Round 3 Final Results: Veteran tourney actresses roll on

Round 3 has just wrapped up and for the most part the veteran tourney actresses rolled to easy victories. Here are the complete scores from each era:

30's era:

GRETA GARBO defeated ANN DVORAK 33-24
MYRNA LOY defeated JEAN HARLOW 33-25
BARBARA STANWYCK defeated NORMA SHEARER 40-19
JOAN BLONDELL defeated BILLIE BURKE 45-10

Greta Garbo and Myrna Loy rolled to easy victories which was not too surprising. But it was surprising that Stany had such an easy time beating Norma Shearer. Thought that match would have been much closer. And Joan Blondell had the biggest margin of victory by crushing Billie Burke by 35 votes



40's era:

BETTE DAVIS defeated JUDY GARLAND 53-16
RITA HAYWORTH defeated GENE TIERNEY 36-29
TERESA WRIGHT defeated JOAN LESLIE 45-19
OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND defeated INGRID BERGMAN 38-37

Wow...Bette decimated Judy by 37 votes for this era's biggest blow-out. The best match though was between Ingrid Bergman and Olivia de Havilland. It has been back and forth for the longest before Livvie eventually won by a single vote!

50's era:

DORIS DAY defeated MARILYN MONROE 44-32
DEBORAH KERR defeated JANET LEIGH 51-24
AUDREY HEPBURN defeated SUSAN HAYWARD 51-23
GRACE KELLY defeated LANA TURNER 51-22

Talk about blow-outs. Every match in this era was decided by 12 or more votes with the closest match being between Day and Monroe. The other three matches were decided by 25 or more votes. History making too when Grace Kelly notched her 20th tourney win, the most by any actress in tourney and match play.


60's era:

ROMY SCHNEIDER defeated CATHERINE DENEUVE 36-29  
NATALIE WOOD defeated SHIRLEY MACLAINE 45-28
ELIZABETH TAYLOR defeated JEAN SIMMONS 46-26
LEE REMICK defeated ANNE BANCROFT 40-29

Romy Schneider edged out Catherine Deneuve in this era's closest match. While Elizabeth Taylor advances to the sweet sixteen for her very first time. When she competed in the 50's era in previous tourneys, she never made it past round 3. So looks like moving to the 60's era was a very smart idea.

Round 4 (the Sweet Sixteen) will begin tomorrow morning. I will have the match-ups posted later on this evening.

All-Time Top Winning Tourney Actresses

As we are currently underway with first round action of the 2014 Favorite Classic Movie Actress Tourney, I thought it would be a good idea to rank the all-time tourney leaders in match wins. I wanted to do a top ten list but that would take a little more time and research to compile all the numbers. So I settled with the top 5 women with the most matches won in tourney play. And not just counting this tourney but all the tourneys I have done or partnered up with, like the recent Favorite Silent Actress Tourney I did with Catherine. But I am counting only individual matches and not something like my other recent tourney, the favorite classic movie couples I did with Desiree. So here we go, beginning with #5..

5.) BETTE DAVIS (11-3) Bette has been in the mix in all three previous tourneys, reaching the final four last year only to lose to my girl Carole. And this year she is off to a great start as she is running roughshod over Katharine Hepburn. Look for Bette’s win tally to increase by quite a bit.

4.)  NATALIE WOOD (12-4) Two- time final four finalist, Natalie has pretty much dominated the 60’s era portion of the tourney, with the exception of last year’s early exit in the sweet sixteen round. But her 12 wins proves that she is definitely a contender and one of the most loved actresses competing.

3.) GRETA GARBO (13-3, winner 2014 Favorite Silent Actress Tourney) Recently crowned Favorite Silent Actress thanks to her solid performance in this year’s earlier tourney, Greta has established herself as a proven force. And with her currently beating the brakes off Fay Wray in the first round of the 30’s era bracket, she has picked up right where she left off…winning.

2.) CAROLE LOMBARD (16-3, winner 2013 Favorite Classic Movie Actress Tourney) I was so happy my beloved Carole finally broke through and won a tourney. She had come so close in the two previous tourneys only to lose to Irene Dunne and Ginger Rogers in the 30’s era finals, but would not be denied a 3^rd time. It was a long time coming.

