Monday, August 29, 2005

Battle of the Goddesses



Over at the main site, the results of the Classic Actress Poll continue to surprise me. So far it's clearly Hepburn Vs. Hepburn in a virtual dead heat. All others seem mere pretenders. I'm going to leave this up a bit to see if it attracts some more votes but for now it's 01. Audrey 02. Katharine 03. Bette Davis 04. Ingrid Bergman 05. Julie Andrews (!!!) 06. Vivien Leigh 07. Liz Taylor (thought she'd be higher I did) 08 (tie) Faye Dunaway (who I suppose shoulda been left to the 70s up-to-current poll) & Grace Kelly 9. Anne Bancroft 10. (tie) Marilyn Monroe, Natalie Wood, Geraldine Page, Barbara Stanwyck (strange 4-way there) 11. Judy Garland (thought she'd be much higher)

Everyone else. And I mean everyone else including major stars like Crawford, DeHavilland, Garbo, etc... received no more than 3 votes each. People said there were too many choices but I even forgot some major players like Myrna Loy, Greer Garson, Jean Harlow, Mae West, Shirley Maclaine, and Marlene Dietrich. Eep!

14 comments:

darkcypherlad said...

I'm not surprised it's between the two Hepburns--they represent the two main reasons why we love female stars in the first place. One is strong, independent, and just ever so slightly reserved while the other one is willowy, vulnerable and accessible to everyone (need I point out which is which?).

I was gonna vote for Davis, but I knew she would get some love. So, with a heavy heart, I went with my gal Stanwyck, who always gets overlooked (even Oscar did--grrrr). Plus, we share the same birthday, and while that's also truth about Ginger Rogers, at least she has her "Kitty Foyle" oscar to keep her company. Babs and I only have each other :)

Nathan, who did you vote for? Garland? Munroe?

Calum Reed said...

Great poll. I voted Julie Andrews. She's always amazing, and she's British. Such bias I have lol

Anonymous said...

You're probably right, Film Bitch -- Too many blinding bright lights in one poll. I picked Bette Davis, because I can't imagine a world without Margot Channing, but I wish now that I'd thrown my vote to Judy Garland instead.

And darkcypherlad -- I share your woe for Ms. Stanwyck. She was nearly always Oscarable, in my book. Ho-hum. Great actresses don't need Oscars, anyway...The under-rewarded divas on this list surely outshine many women who've set Oscar's pants alight in recent years. Hilary Swank ain't no Barbara Stanwyck, Charlize Theron no Marilyn Monroe!

darkcypherlad said...

Dusty--

Amen, brother!

Jason

NATHANIEL R said...

i voted for Natalie Wood. Personal thing. I grew up obsessed with West Side Story and I l-o-v-e her. can't help it.

but yeah too much greatness. Too bad I don't know how to do polls where you rank more than one person. Now that would be cool.

adam k. said...

Well, as I recall, I voted for Judy Garland. And I was shocked to see that I was one of like 3 people who did. Yikes.

Anonymous said...

i like the two hepburn gals as much as the next person but i think this really ought to have been bette vs. ingrid.

and how did faye end up slipping in there? Her screen debut was in 67! Going by that, Jane Fonda should've just as easily been in the poll, as well as Liza Minnelli, not to mention the Brits: Julie Chrisite, Vanessa Redgrave, and Julie Christie.

Is there going to be a post 1970 poll? If so, Jane must win!!

Anonymous said...

oops. I really should read my comments BEFORE i post them, not after. The third Brit I meant was Maggie Smith.

NATHANIEL R said...

Faye was an accounting error here @ TFE ! ;) I was thinking Bonnie & Clyde but sort of stopped thinking thereafter. My apologies.

darkcypherlad said...

Nick--

Maybe Julie Christie's so fab you just had to list her twice? Makes sense in my book.

Bette vs. Ingrid? Hmm, I wonder. Usually in "star" polls, Bergman doesn't do too well. I wonder why that it is. Maybe b/c she was never a "star" in the traditional sense? She was beautiful without being gamorous, a celebrity without seeming to be untouchable. Plus, her late career work doesn't match the consistency of her 1940s films. I'd still vote for her over Julie Andrews any day...

NicksFlickPicks said...

I'm never going to get the Audrey Hepburn thing. She seemed much preferable as a person and as a fashion icon than as an actress, at least in my book.

I'm for Kate all the way, though my runners-up would have been Claudette Colbert, Barbara Stanwyck, and Vivien Leigh.

Anonymous said...

I wasn't all too taken by Breakfast at Tiffany's as everyone else seemed to be (I watched it just before the, ahem, mindblowing classic Showgirls too!). That's the only one of A. Hepburn I've seen. I'm so horribly neglectant of our grand dames.

But from the movies I have seen it'll definitely be between Marilyn Monroe, Ingrid Bergman and Bette Davis. I think I have to go with Marilyn Monroe purely because I've seen so many of her movies and love all of them (for the most part).

Why is Julie Walters my favourite actress of all time though? I don't really know. But I love her so.

-Glenn

qta said...

Nick-
I coun't agree with you more on the A. Hepburn vs. K. Hepburn argument. I voted for Kate, but just barely over Bette Davis.

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