2016 Favorite Classic Movie Actress Tournament: Classy Broads

The "Classy Broads" division of the 1940s bracket. There's nothing like a dame.

Voting begins on March 6.

The Katie-Bar-The-Door Awards (1945)

Joan Crawford was a complicated woman—which is to say that like all of us, she had her good points and her bad points. She was catty and cruel, she was uneducated and insecure about it, she had the morals of an alley cat and her failures as a mother are legendary. But she also had a tremendous work ethic, always tried to improve herself, and as far as I can tell, she never phoned in a performance, not even in the execrable sci-fi horror flick, Trog, which proved to be her last.

And she was always willing to take a shot at Norma Shearer, which is a plus all by itself.

A lot has been written over the years about Joan Crawford's private life, particularly with regard to her sexuality and her parenting skills, so much so that the scandals have completely obscured her work as an actress. But if I were handing out awards based on people's private lives, we'd wind up with a roster full of nice people and very few good movies. Only to the extent that I can discern a clear relationship between a person's off-screen life and their on-screen work will I tend to dwell on the former. Beyond that, celebrity gossip bores me. In fact, as far as I can tell, when they're not working, most celebrities are actually pretty dull people.

Besides, in his biography Possessed: The Life of Joan Crawford, Donald Spoto states flatly that the infamous "No wire hangers!" incident never happened. But then a lot of famous incidents never happened—J. Edgar Hoover didn't wear dresses, Walt Disney wasn't cryogenically frozen, and the military-industrial complex didn't assassinate John F. Kennedy.

Fans of the novel might be tempted to complain that Hollywood sanitized and simplified James M. Cain's original vision. But let's face it, no novel ending with the line "Let's get stinko" was going to make it to the big screen intact in 1945. Besides, the final product is plenty violent for all but the most bloodthirsty among us and as cynical about human behavior as the darkest film noir. Mildred Pierce isn't a perfect movie, just a great one and Crawford gave her best performance in it.

What else do you need to know. Anchors Aweigh is the one where Gene Kelly dances with Jerry the Mouse, The Naughty Nineties is the one with the most complete (and best) version of Abbott and Costello's "Who's On First?" routine. And Children of Paradise is considered by many to be the best movie France has ever produced.

Have at it.

PICTURE (Drama)
winner: Brief Encounter (prod. Noel Coward)
nominees: And Then There Were None (prod. René Clair); Detour (prod. Leon Fromkess); The Lost Weekend (prod. Charles Brackett); Mildred Pierce (prod. Jerry Wald); The Southerner (prod. Robert Hakim and David L. Loew); They Were Expendable (prod. John Ford); A Tree Grows In Brooklyn (prod. Louis D. Lighton)

PICTURE (Comedy/Musical)
winner: Anchors Aweigh (prod. Joe Pasternak)
nominees: Blithe Spirit (prod. Noel Coward); I Know Where I'm Going! (prod. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger)

PICTURE (Foreign Language)
winner: Les enfants du paradis (Children Of Paradise) (prod.Raymond Borderie and Fred Orain)
nominees: Roma, città aperta (Rome, Open City) (prod. Giuseppe Amato, Ferruccio De Martino and Roberto Rossellini)

ACTOR (Drama)
winner: Ray Milland (The Lost Weekend)
nominees: Jean-Louis Barrault (Les enfants du paradis a.k.a. Children Of Paradise); Trevor Howard (Brief Encounter); James Mason (The Seventh Veil); Robert Montgomery (They Were Expendable); Edward G. Robinson (Scarlet Street)

ACTOR (Comedy/Musical)
winner: Bud Abbott and Lou Costello (The Naughty Nineties)
nominees: Rex Harrison (Blithe Spirit); Gene Kelly (Anchors Aweigh); Roger Livesey (I Know Where I'm Going!)

