The Ten: Best Actresses of All Time Relay Race

 Hello Everyone,

     Last evening, Kevyn Knox of The Most Beautiful Fraud in the World informed me that he had passed me the baton in this blogathon/relay-race sort of thing which was started by the blogger at My Filmviews with this goal in mind: 

 "I've created a list of what I think are the best actresses of all time.  At the end of the post I, just like in a real relay race, hand over the baton to another blogger who will write his own post.  This blogger will have to remove one actress (that is an obligation) and his his/her own choice and describe why he/she did this.  At the end, the blogger chooses another blogger to do the same.  The idea is to make this a long race, so that enough bloggers get a chance to remove and add an actress.  We will end up with a list (not ranked in order) which represents a common agreement of the best actresses.  It will also mean that those who follow this relay race will get to know new blogs as well!"

     And this is what had happened to her original list by the time I got it:

My Filmviews [Original List]
The Velvet Café [-Marilyn Monroe +Liv Ullmann]
Martin Teller [-Natalie Portman +Barbara Stanwyck]
The Movie Review Warehouse [-Tilda Swinton +Emma Thompson]
Benefits of a Classical Education [-Julie Delpy +Viola Davis]
Just Another Movie Blog [-Emma Thompson +Juliette Binoche]
Film Actually [-Liv Ullmann +Judy Garland]
Public Transportation Snob [-Frances McDormand +Ingrid Bergman]
FlixChatter [-Judy Garland +Judi Dench]
Defiant Success [-Viola Davis +Audrey Hepburn]
And So It Begins… [-Judi Dench +Gena Rowlands]
Southern Vision [-Kate Winslet +Isabelle Huppert]
The Film Emporium [-Gena Rowlands +Kate Winslet]
Bonjour Tristesse  [-Kate Winslet +Maggie Cheung]
Le Mot du Cinephiliaque [-Cate Blanchett +Lillian Gish] 
The Most Beautiful Fraud in the World [-Julianne Moore +Joan Crawford]

     Now, when Kevyn handed me this baton he wrote on his blog, "I now will hand the baton over to Natalie at In the Mood.  Here ya go kid.  Do what you must." All I want to know is, by "do what you must" did he mean "die in a hole of shame because you only watch classic films and have no right to be doing this"? Apparently not as he informed me via a comment that he thought I wouldn't do badly, so, well, that's that. May I please just point out now that the fact that Kevyn thought I could do this well enough to pass it along to me makes me unreasonably happy? It does. But I'm just wasting time, might as well get this over with. Here is the whole list of actresses as I received it. 

1. Audrey Hepburn

Hmmm...Miss Younger Hepburn. Oscar win? Sure. Eternal Icon? Absolutely. Overrated as everything? OHHH YES. Note: I still believe she stole the danged Oscar from Barbara Stanwyck that year. Note: Missy wasn't even nominated that year, but Titanic is one of her best performances ever. 

2. Barbara Stanwyck

Stanwyck. I wonder if you all don't already know how I feel about her. My absolute favorite. And I honestly believe she was the best actress ever. Whether it was good girl, bad girl, half-cocked heiress, murderer, stripper, what have you, Missy was always more than acceptable - she was great.

3. Ingrid Bergman

If you do not know this, I actually really like Bergie (as I call her). Whether it's Notorious or Gaslight (my personal favorite of hers) she's always great. Of course, I haven't seen quite as many of hers as I would like, but I say that about so many people. 

4. Isabelle Huppert 

Guys, this is the part where I start digging that hole of shame for myself. I have absolutely no idea who this is. She's French, but that's about as far as my knowledge goes. Sad, huh?

5.  Joan Crawford

Joanie dearest. Sometimes I love her, sometimes I can't stand her, but I've never seen her give a bad performance. Mildred Pierce and They All Kissed the Bride are my favorites of hers. She's another one of those actresses who I enjoy in both comedy and drama although I think she's better known for the melodramatic things. 

6. Juliette Binoche 

Any one want to help me dig this hole of shame? Agh. I hate not knowing whom these people are, but, guys, I never watch movies made after 1970, rarely watch anything made after 1960, and don't watch much after 1950 either. Not to mention, when I do watch something after 1970 it's Indiana Jones or National Treasure. So...

7. Maggie Cheung 

This is someone I have heard of, but have never seen acting. Apparently she was perfect in a movie called In the Mood for Love, but, like I say, I've never seen her. And the hole gets deeper.

8. Katharine Hepburn

 Ahah! The older Hepburn! I'm known by a few people as the "Hepburn Hater" mostly for my dislike of the two ladies who are apparently cinematic legends. While I don't care for either of them, I admit whole heartedly that Katharine Hepburn is a great. A great that I dislike intensely, that's all.

9. Meryl Streep

Okay, now here is another modern actress I've heard of (who hasn't hear of Meryl Streep? That's all I want to know). She is also one that I actually care about watching at some point, I especially want to see Out of Africa and Kramer Vs. Kramer. I know she's good too, I've seen the GIFs [there's some legitimate Tumblr reasoning for you].

10. Lillian Gish

A classic actress. One I've never seen in the movies, but that's probably because I haven't made it to Silents yet. Have you noticed that there are just a lot of things I haven't gotten around to yet? Too busy watching Bob Taylor movies, not gonna lie (of course that shows how high-class my movie selections are). 

     Now comes the point of decision. Who to take from the list? Obviously not going to kick someone whom I've never seen act off the list (that would just be wrong, so I'll leave giving them the boot to people who know them). That leaves: Missy, the Hepburns, Bergie, and Joanie dearest for me to pick from. And I not-so-sadly say goodbye to Audrey Hepburn (or weren't you expecting that?). I admittedly have not seen a lot of Audrey's work, but I've never really liked her, and from what I've seen I really don't think she deserves to be ranked among the greats. That is all. 


    Now, who to replace her with? I've thought about this and the choice came down to three great ladies of the silver screen, then my affections got the best of me and I decided to stick my dear Livvie Dee, Miss Olivia de Havilland on the list. Honestly, one of the best ever (and a favorite of mine); but she's only a favorite of mine because I finally watched Gone with the Wind (in which she was the only person I wasn't planning to murder) and The Snake Pit (which is just possibly one of the most flawless performances I've ever seen) and realized how good an actress she really was. A double Oscar winner to boot, if I'm going to put anyone on this list it may as well be her. 

    And whom shall I be passing this blogging baton to? The Mythical Monkey at A Mythical Monkey Writes About the Movies. Have fun!



Until Later On~