1    1.)    GRACE KELLY (17-3, winner 2012 Favorite Alfred Hitchcock Leading Lady) And the all-time most winning actress in tourney history is none other than Princess Grace. Two-time final four finalist that has owned the 50’s era bracket with the exception of last year’s early exit during the sweet sixteen round. Grace did manage to win another tourney though…Favorite Alfred Hitchcock Leading Lady, quite easily might I add.

Once this year’s tourney wraps, I will update this all-time list and probably expand it to a top ten.

Greta Garbo defeats Louise Brooks 100-82 to win The Favorite Silent Actress Tourney

When it was all said and done, it was Greta Garbo standing tall winning The Favorite Silent Actress Tourney by defeating the feisty Louise Brooks by the count of 100-82. This was the most voted on match of the entire tourney with the leads changing hands several times. In fact Louise had a 10 vote lead just two days ago before Greta made a furious rally to take home the crown. I want to thank my good friend Catherine, of Plucked from Obscurity who co-hosted this tourney with me. In fact it was her idea that we do this, and what a wonderful idea it was. Thanks to all those that took the time to vote and then spread the word through-out the classic movie lovers landscape. Next year me and Catherine will host a tourney dedicated to the silent actors of yesteryear, which should be awesome too. And don't forget about the 4th Annual Favorite Classic Movie Actress that features 132 actresses over four eras competing for the title. More info to follow as that tourney starts Sunday, March 2nd.

Greta Garbo and Louise Brooks in the match to determine favorite silent actress is underway

Catherine has got the final match in the favorite silent actress tourney underway. Greta Garbo against Louise Brooks. Winner gets the crown. Here's the link to go cast your vote: http://obscurecinemamagic.wordpress.com/

It will be Greta Garbo and Louise Brooks for the crown of Favorite Silent Actress

In the semi-final matches, it was Louise Brooks crushing Clara Bow 30-18 and Greta Garbo doubling up over Norma Shearer 16-8. Setting up a championship match between Louise and Greta to decide the favorite silent actress. Catherine will host that epic match beginning on Sunday. Here's the link to her page to go vote when the time comes: http://obscurecinemamagic.wordpress.com/

THE FINAL FOUR for the Favorite Silent Actress Tourney begins now

Four legendary silent actresses have made it to the final four of the Favorite Silent Actress Tourney. Clara Bow. Louise Brooks. Norma Shearer and Greta Garbo. Two matches over two blogs. The match between Clara and Louise will take place here while my friend Catherine hosts the match between Greta and Norma. The poll is on the right hand side bar. Matches will run through Thursday to decide who will compete in the final match to decide the favorite silent actress. Here's the link to Catherine's blog to go vote on that match which will be up later on: http://obscurecinemamagic.wordpress.com/
Good luck to these four wonderful women!

A dream Final Four to take place this weekend in The Favorite Silent Actress Tourney

We started with 32 top actresses of the silent era and have made our way to the final four. And it's a dream final four. Greta Garbo. Norma Shearer. Clara Bow. Louise Brooks. You couldn't ask for a better finale. Greta outlasted Janet Gaynor 11-6. Norma Shearer edged out Gloria Swanson 10-7. Louise Brooks defeated Bebe Daniels 21-7. And Clara Bow handled top seed and perennial favorite Mary Pickford 21-8. So now as we head into this weekend the two semi-final matches set up like this. Clara Bow will take on Louise Brooks here on All Good Things while Greta and Norma will duke it out on Catherine's blog, Plucked From Obscurity. Matches begin Saturday nights and run through Thursday evening. Here's the link to Catherine's blog: http://obscurecinemamagic.wordpress.com/

Round 3 of the Favorite Silent Actress Tourney begins now...