ACTRESS (Drama)
winner: Joan Crawford (Mildred Pierce)
nominees: Arletty (Les enfants du paradis a.k.a. Children Of Paradise); Joan Bennett (Scarlet Street); Peggy Anne Garner (A Tree Grows In Brooklyn); Celia Johnson (Brief Encounter); Anna Magnani (Roma, città aperta a.ka. Rome, Open City); Gene Tierney (Leave Her To Heaven)

ACTRESS (Comedy/Musical)
winner: Wendy Hiller (I Know Where I'm Going!)
nominees: Kay Hammond (Blithe Spirit); Barbara Stanwyck (Christmas In Connecticut)

DIRECTOR (Drama)
winner: Marcel Carné (Les enfants du paradis a.k.a. Children Of Paradise)
nominees: René Clair (And Then There Were None); Michael Curtiz (Mildred Pierce); John Ford (They Were Expendable); Elia Kazan (A Tree Grows In Brooklyn); Fritz Lang (Scarlet Street); David Lean (Brief Encounter); Jean Renoir (The Southerner); Billy Wilder (The Lost Weekend)

DIRECTOR (Comedy/Musical)
winner: George Sidney (Anchors Aweigh)
nominees: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (I Know Where I'm Going!)

SUPPORTING ACTOR
winner: Boris Karloff (The Body Snatcher)
nominees: Jack Carson (Mildred Pierce); James Dunn (A Tree Grows In Brooklyn); Dan Duryea (Scarlet Street); Robert Mitchum (The Story Of G.I. Joe)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
winner: Margaret Rutherford (Blithe Spirit)
nominees: Eve Arden (Mildred Pierce); Joan Blondell (A Tree Grows In Brooklyn); Ann Blyth (Mildred Pierce); Maria Casares (Les enfants du paradis a.k.a. Children of Paradise)

SCREENPLAY
winner: Ted Slesinger and Frank Davis, from the novel by Betty Smith (A Tree Grows In Brooklyn)
nominees: Anthony Havelock-Allan, David Lean and Ronald Neame; from a play by Noel Coward (Brief Encounter); Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder, from the novel by Charles R. Jackson (The Lost Weekend); Ranald MacDougall, from the novel by James M. Cain (Mildred Pierce); Frank Wead from a book by William L.White (They Were Expendable)

SPECIAL AWARDS
Joseph H. August (They Were Expendable) (Cinematography); Val Lewton (Career Achievement Award)

31 Days Of Oscar

Turner Classic Movies' annual "31 Days Of Oscar" marathon starts tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. Here's the schedule:

All Times Eastern

The Right Direction
1 Tuesday
6:00 AM Eskimo (1933)
8:00 AM Hide-Out (1934)
9:30 AM Manhattan Melodrama (1934)
11:15 AM Thin Man, The (1934)


Self-Made Men
1:00 PM Citizen Kane (1941)
3:00 PM Great Dictator, The (1940)
5:15 PM Richard III (1955)

What A Character!
8:00 PM Private Life Of Henry VIII, The (1933)
10:00 PM Man for All Seasons, A (1966)
12:15 AM Anne Of The Thousand Days (1969)

Love At First Sight
2:45 AM Last Summer (1969)
4:30 AM Anthony Adverse (1936)

2 Wednesday
7:00 AM Great Waltz, The (1938)
8:45 AM Little Foxes, The (1941)
11:00 AM Nicholas and Alexandra (1971)
2:15 PM Heart Is A Lonely Hunter, The (1968)
4:30 PM Lonelyhearts (1958)
6:15 PM Moon Is Blue, The (1953)

Most Nominated Actor
8:00 PM Five Easy Pieces (1970)
10:00 PM Terms of Endearment (1983)
12:30 AM Easy Rider (1969)
2:15 AM Last Detail, The (1973)


Husbands And Wives
4:15 AM Guardsman, The (1931)

3 Thursday
6:00 AM Witness For The Prosecution (1957)
8:00 AM Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

Four In One
10:30 AM Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
12:30 PM Johnny Belinda (1948)
2:30 PM For Whom The Bell Tolls (1943)
5:30 PM Streetcar Named Desire, A (1951)

