March Madness Preview #1: 1960s "Europe's Most Wanted"

My Favorite Performances By An Actress In The Sixties (A Baker's Dozen)

Monty of All Good Things is once again hosting his annual Favorite Classic Movie Actress Tournament this March. We here at the Monkey are proud to be handling the 1960s bracket.

To get into the mood, here's an idiosyncratic list of my favorite performances by an actress in the 1960s (in alphabetical order):

Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins). I could have also gone with The Americanization of Emily and The Sound of Music. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, indeed!

Doris Day (Lover Come Back). I prefer this pairing with Rock Hudson even over Pillow Talk.

Audrey Hepburn (Breakfast at Tiffany's). Charade is another personal favorite, but the scene where Holly Golightly crawls through the window into George Peppard's bed puts this over the top.

Sally Ann Howes (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang). A doll on a music box.

Carolyn Jones (Television's The Addams Family). Katie-Bar-The-Door and I have modeled our marriage on Carolyn Jones' Morticia and John Astin's Gomez. Without the seven-foot butler.

Shirley Jones (The Music Man). Serves me right for not being musical.

Angela Lansbury (The Manchurian Candidate). Boy, and you think you've got mother issues ...

Shirley MacLaine (The Apartment). Probably my favorite performance from the 1960s.

Misfit Dolly (voiced by Corinne Conley) (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer). Who among is so hard-hearted not to be moved by the tears of a doll? Especially a red-headed doll?

Julie Newmar (recurring role on TV's Batman). Julie Newmar's stoner Catwoman and Frank Gorshin's speed-freak Riddler are two of the greatest comedy villains of all-time.

Paula Prentiss (Man's Favorite Sport?) I'd go fishing with Paula Prentiss any day.

Diana Rigg (On Her Majesty's Secret Service). You should also check her out in Theatre of Blood, a Vincent Price masterpiece.

Tippy Walker (The World Of Henry Orient) One of the most poignant performances of the decade. Read about this great lost talent in The New Yorker (here).

Theatre Of Blood (1973): Mini Review

Caught Theatre of Blood on the big screen at the AFI-Silver the other night. Starring Vincent Price and Diana Rigg, Theatre of Blood is the story of a hammy Shakespearean actor (Price) who with the help of his daughter (Rigg) re-purposes various murder scenes from the Bard's works to take revenge on the critics who skewered him.

Vincent Price is at his most Vincent Price-y, Diana Rigg shows off both her very fine acting chops and her very fine legs. Also features supporting performances from a veritable who's-who of British character actors: Harry Andrews, Jack Hawkins, Michael Hordern, Robert Morley, Dennis Price, Coral Browne, Milo O'Shea.

A delightful hoot. 4 stars out of 5.

The Final Four Is Set

The final four is set in the 2013 Favorite Classic Movie Actress Tournament—three favorites and a longshot, any one of whom would make a worthy winner.

The matches:

Carole Lombard

versus

Doris Day

with the winner to compete against the winner of

Bette Davis

versus

Diana Rigg

Voting starts tomorrow is now underway and runs through Tuesday at All Good Things.

Who Am Us Sez ...

No, seriously, that's what he said, in the comments section of the previous post. To be sung, he said, as if by a barbershop quartet.

You can take it up with Who Am Us Anyway here.

1960s Era Final Match-Up

I'm a big fan of both Diana Rigg and Shirley Jones, but to be honest with you, I didn't know anybody else was and I fully expected Dame Rigg and Mrs. Jones—both seeded seventh in their respective brackets—to lose in the opening round. Instead, each of these Cinderellas has put together a magical run and one of them is advancing to the Final Four.

You'll have to ask Monty at All Good Things, the host of this annual Tournament, but I don't think a lower seeded actress has ever advanced to the Final Four.

Once again, your contestants:

Diana Rigg

Birth Name: Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg
Tourney Bracket and Seeding: "British Invasion" #7
Birth Date: July 30, 1938
Birthplace: Doncaster, Yorkshire, England
Height: 5' 8½"
Academy Awards: none
Katie-Bar-The-Door Awards: best supporting actress of 1969 (On Her Majesty's Secret Service)
Three To See: On Her Majesty's Secret Service, The Hospital, Theater of Blood
How She Got Here: defeated #2 Julie Christie, 43-19; #6 Angela Lansbury, 44-40; #1 Julie Andrews, 48-21; #1 Catherine Deneuve, 38-13

Shirley Jones

Birth Name: Shirley Mae Jones
Tourney Bracket and Seeding: "Song and Dance" #7
Birth Date: March 31, 1934
Birthplace: Charleroi, Pennsylvania
Height: 5' 5½"
Academy Awards: 1 win (supporting actress, Elmer Gantry)
Katie-Bar-The-Door Awards: best actress of 1962 (comedy/musical) (The Music Man)
Three To See: Carousel, Elmer Gantry, The Music Man
How She Got Here: defeated # 2 Shirley MacLaine, 45-42; #6 Liza Minnelli, 34-18; #1 Natalie Wood, 34-26; #1 Anne Bancroft, 34-18

The matches to determine the winner of each of the other eras should be up some time today. Remember:

Monty of All Good Things is hosting the 1930s bracket—Barbara Stanwyck v. Carole Lombard (click here).
Desiree of Rosalind Russell: Dazzling Star is hosting the 1940s bracket—Bette Davis v. Rita Hayworth (click here).
Kristen of Journey in Classic Film is hosting the 1950s bracket—Doris Day v. Ava Gardner (click here).