Here we go with round 3 of the favorite silent actress tourney. 4 matches with 8 remaining women. And it looks to be some top tier matches for sure. I'll start my two matches here on All Good Things now and Catherine will start her two matches tomorrow morning. Here's the link to her blog:http://obscurecinemamagic.wordpress.com/

THE DESIREE BRACKET

MARY PICKFORD

VS

CLARA BOW

THE STEPHEN BRACKET

LOUISE BROOKS

VS

BEBE DANIELS

And then over at Catherine's blog, these two matches

THE JOSIE BRACKET

GRETA GARBO

VS

JANET GAYNOR

THE MARIA BRACKET

NORMA SHEARER

VS

GLORIA SWANSON

Matches will run through Thursday evening. Good luck to all the women who

have made it this far!

Round 2 of the Favorite Silent Actress Tourney is in the books

8 matches wrapped up the 2nd round of the Favorite Silent Actress Tourney and half of them were blow-outs. Here are the results from all 8 matches.

DESIREE BRACKET
Clara Bow defeated Alla Nazimova 15-5
Mary Pickford defeated Dolores Costello 12-10

STEPHEN BRACKET
Louise Brooks defeated Lillian Gish 14-8
Bebe Daniels defeated Edna Purviance 12-9

JOSIE BRACKET
Greta Garbo defeated Colleen Moore 12-2
Janet Gaynor defeated Pola Negri 9-5

MARIA BRACKET
Norma Shearer defeated Olive Borden 13-2
Gloria Swanson defeated Marion Davies 8-6

Norma Shearer, Greta Garbo, Louise Brooks and Clara Bow all flexed their muscles and won quite easily.
Three of the matches were double digits wins for the respective ladies. Meanwhile the other four matches were quite close, with two of them being decided by only 2 votes. Mary Pickford, the tourney's top seed squeaked by for the second week in a row by edging out Dolores Costello 12-10. It won't get any easier for Mary as she faces the It Girl, Clara Bow in round 3. I will have the complete match-ups posted by tomorrow.

3rd Round Matches

3rd round action begins today and here are the four category final matches of the 30's era. Good luck to all the women who have made it this far.

THEY HAD FACES FINAL MATCH
1 GRETA GARBO
Tourney record (6-2)
2nd round victory over Kay Francis 44-18




VS


7 LILLIAN GISH
Tourney record (2-1)
2nd round victory over Gloria Swanson 38-33


**********************************
PRE-CODE WOMEN FINAL MATCH

1 BARBARA STANWYCK
Tourney Record (5-2)
2nd round victory over Claudette Colbert 47-25



VS


2 NORMA SHEARER
Tourney Record (3-3)
2nd round victory over Marlene Dietrich 39-32


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

SINGERS/DANCERS FINAL MATCH

4 ELEANOR POWELL
Tourney Record (2-0)
2nd round victory over Bebe Daniels 



VS


7 JOAN BLONDELL
Tourney Record (2-1)
2nd round victory over Ruby Keeler


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

FUNNY LADIES FINAL MATCH

1 CAROLE LOMBARD
Tourney Record (10-3)
2nd round victory over Jean Harlow



VS


2 MYRNA LOY 
Tourney Record (6-2)
2nd round victory over Jean Arthur



Matches will run through Wednesday evening. Should be another exciting round.

Second round matches begin now...

Here are the scheduled second round matches that begin now. Once again the first three days will be represented by two categories (They Had Faces and Pre-Code Babes). The matches will run through Wednesday evening. The second set of matches (Funny Ladies and Singers/Dancers) will begin immediately after that. There are some spectacular matches too. Including Claudette Colbert vs Barbara Stanwyck, Norma Shearer vs Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo vs Kay Francis. March Madness is now in full swing!