1929-1930
8:00 PM Love Parade, The (1929)
10:00 PM All Quiet On The Western Front (1930)
12:30 AM Big House, The (1930)
2:00 AM Divorcee, The (1930)
3:30 AM Disraeli (1929)

Kerr Trouble
5:00 AM Edward, My Son (1949)

4 Friday
7:00 AM Separate Tables (1958)
9:00 AM Sundowners, The (1960)


Like Kissing Your Sister
11:30 AM Champ, The (1931)
1:00 PM Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde (1932)
2:45 PM Lion In Winter, The (1968)
5:15 PM Funny Girl (1968)

An All-Knighter
8:00 PM Heiress, The (1949)
10:00 PM Bridge On The River Kwai, The (1957)
1:00 AM Ryan's Daughter (1970)
4:30 AM Mourning Becomes Electra (1947)

5 Saturday
7:15 AM Othello (1965)
10:15 AM Becket (1964)

The Good Luck Charm
1:00 PM Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
3:00 PM One Hour With You (1932)
4:30 PM Awful Truth, The (1937)
6:15 PM Father Of The Bride (1950)

Real Men
8:00 PM Stand And Deliver (1988)
10:00 PM Gandhi (1982)
1:30 AM Ali (2001)
4:30 AM Lust For Life (1956)

6 Sunday
7:00 AM Conquest (1937)
9:00 AM Abe Lincoln In Illinois (1940)
11:00 AM Jolson Story, The (1946)
1:15 PM Birdman Of Alcatraz (1962)
3:45 PM Viva Zapata! (1952)
5:45 PM Pride Of The Yankees, The (1942)


Retired Categories
8:00 PM Sunrise (1927)
10:00 PM Wings (1927)
12:30 AM House on 92nd Street, The (1945)
2:15 AM Viva Villa! (1934)
4:15 AM Damsel In Distress, A (1937)

All Or Nothing
7 Monday
6:00 AM Here Comes the Navy (1934)
7:30 AM Trader Horn (1931)
10:00 AM House of Rothschild, The (1934)
12:00 PM Libeled Lady (1936)

Picture Perfect
1:45 PM Black Swan, The (1942)
3:15 PM Snows Of Kilimanjaro, The (1952)
5:15 PM South Pacific (1958)


Playing Out The String
8:00 PM Blossoms In The Dust (1941)
10:00 PM Mrs. Miniver (1942)
12:30 AM Madame Curie (1943)
2:45 AM Mrs. Parkington (1944)
5:00 AM Valley Of Decision, The (1945)

The Most Nominations ... Without Winning
8 Tuesday
7:00 AM Shoes of the Fisherman, The (1968)
9:45 AM Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (1954)
11:30 AM 2010 (1984)
1:30 PM Hanging Tree, The (1959)
3:30 PM On the Beach (1959)
5:45 PM Caine Mutiny, The (1954)


Winners In Both Leading And Supporting Roles
8:00 PM Gaslight (1944)
10:00 PM Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
12:00 AM Glory (1989)
2:30 AM Sin Of Madelon Claudet, The (1931)

Alien Invasions
4:30 AM Red (1994)

9 Wednesday
6:30 AM Woman In The Dunes (1964)
8:45 AM Battaglia di Algieri, La (1967)
11:00 AM Z (1969)


The Write Stuff
1:30 PM Ball Of Fire (1941)
3:30 PM Foreign Affair, A (1948)
5:30 PM Fortune Cookie, The (1966)

Memorable Oscar Moments
8:00 PM Come Back, Little Sheba (1952)
10:00 PM Cavalcade (1933)
12:00 AM What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)

Sweet Music
2:30 AM Some Came Running (1958)
5:00 AM Robin And The 7 Hoods (1964)

10 Thursday
7:15 AM Rich, Young And Pretty (1951)
9:00 AM Because You're Mine (1952)
11:00 AM Tonight and Every Night (1945)
12:45 PM Romance On The High Seas (1948)
2:30 PM Anchors Aweigh (1945)
5:00 PM Star! (1968)


