Day 2 of the Final Four has Bette Davis and Carole Lombard in complete control

The two matches in the final four of the favorite classic movie actress tourney have shaped up to be blow-outs. Top seeds Bette Davis and Carole Lombard are having very little trouble in their matches. Bette leads Diana Rigg 32-9 while Carole leads Doris Day 31-9 as of 8 pm EST. There is one more day of voting but it's looking like we will be seeing a championship match between Bette and Carole. Which is fine with me. I will write a post on that big time match-up on Tuesday. And will start the championship match on Wednesday morning to run through Sunday.

New polls..same results as Bette and Carole continue to dominate their matches

Due to an unfortunate problem with Blogger, I had to restart both matches of the final four for the favorite classic movie actress tourney. Bette Davis and Carole Lombard were both winning their respective matches and since I restarted them via Survey Monkey, they are still winning. As of 10:30 pm EST, Bette is leading Diana Rigg by the count of 16-3. In the other match, Carole Lombard is ahead of Doris Day 16-4. The matches will continue through Monday evening 6 pm EST. 

Bette was a little perturbed that her match with Diana Rigg had to be restarted...

and now she has opened up a can of whoop ass!

Technical issue with the matches

It appears there is an issue with the polls for both matches. So I am stopping those and re-starting new matches via Survey Monkey. Sorry about this but I want things to be fair and honest. Can't be sure things were on the up and up. Or if it was just a technical issue with blogger. Either way, it's best to just restart the matches. I will run these matches till Monday afternoon. Just click on the links on the right sidebar to go cast your votes..yet again. I could have left it alone because before this happened it appeared Bette and Carole were in complete control. But I just wanted things to be right with no cloud of suspicion. 

A quick primer on Diana Rigg

The wonderful Diana Rigg

Carole Lombard. Bette Davis. Doris Day. All classic movie fans recognize these names immediately. But a few of my followers and friends have shook their heads and asked me who the heck is Diana Rigg. Since Diana is in the final four for this year's tourney, I thought it would be prudent to shed some light on her. So here we go.

Born Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg on July 20, 1938 in Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, UK.
Got her start in small bits in British tv films in the late 50's and early 60's.
Caught her first major break when cast as Emma Peel in 1965 on the hit spy TV series, The Avengers, with co-star Patrick Macnee. She was not in the series when it first started in 1962. That honor went to the wonderful Honor Blackman who played Cathy Gale. And when Diana left the show in 1968 her replacement was the spunky Linda Thorson who portrayed Tara King.

As Emma Peel..always prepared

Diana first major film came after she left The Avengers. It was in 1969 and it was the James Bond film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service with George Lazenby, who replaced Sean Connery as the super spy. Rigg was cast as Tracy and has the distinction of being the only woman to carry the name Bond and become his wife. Bond may have lots of girlfriends and one night stands, etc..but he only settled down the one time...and it was to Tracy. Diana Rigg gives one of the best performances you will ever see in a Bond film. She is engaging, resourceful, melancholy, funny...just all around and memorable.

The only woman to become wife to James Bond

Her next biggest and most know film has to The Hospital (1971) co-starring George C. Scott, a black comedy about the day in the life of a hospital. I only saw it one time many, many years ago but remember it  being pretty good.

Diana would land her own TV series called Diana in 1974 but sadly it only lasted one year. Not too many people even realize she had her own tv series. It was a comedy and center on a young woman (Rigg) who moves from London to New York. 

Diana...giving all to any part she takes in

For the better part of the 80's and 90's Diana concentrating on theater work, starring in such works as Medea, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Mother Courage and Her Children, Britannicus and Phedre. And tons of movies for PBS. Oh and she has appeared on the long running UK series, Doctor Who. And was made a dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth the second in 1994 for her contributions to theater and film. In short, Diana is a well respected actress and definitely deserves to be in the conversation of all time great actresses.

Good luck Diana!

And one more thing..she will be appearing in this year's season three of Game of Thrones, starting Sunday, March 31st...super cool!