The Sweet Sixteen

Round Three of the 2013 Favorite Classic Movie Actress Tournament is complete and the Sweet Sixteen is set. The final results for the 1960s era by bracket:

"Song and Dance"
#7 Shirley Jones defeated #1 Natalie Wood 34-26.
"All-American Girls"
#1 Anne Bancroft 33 defeated #6 Paula Prentiss 33-22
"The British Invasion"
#7 Diana Rigg defeated #1 Julie Andrews 48-21
"A Foreign Affair"
#1 Catherine Deneuve defeated #6 Romy Schneider 34-30

The Round Four pairings by decade:

1930s
Barbara Stanwyck versus Greta Garbo
Carole Lombard versus Joan Blondell

1940s
Bette Davis versus Judy Garland
Rita Hayworth versus Gene Tierney

1950s
Audrey Hepburn versus Doris Day
Grace Kelly versus Ava Gardner

and here at the Monkey, with a couple of #7 seeds against a couple of #1 seeds, the 1960s pairings:

Anne Bancroft versus Shirley Jones

Catherine Deneuve versus Diana Rigg

Voting starts now and runs until Saturday evening. Gentlemen, start your engines!

Favorites, Cinderellas—And A Tie

The second round of the 2013 Favorite Classic Movie Actress Tournament is complete—well, almost—and among the winners are a mixture of favorites and Cinderellas. Here at the Monkey, each quarter-final round in the 1960s bracket includes a #1 seed and either a #6 or a #7 seed. The other eras produced similar results, with favorites such as Carole Lombard and Audrey Hepburn and longshots such as Eleanor Powell advancing.

And the 1940s era produced the first tie in the three-year history of the tournament, with Lauren Bacall and Ida Lupino deadlocked after three full days of voting. Desiree is hosting a today-only tiebreaker to determine the winner: "Which performance with co-star Humphrey Bogart did you like more? Lauren Bacall in To Have and Have Not or Ida Lupino in They Drive By Night." Click here to get your vote on.

Meanwhile, the rest of the tournament continues with round three.

Here at the Monkey, you have four matches to vote on:

"Song and Dance"
#1 Natalie Wood versus #7 Shirley Jones

"All-American Girls"
#1 Anne Bancroft versus #6 Paula Prentiss

"The British Invasion"
#1 Julie Andrews versus #7 Diana Rigg

"A Foreign Affair"
#1 Catherine Deneuve versus #6 Romy Schneider

Monty of All Good Things is hosting the 1930s bracket (click here).
Kristen of Journeys in Classic Film is hosting the 1950s bracket (click here).

Round Two Continues (Results And More Voting)

More round two voting starts tonight and continues until Saturday evening. Let's get right to the match-ups:

"The British Invasion"
#1 Julie Andrews versus #4 Maggie Smith

#6 Angela Lansbury versus #7 Diana Rigg

"All-American Girls"
#1 Anne Bancroft versus #4 Patricia Neal

#6 Paula Prentiss versus #7 Tuesday Weld

And how about the results of the rest of round two here at the Monkey:
Natalie Wood beat Ann-Margret 31-17
Shirley Jones beat Liza Minneli 34-18
Catherine Deneuve beat Claudia Cardinale 27-20
Romy Schneider beat Liv Ullman 29-28

Monty of All Good Things is hosting the 1930s bracket (click here).
Desiree of Rosalind Russell: Dazzling Star is hosting the 1940s bracket (click here).
Kristen of Journey in Classic Film is hosting the 1950s bracket (click here).

Vote Now!

Remember:

Monty of All Good Things is hosting the 1930s bracket (click here).
Desiree of Rosalind Russell: Dazzling Star is hosting the 1940s bracket (click here).
Kristen of Journeys in Classic Film is hosting the 1950s bracket (click here).
and yours truly is hosting the 1960s bracket (you're already here)!

Sneak Preview: 2013 Favorite Classic Movie Actress Tournament: The 1960s Bracket #2

Voting starts March 3rd.

Julie Christie

Birth Name: Julie Frances Christie
Tourney Bracket and Seeding: "British Invasion" #2
Birth Date: April 14, 1941
Birthplace: Chabua, Assam, India
Height: 5' 2"
Academy Awards: 4 nominations, 1 win (actress, Darling)
Signature Role: Lara (Doctor Zhivago)

versus

Diana Rigg

Birth Name: Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg
Tourney Bracket and Seeding: "British Invasion" #7
Birth Date: July 30, 1938
Birthplace: Doncaster, Yorkshire, England
Height: 5' 8½"
Academy Awards: none
Signature Role: Emma Peel ("The Avengers")

with the winner to take on the winner of

Jean Simmons

Birth Name: Jean Merilyn Simmons
Tourney Bracket and Seeding: "British Invasion" #3
Birth Date: January 31, 1929
Birthplace: Crouch Hill, London, England
Height: 5' 6"
Academy Awards: 2 nominations
Signature Role: Sister Sharon (Elmer Gantry)

versus

Angela Lansbury

Birth Name: Angela Brigid Lansbury
Tourney Bracket and Seeding: "British Invasion" #6
Birth Date: October 16, 1925
Birthplace: Poplar, London, England
Height: 5' 8"
Academy Awards: 3 nominations
Signature Role: Mrs. Eleanor Shaw Iselin (The Manchurian Candidate)

Notes: Christie versus Rigg—an actress born in India versus one who grew up there. And Simmons and Lansbury first hit it big in the 1940s.

Before, During And After #13: Diana Rigg

For my blog pal Who Am Us Anyway ...

age 5 (in India)

age 31 (from On Her Majesty's Secret Service)

age 74