The Most Decorated Decorator
8:00 PM Annie Get Your Gun (1950)
10:00 PM American in Paris, An (1951)
12:00 AM Too Young To Kiss (1951)
2:00 AM Picture of Dorian Gray, The (1945)
4:00 AM Thousands Cheer (1943)

11 Friday
6:15 AM National Velvet (1944)
8:30 AM Yearling, The (1946)
10:45 AM Random Harvest (1942)
1:00 PM Quo Vadis (1951)
4:00 PM Executive Suite (1954)
5:45 PM Little Women (1949)

Any Regrets?
8:00 PM Graduate, The (1967)
10:00 PM Forrest Gump (1994)
12:30 AM Pretty Woman (1990)
2:45 AM Cat Ballou (1965)


Brother And Sister Acts
4:30 AM Free Soul, A (1931)

12 Saturday
6:15 AM None but the Lonely Heart (1944)

The Best Of The Best
8:15 AM Dark Victory (1939)
10:00 AM Of Mice and Men (1939)
12:00 PM Ninotchka (1939)
2:00 PM Wuthering Heights (1939)
4:00 PM Stagecoach (1939)
5:45 PM Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
8:00 PM Wizard Of Oz, The (1939)
10:00 PM Gone With the Wind (1939)
2:00 AM Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)
4:00 AM Love Affair (1939)


They Shoot, He Scores
13 Sunday
6:00 AM Cowboy And The Lady, The (1938)
8:00 AM Keys of the Kingdom, The (1945)
10:30 AM Camelot (1967)
1:45 PM Daddy Long Legs (1955)
4:00 PM Coney Island (1943)
6:00 PM Mother Wore Tights (1947)

It Takes Two
8:00 PM Miracle On 34th Street (1947)
10:00 PM Going My Way (1944)
12:30 AM Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)
2:15 AM Story of Louis Pasteur, The (1935)

Oscar Falls In Love
4:00 AM Room With a View, A (1985)

14 Monday
6:00 AM Alice Adams (1935)
8:00 AM Flirtation Walk (1934)
10:00 AM More the Merrier, The (1943)
12:00 PM Talk Of The Town, The (1942)
2:00 PM Bishop's Wife, The (1947)
4:00 PM Philadelphia Story, The (1940)
6:00 PM Goodbye Girl, The (1977)


All In The Family
8:00 PM Rachel, Rachel (1968)
10:00 PM Casablanca (1942)
12:00 AM Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The (1948)
2:15 AM Victor/Victoria (1982)

French Kisses
4:45 AM Cousin, Cousine (1975)

15 Tuesday
6:30 AM Au Revoir, Les Enfants (1987)
8:15 AM Last Metro, The (1980)
10:30 AM Black Orpheus (1959)
12:30 PM Mon Oncle (1958)

The Most Writing Nominations
2:30 PM Alice (1990)
4:30 PM Radio Days (1987)
6:00 PM Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)


Oscar Firsts
8:00 PM My Man Godfrey (1936)
10:00 PM Cimarron (1931)
12:15 AM Lilies of the Field (1963)
2:00 AM Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985)
4:15 AM Two Women (1960)

16 Wednesday
6:00 AM Grand Illusion (1937)
8:00 AM Chang (1927)
9:30 AM Lady For A Day (1933)
11:15 AM Life Of Emile Zola, The (1937)
1:15 PM Since You Went Away (1944)
4:15 PM Sounder (1972)
6:15 PM Swing Time (1936)

It's An Honor Just To Be Nominated
8:00 PM My Favorite Year (1982)
10:00 PM Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
2:00 AM Stunt Man, The (1980)
4:15 AM Ruling Class, The (1972)

17 Thursday
7:00 AM Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969)


How To Earn An Oscar Nomination?
10:00 AM Never On Sunday (1960)
12:00 PM Butterfield 8 (1960)
2:00 PM Street Angel (1928)
4:00 PM Anna Christie (1930)
5:30 PM Irma La Douce (1963)