The matches are underway...and Diana Rigg is ready!

The matches to decide who will face off in the championship match to decide the favorite classic movie actress of 2013 have begun. Carole Lombard faces Doris Day while Bette Davis takes on Diana Rigg. These matches will run through Tuesday evening at 6 pm EST. 

Whoa Diana...it's just a match....no need for that knife!

THE FINAL FOUR begins tomorrow

The Final Four for the 2013 Favorite Classic Movie Actress will begin tomorrow and I think this year's foursome represents each specific era quite well. These four actresses: Carole Lombard, Bette Davis, Doris Day and Diana Rigg are all making their first final four appearances. In the case of Diana Rigg, it is her debut tourney. I was getting used to see tourney mainstays like Grace Kelly and Natalie Wood being in the final four that it is something of a shock to not see them here this year. But the show must go on and here is the rundown on this year's final four.

CAROLE LOMBARD
Tourney Record 13-3 (through 3 years)
wins so far:
Barbara Stanwyck 36-27
Joan Blondell 39-20
Myrna Loy 61-21
Jean Harlow 50-31
Margaret Dumont 58-7




VS

DORIS DAY 
Tourney Record 9-2
wins so far:
Ava Garder 40-19
Audrey Hepburn 34-32
Jane Russell 54-22
Cyd Charisse 51-17
Vera-Ellen 45-13




Carole has logged 244 votes in her favor in her five wins for a 48 vote average.
Carole leads the final four finalists with most votes gained. Hope that's a good sign.
Doris has logged 224 votes in her favor in her five wins for a 44 vote average. 
So they are pretty close and will go into this match evenly matched.


**************************************************
BETTE DAVIS
Tourney Record 10-2 
wins so far:
Rita Hayworth 25-13
Judy Garland 44-39
Vivien Leigh 32-18
Olivia de Havilland 31-13
Jane Wyman 55-4




VS


DIANA RIGG
Tourney Record 5-0 (first year)
wins so far:
Shirley Jones 30-17
Catherine Deneuve 38-14
Julie Andrews 48-20
Angela Lansbury 44-40
Julie Christie 43-19

Bette has logged 187 votes in her favor over five wins for an average of 37 votes per match.
Diana has logged 203 votes in her favor over five wins for an average of 40 votes per match.
Diana has had some impressive wins, particularly over 60's titans Catherine Deneuve and Julie Andrews. She did struggle with Angela Lansbury though. While Bette has been pretty consistent with her only real close match coming against last year's final four finalist Judy Garland.

I will have the polls up early tomorrow morning and will have the matches run through either Monday evening or Tuesday evening. Not quite sure yet.

The third time's the charm as Carole Lombard is headed to the Final Four...

After two consecutive years of heart-breaking losses in the 30's era final match, Carole Lombard finally broke that streak with a win over Barbara Stanwyck 36-27. She previously had lost to Irene Dunne in 2011 and Ginger Rogers in 2012, who both coincidentally went on to win the Favorite Classic Movie Actress crown. I know that has to be a big relief for all of her fans, myself included. It was a hard fought victory for Carole over the seemingly unstoppable Stanwyck, who had been laying waste to her previous competition. In other era final matches, it was Bette Davis beating Rita Hayworth 25-13, earning Bette her first ever trip to the final four as well. In the 50's era, it was Doris Day defeating Ava Gardner 40-19. And in the 60's era it was Diana Rigg 29-17 over Shirley Jones, making it an all new final four affair. The matches will be Carole vs Doris and Bette vs Diana Rigg. Scheduled to start Friday morning and run through Monday afternoon.

Carole still can't believe she finally is going to the final four

CAROLE LOMBARD 36-27 over BARBARA STANWYCK
BETTE DAVIS 25-13 over RITA HAYWORTH
DORIS DAY 40-19 over AVA GARDNER
DIANA RIGG 30-17 over SHIRLEY JONES

Elite Eight Round Update

After 2 days these are the current numbers for the matches currently going on....

