Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Looking Ahead: Monty's March Madness Favorite Actress Tournament #3

A look ahead at the Monty's March Madness Favorite Actress Tournament, part of which we'll be hosting here at the Monkey.

Voting begins March 5.


Barbara Stanwyck
Birth Name: Ruby Catherine Stevens
Tourney Bracket and Seeding: "Tough Broads and Pre-Code Babes" #1
Birth Date: July 16, 1907
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York
Height: 5' 5"
Film Debut: Broadway Nights (1927)
Academy Awards: 4 nominations, honorary Oscar (1982)
Katie Awards: Best Actress (Comedy/Musical) (1941) (Ball of Fire and The Lady Eve) and Best Actress (Drama) (1944) (Double Indemnity)
Three More To See: The Bitter Tea of General Yen, Baby Face, Sorry, Wrong Number

versus

Miriam Hopkins
Birth Name: Ellen Miriam Hopkins
Tourney Bracket and Seeding: "Tough Broads and Pre-Code Babes" #8
Birth Date: October 18, 1902
Birthplace: Savannah, Georgia
Height: 5' 2"
Film Debut: The Home Girl (1928)
Academy Awards: 1 nomination
Katie Awards: Best Supporting Actress (1931-32) (The Smiling Lieutenant and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)
Three More To See: Trouble in Paradise, The Story of Temple Drake, Design for Living

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

Claudette Colbert
Birth Name: Emilie Claudette Chauchoin
Tourney Bracket and Seeding: "Tough Broads and Pre-Code Babes" #4
Birth Date: September 13, 1903
Birthplace: Saint-Mandé, France
Height: 5' 4½"
Film Debut: For the Love of Mike (1927)
Academy Awards: 3 nominations, 1 win (Best Actress, 1934) (It Happened One Night)
Three More To See: Imitation of Life, Midnight, The Palm Beach Story

versus

Mary Astor
Birth Name: Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke
Tourney Bracket and Seeding: "Tough Broads and Pre-Code Babes" #5
Birth Date: May 3, 1906
Birthplace: Quincy, Illinois
Height: 5' 6"
Film Debut: Bullets or Ballots (1921)
Academy Awards: 1 win (Best Supporting Actress, 1941) (The Great Lie)
Katie Awards: Best Supporting Actress (1941) (The Great Lie and The Maltese Falcon)
Three More To See: Red Dust, Dodsworth, The Palm Beach Story

5 comments:

  1. Wait.

    I have to choose between Barbara Stanwyck and Miriam Hopkins in the first f#*&^g round?

    You #$*&^*#^#!

    ReplyDelete
  2. He does #$*&^*#^#; indeed, he #$*&^*#^#s with the best of them..

    Or so I hear. . . .

    ReplyDelete
  3. I tried to pair actresses who were alike in some way, or in a couple of cases (Jeanette MacDonald versus Mae West) polar opposites who nevertheless made their name working the same side of the street (singing in this case). Thus, Brooks v. Bow (silent sex symbols), Gish v. Swanson (silent stars who made their best movie in the 1950s), Pickford v. Gaynor (goodie twoshoes), etc. Friday's preview includes Joan Crawford versus Norma Shearer.

    I see Stanwyck and Hopkins as doing light and dark versions of the same kind of character in their pre-Code work.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Pickford v. Gaynor (goodie twoshoes), etc.

    Oh, and Pickford and Gaynor were the first two actresses to win Oscars ...

    ReplyDelete

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