Auspicious Debuts
8:00 PM 12 Angry Men (1957)
10:00 PM Chariots Of Fire (1981)
12:15 AM Room at the Top (1959)
2:15 AM American Beauty (1999)

Oscar ♥ New York
4:15 AM Do the Right Thing (1989)

18 Friday
6:30 AM Naked City (1948)
8:15 AM Dead End (1937)
10:00 AM Five Star Final (1931)
11:45 AM On the Town (1949)
1:30 PM It's Always Fair Weather (1955)
3:15 PM My Sister Eileen (1942)
5:00 PM Producers, The (1968)
6:30 PM It Should Happen To You (1954)


The Most Writing Wins
8:00 PM Hospital, The (1971)
10:00 PM Marty (1955)
12:00 AM Network (1976)
2:15 AM Goddess, The (1958)

The Most Best Actor Nominations
4:15 AM San Francisco (1936)

19 Saturday
6:15 AM Bad Day At Black Rock (1955)
7:45 AM Old Man and the Sea, The (1958)
9:15 AM Inherit The Wind (1960)
11:30 AM Captains Courageous (1937)

The Most Supporting Actor
1:30 PM Come And Get It (1936)
3:30 PM Westerner, The (1940)
5:30 PM Sergeant York (1941)

Clean Sweeps
8:00 PM Gigi (1958)
10:00 PM Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003)
1:30 AM Last Emperor, The (1987)

Nominated For Best Director, Not Best Picture
4:15 AM Blow-Up (1966)

20 Sunday
6:15 AM 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
9:00 AM Summertime (1955)
11:00 AM Morocco (1930)
12:45 PM In Cold Blood (1967)
3:15 PM Third Man, The (1949)
5:15 PM Inn of the Sixth Happiness, The (1958)


From Stage To Screen
8:00 PM Born Yesterday (1950)
10:00 PM My Fair Lady (1964)
1:00 AM Auntie Mame (1958)
3:30 AM Hasty Heart, The (1950)
5:30 AM Night Must Fall (1937)

21 Monday
7:30 AM Subject Was Roses, The (1968)
9:30 AM Sweet Bird Of Youth (1962)
12:00 PM Watch On The Rhine (1943)
2:00 PM Magnificent Yankee, The (1950)
3:30 PM Bad Seed, The (1956)
6:00 PM Member of the Wedding, The (1952)

Oscar Onlys
8:00 PM State Fair (1945)
10:00 PM Best Years Of Our Lives, The (1946)
1:00 AM Pygmalion (1938)
2:45 AM Two Arabian Knights (1927)
4:30 AM Midsummer Night's Dream, A (1935)

22 Tuesday
7:00 AM Divine Lady, The (1929)
8:45 AM Limelight (1952)
11:15 AM Day At The Races, A (1937)
1:15 PM Ship of Fools (1965)
3:45 PM Devil and Daniel Webster, The (1941)
5:45 PM Skippy (1931)
7:15 PM Red Balloon,The (1956)


Two In One
8:00 PM Defiant Ones, The (1958)
10:00 PM Amadeus (1984)
1:00 AM Thelma & Louise (1991)
3:15 AM Giant (1956)

23 Wednesday
6:45 AM Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)

Sound Bites
8:45 AM Too Many Husbands (1940)
10:15 AM Lost Horizon (1937)
12:30 PM You Were Never Lovelier (1942)
2:15 PM Sahara (1943)
4:00 PM Cover Girl (1944)
6:00 PM Song to Remember, A (1945)

Best Picture, But Not Most Academy Awards
8:00 PM All the King's Men (1949)
10:00 PM You Can't Take It With You (1938)
12:15 AM Great Ziegfeld, The (1936)

Most Honored Foreign Director
3:30 AM Amarcord (1973)

24 Thursday
6:00 AM 8 1/2 (1963)
8:30 AM La Strada (1954)


Awards By Association
10:30 AM Lavender Hill Mob, The (1951)
12:00 PM Great Expectations (1946)
2:00 PM Cromwell (1970)
4:30 PM Doctor Zhivago (1965)