Diana Rigg is happy as can be..leading Shirley Jones

CAROLE LOMBARD leads BARBARA STANWYCK 23-19
BETTE DAVIS leads RITA HAYWORTH 17-4
DORIS DAY leads AVA GARDNER 23-12
DIANA RIGG leads SHIRLEY JONES 17-13

Voting continues through tomorrow evening

The 40's and 50's eras final matches are underway

Just wanted to let everyone know that the final matches in the 40's and 50's era are now underway. Bette Davis faces Rita Hayworth in the 40's era while Doris Day faces Ava Gardner in the 50's era. The links to both eras are located on my right sidebar. Just click on the respective banners and you'll be transported to the wonderful world of both eras courtesy of Desiree and Kristen.

THE ELITE EIGHT

From the sweet sixteen round we are now at the elite eight. These upcoming four matches will decide who makes the final four. The eight women vying for the crown of 2013 favorite classic movie actress are:


1 BARBARA STANWYCK VS 1 CAROLE LOMBARD

Both women are number 1 seeds from their respective categories...Babs from 
Pre-Code Babes and Carole from Funny Ladies 

1 BETTE DAVIS VS 1 RITA HAYWORTH

Bette is top seed from Drama Queens and Rita is top seed from Sophisticates


2 DORIS DAY VS 2 AVA GARDNER

Doris is the second seed from Singer/Dancers while Ava is second seed from
Drama Queens


7 SHIRLEY JONES VS 7 DIANA RIGG

And finally two seven seeds are still hanging around, Shirley representing 
Song and Dance while Diana represents British Invasion. The last time a
seed this low was still around was when Irene Dunne, who was seeded 10th
in the original tourney went all the way and won the whole thing. So there's
a chance one of these women can make some magic again.

Matches begin today..

A pair of number one seeds take a fall

One thing is for certain..this year's final four will be all newcomers to the big dance. A few days ago, reigning 60's era champion Natalie Wood was ousted by Shirley Jones. Today, two more top seeds followed suit. Judy Garland made an impressive rally but fell just short as she lost to Bette Davis 44-39, in the most highest scoring match in the 40's era for this tourney. Garland made it to the final four last year in her maiden tourney debut. This marks just the second loss for Judy. Bette will now face Rita Hayworth, who pummeled Gene Tierney 40-24 in the other 40's era semi-final match.

Looking to three-peat as a final four finalist was 50's era reigning champion Grace Kelly. But alas Princess Grace had no answers for Ava Gardner who had an impressive win 44-22. Grace holds the all-time tourney and match play record with 16 wins. So beating her was an amazing achievement by Ava. Ava gets to face Doris Day, who upset Audrey Hepburn 34-32.

Over in the 60's era, a pair of 7 seeds will now face each other as Shirley Jones took down Anne Bancroft 34-18 and Diana Rigg blasted Catherine Deneuve 38-14.

These four matches begin tomorrow morning.

Sweet Sixteen Other era's update: Ava Gardner is leading Grace Kelly

A few more hours and the matches in the other era's will be complete. Here are the latest numbers:

THE 40'S ERA

BETTE DAVIS leads JUDY GARLAND 43-38

RITA HAYWORTH leads GENE TIERNEY 39-23

THE 50'S ERA

AUDREY HEPBURN leads DORIS DAY 30-27

AVA GARDNER leads GRACE KELLY 37-20

THE 60'S ERA

SHIRLEY JONES leads ANNE BANCROFT 34-18

DIANA RIGG leads CATHERINE DENEUVE 38-14

The big news here is that Ava Gardner is rolling over two-time final four finalist and reigning 50's era champion Grace Kelly. My oh my!

