Listen for the family whistle… and don’t take drugs!
OK, I hurried up a little too much on the Top Five Actors post — so much that I left off Gene Hackman! — but I confess I’m going to hurry even more on this one, because it’s already been a couple of days…
I limited the men’s list to the last 60 years because I was doing it in the context of thinking about Duvall. I’m going all-time on this one. Well, all-out regarding the history of film (and TV), which is not all that much longer. But I have no means of making an informed judgment of the acting skills of, say, Lillie Langtry. (Although she appeared on film once, in 1913, I never saw “His Neighbor’s Wife.” And even if I saw it, I couldn’t hear her voice — which is kind of key in assessing acting skill.)
Finally, I’m doing my best to make sure this is about acting ability, and not about how attractive these women were or are. Which is not easy to do. Hollywood undermines such a merit-based goal at every step, and has done so since the beginning. It does the same to men — think Clark Gable, Cary Grant, Robert Redford, Brad Pitt. But that’s nothing compared to how the principle (or lack of principle) is applied in the case of women.
Why does this happen? Butts in the seats. The casting directors look for people the slobs out here will pay to look at. American casting directors take it to ridiculous levels. You want to see at least some normal-looking people? Check out British film and TV.
Anyway, I promise you won’t find Marilyn Monroe on the list. But whatever I do, a lot of these women will be more attractive than average.
Back to the subject of actual acting…
Top Five
- Frances McDormand — Every time I see her, I think, “Greatest actress,” or at least “Greatest American actress.” My favorite role? The mom in “Almost Famous.” See photo above. But let’s not forget “Fargo.”
- Marisa Tomei — Great in everything. Who doesn’t love her in “My Cousin Vinny?” Of course, I think my fave might be her leading role in “The Perez Family.”
- Rosalind Russell — I’m sort of breaking my rule here of not basing my judgment on a single movie. I’m putting her here purely for her performance in my favorite comedy, “His Girl Friday.” Anyone who’s as good as good as she was in that is simply that good.
- Emma Thompson — Good in everything, of course, but I think my favorite three are the wife who is wronged by that scrub Alan Rickman in “Love Actually;” the lead in “Sense and Sensibility,” as my own 15th-great grandmother in “Henry V.” (Yeah, I’m still that crazy about genealogy.)
- Olivia Coleman — I’ve really come to appreciate her over the past decade or so. I could pick almost any of her roles as an example, but I’ll go with an unusual bit of casting. She was cast as the case officer of the title character in Le Carre’s “The Night Manager.” The character in the book was a man. But while there were some bad changes from the book in that show, this one improved the story. Oh, and remember — recently, she was the Queen! (I thought about the other Olivia — de Havilland — but I like this one better.)
- Jean Arthur — I’m just always so glad to see her pop up in any of those flicks from the 30s and 40s. If you wonder why, go watch “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.”
OK, I’m running out of time (gotta go to school today), so I’m going to have to really hurry through the…
Honorable Mentions
- Katharine Hepburn — Can you believe I left her out of the Top Five? Hey, I’m a rebel. But I place her here with all respect. Certainly go watch “The African Queen” again. But then be sure to check out “Bringing Up Baby.” Very silly, and nowhere near as good as Rosalind Russell’s masterpiece, but I like an occasional screwball comedy.
- Jennifer Ehle — Another based on a single role (she was born to star in “Pride and Prejudice“), although I enjoy her in every role — I just don’t see her enough. And before you gripe about too many Brit actresses, remember that this one was actually born in North Carolina.
- Emma Stone — In recent years, she’s become an A-lister who can do anything. But I especially like her first big film role, in “Superbad.” Who can blame Jonah Hill for obsessing about her? (And no, that’s not just a beauty thing; it was the kind of kid she came across as…)
- Sigourney Weaver — Sure, I liked her in “Alien” and “Alien 2, (speaking of which, guess who I saw at the comic-con at the Fairgrounds last month — Michael Biehn!)” but her all-time best was “The Year of Living Dangerously.” That was also Mel Gibson’s best, and Linda Hunt’s.
- Ingrid Bergman — I could say “It’s not because she was beautiful!,” but who would believe me? Seriously, “Casablana” is No. 3 on my all-time films list, and she was perfect in it. So there.