Most Directing Nominations
8:00 PM Dodsworth (1936)
10:00 PM Ben-Hur (1959)
2:00 AM Friendly Persuasion (1956)
4:30 AM Collector, The (1965)

Sister Acts
25 Friday
7:00 AM Suspicion (1941)
9:00 AM To Each His Own (1946)

Rookies Of The Year
11:15 AM Marie Antoinette (1938)
2:00 PM Corn Is Green, The (1945)
4:00 PM Search, The (1948)
6:00 PM Bus Stop (1956)

Five For Four
8:00 PM On The Waterfront (1954)
10:00 PM From Here To Eternity (1953)
12:15 AM Tom Jones (1963)
2:30 AM Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

On Second Thought
4:30 AM Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)

26 Saturday
7:45 AM Ivanhoe (1952)
9:45 AM King Solomon's Mines (1950)
11:45 AM Adventures of Robin Hood, The (1938)
1:45 PM Letter, The (1940)
3:30 PM Maltese Falcon, The (1941)
5:30 PM Fanny (1961)


The Big Five
8:00 PM It Happened One Night (1934)
10:00 PM One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
12:30 AM Silence Of The Lambs, The (1991)

Real Women
2:45 AM Frances (1982)
5:15 AM Silkwood (1983)

27 Sunday
8:00 AM Sister Kenny (1946)
10:30 AM I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955)
12:45 PM I Want To Live! (1958)
3:00 PM Sunrise At Campobello (1960)
5:30 PM Joan Of Arc (1948)

Notable No-Shows
8:00 PM Mildred Pierce (1945)
10:00 PM Annie Hall (1977)
12:00 AM Informer, The (1935)
2:00 AM Morning Glory (1933)


The Lion Roars
3:30 AM Smilin' Through (1932)
5:30 AM Broadway Melody Of 1936 (1935)

28 Monday
7:30 AM David Copperfield (1935)
9:45 AM Tale Of Two Cities, A (1935)
12:00 PM Citadel, The (1938)
2:00 PM Human Comedy, The (1943)
4:00 PM Test Pilot (1938)
6:00 PM Battleground (1949)

Nominations In A Bottle?
8:00 PM Arthur (1981)
10:00 PM Lost Weekend, The (1945)
12:00 AM Days of Wine and Roses (1962)
2:00 AM Under the Volcano (1984)
4:00 AM Dresser, The (1983)

1 Tuesday
6:15 AM Johnny Eager (1942)
8:15 AM Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1958)


Two By Four
10:30 AM Star Is Born, A (1937)
12:30 PM Star Is Born, A (1954)
3:30 PM Cyrano De Bergerac (1950)
5:30 PM Cyrano de Bergerac (1990)

Oscar Mosts
8:00 PM Emperor Waltz, The (1948)
10:00 PM All About Eve (1950)
12:30 AM Cabaret (1972)
2:45 AM Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)
4:45 AM Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963)

The Most Honored Producer
2 Wednesday
6:45 AM Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
9:00 AM Jezebel (1938)
11:00 AM All This, and Heaven Too (1940)
1:30 PM Captain Blood (1935)
3:45 PM Kings Row (1942)
6:15 PM Four Daughters (1938)

Gone But Not Forgotten
8:00 PM East Of Eden (1955)
10:00 PM Around The World In 80 Days (1956)
1:30 AM Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984)
4:00 AM Obsession (1976)

3 Thursday
6:00 AM Great Caruso, The (1951)
8:00 AM Merry Widow, The (1952)
10:00 AM Way We Were, The (1973)
12:30 PM North By Northwest (1959)
3:00 PM Kind Lady (1951)
4:30 PM Strip, The (1951)
6:00 PM Shall We Dance (1937)


One And Done
8:00 PM Grand Hotel (1932)
10:00 PM Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
12:30 AM Broadway Melody, The (1929)

Nominated For Playing A Nominee
2:15 AM Star, The (1952)
4:00 AM California Suite (1978)