The 30's era championship match is set: Barbara Stanwyck vs Carole Lombard

It has come down to the final two actresses in the 30's era bracket, Barbara Stanwyck and Carole Lombard, to decide who will earn a spot in the final four for favorite classic movie actress of 2013. Stanwyck throttled Greta Garbo by the score of 46-14 while Lombard overcame a shaky start to defeat Joan Blondell 39-20. It sets up a dream match-up between the top seeds of their respective categories. Stany represented Pre-Code Babes while Lombard was the top seed of the Funny Ladies category. The match will begin Sunday morning and run through Wednesday evening. 
The other era's matches are winding down and I'll post their final scores once they are completed. Here are some stats for both actresses:

BARBARA STANWYCK
Tourney Record (7-2)
2013 wins so far: 
defeated Greta Garbo 46-14
defeated Norma Shearer 72-9 (biggest margin of victory)
defeated Claudette Colbert 47-25
defeated Miriam Hopkins 43-7 (Hopkins was disqualified due to poll tampering)

Babs has never made it past round 2 in the tourney and she is making
 a most impressive run now! Last year Babs got knocked out in the second round
by Joan Crawford in one of the most thrilling matches in tourney history. The year
before that she lost to Irene Dunne in the second round. So for this year she has
already has more wins than in her first two tourney appearances combined.



VS


CAROLE LOMBARD
Tourney Record (12-3)
2013 wins so far:
defeated Joan Blondell 39-20
defeated Myrna Loy 61-21
defeated Jean Harlow 50-31
defeated Margaret Dumont 58-7 (biggest margin of victory)

With today's win, Carole now has tied Natalie Wood for second place in tourney history with 12 wins. This is the third straight 30's era final match Carole has been involved in. She lost 
both previous times to Irene Dunne and Ginger Rogers, eventual tourney champions.
Is the third time gonna be the charm for Carole? We shall soon find out.

Barbara Stanwyck and Carole Lombard are set to collide in the 30's era final match

Both ladies are definitely dressed spectacularly for their upcoming match

Barbara Stanwyck and Carole Lombard have sizeable leads in their respective matches and if they hold on to win, would set up a dream match for us classic movie fans. I mean that match could be viewed good enough as the final match to see who gets the crown for favorite classic movie actress of 2013. But it will decide who earns a spot in the final four. It will be the first time the two women have faced each other in tourney or match play. I for one can't wait. It should be a heck of a match as both actresses have huge fanbases. I figure Stany to have a slight edge has she has been rolling through the 30's era bracket, crushing the likes of Claudette Colbert and now Greta Garbo. Carole Lombard has been doing good too, especially with dominating wins over Jean Harlow and Myrna Loy. So this sets up for a fantastic match featuring two elite actresses. The match will begin Sunday morning and run through Wednesday evening. The other eras will start on the same day as well. I will post final numbers tomorrow.

Sweet Sixteen Round update

Leave it to the actresses of the 40's to produce the best matches of the sweet sixteen round so far. After getting off to a blistering start of a 24-14 lead, Bette Davis has seen her advantage over Judy Garland cut to 28-23. All of a sudden this looks like a match as Judy (who won the 40's era bracket last year) isn't about to give up her crown just yet. And in the other semi-final match of this era, Rita Hayworth and Gene Tierney are now tied at 20 votes each.

THE 40'S ERA

BETTE DAVIS leads JUDY GARLAND 28-23
RITA HAYWORTH and GENE TIERNEY tied 20-20

THE 30'S ERA

BARBARA STANWYCK leads GRETA GARBO 31-7
CAROLE LOMBARD leads JOAN BLONDELL 28-12

Barbara Stanwyck continues to steamroll through this era as she leads Greta Garbo 31-7  while my favorite actress of all time Carole Lombard has not had the easiest match but is starting to separate from Joan Blondell by the count of 28-12.

THE 50'S ERA

 AUDREY HEPBURN leads DORIS DAY 24-18
AVA GARDNER leads GRACE KELLY 22-20

Two tight matches in the 50's era as Hepburn is up by 6 votes on Doris Day while Gardner has a slim 2 vote edge over reigning 50's era champion Grace Kelly

THE 60'S ERA


SHIRLEY JONES leads ANNE BANCROFT 23-11
DIANA RIGG leads CATHERINE DENEUVE 25-9


It's looking like the final match in this era will be between Shirley Jones and Diana Rigg. Jones leads Anne Bancroft 23-11 while Rigg leads Catherine Deneuve by an even bigger margin of 25-9.