So there you go. I did that too fast, and I’m sure I left out somebody as great as Gene Hackman on the other list, but I’m sure y’all will let me know. (And no, I don’t mean Meryl Streep. She’s good but didn’t make my list. Nor did Cate Blanchett, but I thought about it.)
A single role earned Jennifer Ehle an Honorable Mention.
Related Posts
And of course, as I was finishing that list, I realize I left off Barbara Stanwyck, which is inexcusable.
Don’t think “Big Valley.” Think “Ball of Fire:”
She made a number of flicks like that in those days. I also recently enjoyed “The Lady Eve,” with Henry Fonda…
I was trying to whip that out in a hurry yesterday, but worked on it some more this morning, and after sober reflection have decided that it’s a bit crazy to try to do a Top Five list from a period of more than a century.
Probably should have been more like a Top Ten, or 15. I could have gotten in not only Barbara Stanwyck, but some more recents such as Kate Blanchett and Cate Winslett. Of course, that would have caught the Kates (considered as homonyms) up with the Emmas, and put them ahead of the Olivias.
In fact, Katharine Hepburn was sometimes called “Kate.” So that would put them in the lead!
For even more fun, here’s Cate Blanchett AS Kate Hepburn:
Yeah, ya get punchy after you do a few of these…
Julia Roberts
Holly Hunter (Broadcast News made me a fan for life)
Charlize Theron
Kate Hudson (fantastic in Almost Famous and the current Song Sung Blue)
Susan Sarandon
Frances McDormand has never done it for me.. she seems to play the same character over and over — neurotic frump. Much like Phillip Seymour Hoffman who never seemed to have the range to play anything but unlikeable characters,
Those are some good ones. Especially Holly Hunter. What’s happened to her? Nina Brook used to quote her regularly when she was on the editorial board:
PAUL
It must be nice to always believe
you know better. To think you’re
always the smartest person in the
room.
JANE
(from her depths)
No, it’s awful. Oh my, it’s awful.
(That’s from the script. I think it came out slightly different in the movie, but you get the idea. But the key was the way Holly delivered it.)
I think maybe my favorite of hers was Raising Arizona.
I thought I had met a magical creature when I saw Kate Hudson in Almost Famous. Best bit: She tells the kid she’s going to live in Morocco, and asks, “Do you wanna come?”
The poor kid has never heard such a wonderful question in his life, so he says, “Ask me again.”
Anyway, Kate would have been on my list, but I haven’t seen her in anything good since. Maybe I should check out Song Sung Blue. I haven’t done so yet because, you know, Neil Diamond. Lots of Neil Diamond.
And yeah, Frances McDormand is kind of typecast. But then, that’s what she is — a character actress. She breaks out sometimes. I thought it was brave of her and Denzel Washington to do MacBeth together. But I don’t think it entirely worked, as well presented as it was…
Watch Song Sung Blue.. Hudson is electric and deserves the Oscar.
I will, assuming it’s on one of the streaming services I’m paying for…
No issue with me with Frances McDormand near the top.
(oh, I left out two honorable mention top 5 actors- Sidney Poitier, and Rod Steiger. Yes, they were in the same movie, but their overall work is at the very top.
I also can’t believe i left out Cary Grant. He was as natural an actor as ever lived.
I won’t type as much on this one. A top 5 is hard for me on this list too. My list does change. But this is a pretty consistent list for me. In no order
Lauren Bacall (Key Largo- wow).
Sally Field (Norma Rae, Places in the Heart- excellent work)
Meryl Streep (Kramer v Kramer, Sophie’s Choice, Silkwood) – just those 3 films would make for a Hall of Fame career for any actress- and that’s not even counting the excellent work she did in small parts like The Deer Hunter. She could play comedy, drama, abused, stuck up, tragic, etc. Huge range.
Eva Marie Saint (North by Northwest, On the Waterfront, Raintree County). Along with Cary Grant- a screen natural. She’s also still living at 101 years old.
Audrey Hepburn (I preferred Audrey to Katherine (no relation I know). (Charade, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, etc).
All good ones. And if Sally Field were on my list, the first reason I would cite would be “Places in the Heart.” She was great in that. So was everybody else…