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