THEY HAD FACES

1 GRETA GARBO
Tourney record (5-2)
first round victory over Dolores Del Rio 60-32



VS



5 KAY FRANCIS
Tourney record (1-0)
first round victory over Louise Brooks 54-32


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


3 GLORIA SWANSON
Tourney record (2-1)
first round victory over Clara Bow 46-45



VS


7 LILLIAN GISH 
Tourney record (1-1)
first round victory over Mary Pickford 56-37


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

PRE-CODE BABES

1 BARBARA STANWYCK 
Tourney record 4-2
first round victory over Miriam Hopkins 43-7



VS



4 CLAUDETTE COLBERT
Tourney record (5-2)
first round victory over Joan Crawford 61-42



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

2 NORMA SHEARER
Tourney Record  (2-3)
first round victory over Glenda Farrell 51-48




VS




3 MARLENE DIETRICH
Tourney Record (3-2)
first round victory over Ann Dvorak 54-51

Hall Of Fame Inductees for December: GRETA GARBO and JEAN HARLOW

I know I missed during an induction for my Hall of Fame last month but was busy with work and stuff. Here I am to present two inductees for the month of December though. Two of the most iconic classic film actresses ever..Greta Garbo and Jean Harlow. Both gain admittance to the Hall of Fame by virtue of their Montie winning performances as Best Actress for their respective films.

First up, Greta won her Montie (my version of the Oscar for those new to my blog) for her grand performance as Grusinskaya the Dancer in 1932's Grand Hotel. Some will say it is not such a great performance and that co-star Joan Crawford delivered the better performance. I can argue for both points as I also awarded Joan a Montie as Best Supporting Actress for her role as Flaemmchen. I do like Greta's work here in Hotel but it is not my favorite performance of hers. That would be Ninotchka. Regardless, she is now in All Good Things Hall of Fame.

And our second inductee is none other than Jean Harlow. Jean nabbed a Best Actress Montie for 1933's Bombshell, one of my all time favorite screwball comedies. As major screen star Lola Burns, Jean is on fire and gives one of her best film performances ever. And now she joins an exclusive club in my Hall of Fame.

Give a warm welcome to these two legendary film actresses. I will return next month with two more inductees.

Be My Guest: ALICIA GARBO

My guest this month is my good friend from Facebook, Alicia Garbo. We've been friends for almost 2 years and she is a great gal. She has several wonderful pages on Facebook that you should check out as she will talk about during her stint as my guest. Here's the link to one of them:  British-Beauties..now on to our interview! Alicia's answers are in red. My comments are in blue.

Introducing Miss Garbo..

• 1. What made you start blogging? disregard if you do not have a blog but you can count your facebook page if you like?

  *One of the main reasons I started my 'Women of WW2' & 'Blitz Memorial' Pages is because I have a keen interest in how World War Two affected people on a personal scale. I grew up with tales from older relatives retelling me their experiences of living through WW2 in Britain & it just sort of fueled my interest in that era.
  Also I felt there were many Facebook Memorial Pages for the men who fought during WW2 (quite rightly), but none really for the women who sacrificed so much too, either on the home-front or battle-front. So I thought it would be a nice sentiment to do a Memorial Page in their memory.
  
  And I think you for doing those wonderful pages Alicia. They are awesome.
  

  

  
  

  2. Who are your favorite classic film stars? Name as many as you want?
  

  

  
  

  * There are so many I could name right now, but I will pick just a few. One's that come to mind are Greta Garbo, Audrey Hepburn, Vivian Leigh, Bette Davis, Marilyn Monroe, Tippi Hedren, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Claudette Colbert, Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, Clarke Gable & Leslie Howard.
  
  You and Garbo...that's great. Glad to see Tippi Hedren up there too. Her name does not get called that often.
  
  

  3. What are some of your favorite films?
  

  

  
  

  * Some of the classic films I like are 'The Wizard of Oz, 'Gone with the Wind', 'Casablanca', 'Anna Karenina' (The Greta Garbo version), 'Since You Went Away', 'It Happened One Night', 'Holiday Inn', 'Breakfast at Tiffany's', 'The Misfits' & 'It's a Wonderful Life'.
  More modern films I like I would have to say 'Titanic', 'Sex And the City' movies, 'The Transformer' movies, 'The Terminator' movies & 'Cold Mountain', as-well as 'Pearl Harbor'.
  
  The only film you named that I'm not a fan of is Breakfast at Tiffany's..sorry.