Natalie Wood shares her thoughts on her tough tourney loss

My guest today is none other than Natalie Wood, two-time Final Four finalist in the Favorite Classic Movie Actress tourneys. Let's get started shall we..

Natalie Wood...a real class act

Me: Thank you for taking the time to come by my blog Mrs. Woods. 
Natalie Woods: Oh thank you for having me. And it's Natalie.
Me: Ok, Natalie. So yesterday you had that heart-breaking loss to Shirley Jones. What was your first reaction after hearing the news?
Natalie: I was kinda unsure. I mean I saw the numbers but it didn't hit me until like hours later that I had lost. It was one heck of a match though. Shirley's fans definitely showed up.
Me: So this will be the first year that you won't be a part of the final four. That will feel so strange. I mean you have become the face of the 60's era here on my blog.
Natalie: Thank you Monty. It has been a lot of fun being a part of these wonderful tourneys. But like Vivien Leigh had said earlier, now I get to kick back and relax and watch the other ladies go at it.
Me: Yeah, that's a good way to look at it. I was so pulling for you to make it back to the big dance for the third year in a row. I mean last year you made it to the final match before losing to Ginger. Can you describe that situation?
Natalie: Oh god I was nervous as all get out. Me against Ginger. I imagined the night before she would just dance circles around me and that's pretty much what happened. But I had a great time.
Me: Well you're a great person Natalie. And I know you will be back for next year's tourney right?
Natalie: Oh yes....I hope so. I mean if you will have me.
Me: No worries Natalie, you will always be a part of these events as long as I do them. Thank you for stopping by.
Natalie: Thanks Monty. And here's a big kiss to all you bloggers out there who keep the magic of classic movies alive. (Natalie presses her right hand across her lips and sends a big kiss out)

Me: Natalie Wood..everybody! 
The crowd erupts in applause.

A couple of No. 1 vs No. 2 matches in the 50's era bracket

Proving to be worthy of their top rankings, a pair of number 1 and 2 seeds have now started their matches in the 50's era bracket. No. 1 Audrey Hepburn takes on No.2 Doris Day while No. 1 Grace Kelly takes on no. 2 Ava Gardner. Their rankings are for their respective categories in this era. Kristen has the polls up and you can now go there to vote. Click on the 50's banner on the right sidebar to go cast your vote. Oh and also please check out her Leading Lady Tournament where part 2 of her semi-finals focusing on the modern portion of her actresses is now taking place. Here's the link to her blog to go vote:  journeysinclassicfilm.com/2013/03/18/leading-lady-tournament-semi-finals-part-2

SWEET SIXTEEN round begins in a few hours...

We have reached round 4 featuring the sweet sixteen remaining actresses. And it is an impressive list to be sure. These are the scheduled matches to begin this evening. Please note the rankings in each era. The 40's era is the only era with all four top seeds of their respective categories making it to round 4. And the 60's era has two number 7 seeds making it thus far. While the 50's era has a pair of number 1 and 2 seeds. Pretty exciting!

THE 30'S ERA

1 GRETA GARBO




VS


1 BARBARA STANWYCK



****************************

1 CAROLE LOMBARD 




VS



7 JOAN BLONDELL


***********************************

THE 40'S ERA

1 BETTE DAVIS




VS


1 JUDY GARLAND


*******************************

1 RITA HAYWORTH





VS




1 GENE TIERNEY



*****************************************

THE 50'S ERA

1 AUDREY HEPBURN

VS



2 DORIS DAY

********************************************

1 GRACE KELLY

VS



2 AVA GARDNER

*********************************

THE 60'S ERA

1 ANNE BANCROFT

VS



7 SHIRLEY JONES

**********************************

1 CATHERINE DENEUVE

VS



7 DIANA RIGG