reynolds - The Unsinkable Molly Brown

I was not a big fan of this musical if I'm being honest. It was actually pretty boring and I can't remember any songs from the film and I just got done watching it. If a musical doesn't have catchy, recognizable songs that stay with you after watching, then it is not successful as a musical. The only real saving grace of this film is Reynolds. She sure as hell can dance, but we already knew that from her iconic role in Singin' in the Rain. It's used to great acclaim here since some of those musical sequences go on for a long time with Reynolds and cast dancing for awhile. She is not much of a singer but not sure if that is because her character is this tomboy, outcast girl who is pretty rough and tough on the exterior and pretty badass inside with her fighting spirit. She falls in love with some rich local guy near Denver and they try to enter society but are laughed at. They get the upper hand in the end, but she decides to leave the local guy for Europe but reconsiders and books it home on the Titanic. All of that last bit happens in like the last ten minutes or so of the film. I take exception to the title of this film because I honestly thought it would be about her Titanic misadventure and not just an afterthought, but it's only about her early life. The word that kept coming up when reading about this film and Reynolds was boisterous and that fits her to a tee. She is loud and proud and embraces her dumb upbringing. She leans into it but still learns how to read and my favorite scene is the one where she is welcoming the foreign guests to her party and talking to them in different languages. Reynolds is the only reason to watch this film because without her all around effort, this thing is a huge failure. I already was bored with the film, but would have fallen asleep if she wasn't there to keep me awake. This feels more like wanting to reward Reynolds for her career and maybe right a wrong from her early days, I dunno. Certainly not the best musical in this category.

Kim Stanley - Seance on a Wet Afternoon

It's funny how sometimes what I want to initially say matches up with what I said the previous year. So I copy the previous year and paste it here and then make my updates and then write my reviews and I wanted to say that this is an interesting film, just like I did in this spot for 1965. And it is an interesting film. This is about a domineering medium, Stanley, who forces her meek husband (Richard Attenborough) to kidnap a young girl so that she can eventually contact the family to say she knows what happened to their daughter. Clever, but also you know it's just gonna end up going wrong. There's a lot of tension in waiting to see how things are going to unravel for the couple and I think Attenborough is fantastic in his role. Stanley plays her role in a rather gentle manner. She never screams or yells or acts wildly towards her husband. It is all done in a very mild, but stern manner as we see how domineering she can be and how meek her husband is. She is deranged and insane and it seems to stem from losing her child when they were very young. Stanley does a great job of portraying this seemingly innocent looking woman as a person who is not at all right in the head. Even at the end when they get rid of the girl, she says things in a cheery way and feels more at ease. A good thriller has you become disturbed by the main character and Stanley makes you want to smack her in the face for her depravity. That's the mark of a good performance as she gets us to absolutely hate her and feel sickened by her husband but also feel sorrow for Stanley commanding him. It's a very good suspenseful thriller where we root against Stanley even as she does everything to make herself look innocent. Really kinda dug this little film as it is very different than the normal stuff we get in Best Actress.



Okay, so this is a good group and a really hard one to figure out the winner. Loren is the obvious fifth spot. Not a fan of the film and not a fan of her performance and it's just all blah. Stanley is very interesting and I appreciate that kind of film which I wasn't expecting. Enjoyed what she did with the performance. Reynolds absolutely carries her film and without her, it is a pile of hot garbage. Not at all good enough to win, but should be rewarded with the middle. My big battle is between Andrews and Bancroft. I understand Andrews' win for her role because it is iconic and she did so much with that musical. But on pure acting, I'm giving it to Bancroft who blew me away with her dramatic work. It makes her other work make sense and she is not just Mrs. Robinson. I think she's fantastic and felt she deserved the win. A really diverse group of roles and films and I can't wait to keep diving into these.

Oscar Winner: Julie Andrews - Mary Poppins
My Winner:  Anne Bancroft - The Pumpkin Eater
Julie Andrews
Debbie Reynolds
Kim Stanley
Sophia Loren