Saturday, February 18, 2012

Looking Ahead: Monty's March Madness Favorite Actress Tournament #1

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, Monty of All Good Things is once again conducting his mammoth March Madness Favorite Actress Tournament—128 actresses in all, competing in head-to-head, single-elimination contests, looking for the answer to the question "Who is your all-time favorite classic actress?"

To facilitate the effort, Monty has asked me to host the Silent Era/1930s bracket. Beginning today, I'll be previewing the first round match-ups that you'll be seeing here at the Monkey.

Voting starts March 5.

Greta Garbo
Tourney Sub-Bracket and Seeding: "They Had Faces" #1
Birth Name: Greta Lovisa Gustafsson
Birth Date: September 18, 1905
Birthplace: Stockholm, Sweden
Height: 5' 7½"
Film Debut: Herr och fru Stockholm (How Not To Dress) (1920)
Academy Awards: 3 nominations, no wins (honorary award, 1955)
Silent Oscars/Katie Awards: Best Actress 1926 (Flesh and the Devil), Best Actress (Drama) 1932-33 (Queen Christina), Best Actress (Drama) 1936 (Camille)
Three More To See: Anna Christie, Grand Hotel, Ninotchka

versus

Anna May Wong
Tourney Bracket and Seeding: "They Had Faces" #8
Birth Name: Wong Liu Tsong
Birth Date: January 3, 1905
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California
Height: 5' 7"
Film Debut: The Red Lantern (1919)
Academy Awards: none
Silent Oscars/Katie Awards: Best Actress (1922) (The Toll of the Sea)
Three More To See: The Thief of Bagdad, Piccadilly, Shanghai Express

The winner of this match-up will face the winner of:

Clara Bow
Tourney Bracket and Seeding: "They Had Faces" #4
Birth Name: Clara Gordon Bow
Birth Date: July 29, 1905
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York
Height: 5' 3½"
Film Debut: Beyond the Rainbow (1922)
Academy Awards: none
Silent Oscars/Katie Awards: Best Actress (1927) (It), Best Supporting Actress (1927-28) (Wings)
Three More To See: Mantrap, The Wild Party, Call Her Savage

versus

Louise Brooks
Tourney Bracket and Seeding: "They Had Faces" #5
Birth Name: Mary Louise Brooks
Birth Date: November 14, 1906
Birthplace: Cherryvale, Kansas
Height: 5' 2"
Film Debut: The Street of Forgotten Men (1925)
Academy Awards: none
Silent Oscars/Katie Awards: Best Actress (1929-30) (Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl)
Three More To See: A Girl in Every Port, Beggars of Life and Prix de beauté

2 comments:

  1. Very nice John. Love the way you have setup your matches. Should be quite thrilling! Can't wait for March 5th!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think I'll go for Brooks. :)

    Clara Bow is tempting though...

    ReplyDelete

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