  4. Describe your first classic movie experience. Like where and when..at a cinema, on TV, etc..
  

  

  
  

  * My first classic movie experience happened when I was about 15 years old & a mentor at school borrowed me her VHS copy of 'Gone with the Wind'. I remember finishing school early one Friday afternoon & I decided to watch 'Gone with the Wind' at home. All I can say is that I was blown away by the scope & scale of the movie & I couldn't believe that it was made in 1939, it didn't seem that old to me. I so wanted to be like Scarlett O'Hara funnily enough & instantly my love affair with classic movies began.
  
  You couldn't asked for a better intro to classic movies. Mine was His Girl Friday,

  5. What films upon first viewing did you not like, then later on when re-watching them, loved them?
  

  

  
  

  * One of the most recent films I can remember thinking that is 'Black Swan'. I went to see it at the cinema & found it a bit hard to follow, but once I understood what was going on I realized what a clever film it really was.
  
  Still have yet to see that one

  6. Describe the perfect way for you to watch a classic film.
  

  

  
  

  * Snuggled up on the sofa, on a cold winter night with the fire crackling & a cup of hot chocolate in-front of my TV.
  
  Sounds nice to me...it would be the same for me.

  7. How many friends, family member or co-workers share your love of classic films?

  

  
  * I think to be fair I am the only one who really loves old black & white movies, but my mother also likes a bit of Audrey Hepburn too.
  
  Well at least that is something..

  8. What is your favorite time period: the 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's or 60's?

  

  
  * I would probably have to say the 40's, 50's & 60's. Most of all I love the 40's, the women seemed so much more glamorous & feminine than they do today.

  9. What are some of your favorite film quotes?

  * Probably 'Gone with the Wind's', "Frankly my Dear I don't give a damn!" Also 'The Terminator's', "I'll be back!"
  
  All classic!

  10. What classic films have you yet to see for one reason or another?
  

  

  
  

  *I've wanted to check out a few of Alfred Hitchcock's movies. Especially one's with Grace Kelly in them. Also I would like to check out Veronica Lake's movies, as she is such a huge icon of the 40's with her 'Peek-a-boo' hair-style.
  
  OH I love Hitch's films, especially the ones with Grace. But also his early films as well. I have seen a few of Lake's films like Sullivan's Travels and the ones she made with Alan Ladd. I was very impressed.

  11. What is your favorite genre?

  *I really like love-story's, as I am a hopeless romantic to be honest. I also love movies with a lot of action & special effects in them too.
  
  Sweet!

  12. If you threw a movie theme party, describe how you would do it. The costumes, decorations, food, etc.

  

  
  
  *I think I would do a 30's/40's themed 'Casablanca' movie party. I'd want everybody to come dressed in 40's clothes ideally & have lots of 40's jazz music on & for it to be like "Rick's Café Américain".
  
  Sounds like an awesome idea! Please send me an invite when you do have one.
  
  

  13. What are some films that are widely loved that you couldn't care less about?

  * I can't really think of any at the moment to be honest.
  
  That's cool

  14. Who’s the biggest film fanatic that you know? Besides yourself of course.

  * Well if I'm being honest I can't think of anybody else, who loves movie night as much as myself, so I would have to say myself.
  
  Cool again...

  15. And finally who are some of your favorite film characters?
  

  

  
  

  * I love the tempestuousness & bitchiness of Scarlett O'Hara & her will to get what she wants. Portrayed by the incredibly beautiful Vivian Leigh.
  I also like Sarah Connor & her courage & braveness to survive against all odds, from 'The Terminator' films, played by Linda Hamilton.
  I like Holly Golightly, a sort of free spirit, who's not what she seems at all & wonderfully represented by the exquisite Audrey Hepburn.
  Rose DeWitt Bukater from 'Titanic' & her struggles to break free from the confines of her life acted out by the marvelous Kate Winslet.
  Last but not least Rose Tabor the divorcee from 'The Misfits', who seems sort of flawed. Represented by the wonderful Marilyn Monroe.
  I seem to like very vulnerable characters for some reason,ha. :)
  
  
  Cool. Thank you Alicia for being my guest this month. Hope everyone enjoyed having her here as much as I did. And please check out her wonderful pages on Facebook!