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Well, after talking about it for most of a month, the time to vote has nearly arrived. Tomorrow morning officially marks the beginning of Monty's 2012 Favorite Classic Movie Actress Tourney. 128 actresses, divided by decade into four brackets, square off in a series of single elimination matches until only one is left standing.
Last year the surprise winner was Irene Dunne, a #10 seed who defeated a series of popular opponents to win the title of your all-time favorite classic movie actress. She starts her title defense here at the Monkey. Can she repeat?
This year the tournament field is twice as large as last year's. To facilitate voting, Monty has asked a few of his fellow bloggers to help out by hosting part of the tournament. Rosalind Russell - Dazzling Star is handling the 1940s bracket, Noir & Chick Flicks the 1950s and Monty at All Good Things is taking care of the 1960s himself. Which leaves the Monkey to host the Silent Era/1930s.
Good for me!
Here's how we've set it up. Because trying to start off such a large number of contestants all at once would likely prove insanely messy, the first round will be divided into two, short, three-day rounds—half will compete Monday thru Wednesday, the rest Thursday thru Saturday.
After that, each round will last one week, from Monday thru Sunday.
So this week, in addition to stopping by on Monday, be sure to come back and vote again on Thursday. After that, come back at the beginning of each week to vote on the next round.
Or stop by every day—you're always welcome here at the Monkey.
We here at the Monkey are saddened to learn of the passing of one of our favorite fellow bloggers, Mark Bourne of Open the Pod Bay Doors, Hal. Mark and I sometimes exchanged comments, both here and at his site, and I always found him funny and well-informed, open-minded and exceedingly polite, not to mention a great writer, exactly what you're looking for when you want to talk movies with someone, even if you live three thousand miles apart.
Mark was just fifty years old.
I think I first became acquainted with Mark's work a couple of years ago in a fun post about Alfred Hitchcock's aborted War of the Worlds movie project, which was originally to have been the follow-up to the 1935 hit The 39 Steps. You can read that post here.
If you're not familiar with his work, I suggest you stop over at his site and scroll down the list of his "Popular Feature Posts." They're well worth your time.
Our condolences to his family and friends. He will be missed.
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.
Shirley Temple
Birth Name: Shirley Jane Temple
Tourney Bracket and Seeding: "Singers and Dancers" #2
Birth Date: April 23, 1928
Birthplace: Santa Monica, California
Film Debut: Kid's Last Stand (1932)
Academy Awards: Juvenile Award (1935)
Katie Awards: Best Actress (Drama) (1937) (Wee Willie Winkie and Heidi)
Three More To See: Bright Eyes, The Little Colonel, The Little Princess
versus
Hattie McDaniel
Birth Name: Hattie McDaniel
Tourney Bracket and Seeding: "Singers and Dancers" #7
Birth Date: June 10, 1892
Birthplace: Wichita, Kansas
Height: 5' 2"
Film Debut: The Impatient Maiden (1932)
Academy Awards: 1 win, Best Supporting Actress (1939) (Gone with the Wind)
Katie Awards: Best Supporting Actress (1939) (Gone with the Wind)
Three More To See: Show Boat, Saratoga, The Great Lie
The winner of this match-up will face the winner of:
Ginger Rogers
Birth Name: Virginia Katherine McMath
Tourney Bracket and Seeding: "Singers and Dancers" #3
Birth Date: July 16, 1911
Birthplace: Independence, Missouri
Height: 5' 4½"
Film Debut: A Day of a Man of Affairs (1929)
Academy Awards: 1 win, Best Actress (1940) (Kitty Foyle)
Katie Awards: Best Actress (Comedy/Musical) (1935) (Top Hat)
Three More To See: Swing Time, Stage Door, The Major and the Minor
versus
Joan Blondell
Birth Name: Rose Joan Blondell
Tourney Bracket and Seeding: "Singers and Dancers" #6
Birth Date: August 30, 1906
Birthplace: New York City, New York
Height: 5' 3"
Film Debut: The Heart Breaker (1930)
Academy Awards: 1 nomination, no wins
Katie Awards: Best Supporting Actress (1930-31) (Sinners' Holiday, Other Men's Women and Night Nurse)
Three More To See: Gold Diggers of 1933, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Cincinnati Kid
I hadn't planned on doing any today ...
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.
Irene Dunne
Birth Name: Irene Marie Dunn
Tourney Bracket and Seeding: "Singers and Dancers" #1
Birth Date: December 20, 1898
Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky
Height: 5' 5"
Film Debut: Leathernecking (1930)
Academy Awards: 5 nominations, 0 wins
Katie Awards: Best Actress (Comedy/Musical) (1936) (Show Boat and Theodora Goes Wild)
Three More To See: The Awful Truth, My Favorite Wife, I Remember Mama
versus
Luise Rainer
Birth Name: Luise Rainer
Tourney Bracket and Seeding: "Singers and Dancers" #8
Birth Date: January 12, 1910
Birthplace: Düsseldorf, Germany
Height: 5' 4"
Film Debut: Sehnsucht 202 (1932)
Academy Awards: 2 wins, Best Actress (1936) (The Great Ziegfeld), Best Actress (1937) (The Good Earth)
Three More To See: The Emperor's Candlesticks, The Great Waltz, The Gambler
The winner of this match-up will face the winner of:
Jeanette MacDonald
Birth Name: Jeannette Anna McDonald
Tourney Bracket and Seeding: "Singers and Dancers" #4
Birth Date: June 18, 1903
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Height: 5' 4"
Film Debut: The Love Parade (1929)
Academy Awards: none
Katie Awards: Best Actress (Comedy/Musical) (1930-31) (Monte Carlo)
Three More To See: One Hour With You, Love Me Tonight, The Merry Widow
versus
Mae West
Birth Name: Mary Jane West
Tourney Bracket and Seeding: "Singers and Dancers" #5
Birth Date: August 17, 1893
Birthplace: Woodhaven, New York
Height: 5' 1"
Film Debut: Night After Night (1932)
Academy Awards: none
Three To See: She Done Him Wrong, I'm No Angel, My Little Chickadee
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