The Final Four is now underway...

Ladies and gentlemen this year's Final Four in the Favorite Classic Movie Actress Tourney is now underway. These two matches will run through Friday evening with the winners going on to the championship match on Saturday. Here are the four women who made it to the big dance.
Stats:
Myrna Loy and Greer Garson are back for their 2nd consecutive Final Four. The only other actresses do that are Grace Kelly, Natalie Wood, and Audrey Hepburn.

Doris Day 23 tourney wins are the second most in tourney history. Only Grace Kelly has won more matches with 25.

After having bad tourney history in the first 4 tourneys, Greer Garson and Julie Andrews seem to have righted the ship. Greer was winless in her first 4 tourneys and Julie was 2-2. But since then the pair have both gone 10-5, which sets up for an intriguing match.

Greer Garson and Myrna Loy have something in common: they both lost to eventual winner Natalie Wood in last year's final four. Loy lost 323-173 while Greer lost 543-318. Natalie's fans were out in force that year.

Greer Garson is currently in 2nd place in tourney history with 1358 votes. She sits behind Natalie Wood's all-time high of 1416 votes but it looks like Greer is going to shatter that mark easily!

Greer, Myrna and Doris are all repeat final four finalists, while this marks Julie Andrews first final four appearance.

MYRNA LOY

30'S ERA CHAMPION

Tourney record: 21-5

Number of final fours: 2

VS

DORIS DAY

50'S ERA CHAMPION

Tourney record: 23-5

Number of final fours: 2

GREER GARSON 

40'S ERA CHAMPION

Tourney Record: 10-5

Number of final fours: 2

VS

JULIE ANDREWS

60'S ERA CHAMPION

Tourney Record: 10-5

Number of Final Fours: 1

We have our Final Four in this year's Favorite Classic Movie Actress Tourney

Well only one match is officially over but the other three matches are pretty much done too
as the leads are insurmountable in the 2 hours left. First that epic match in the 40's era
bracket came to a close with Greer Garson pulling away from Rosalind Russell 601-457. Both actresses fanbases came out big time in support of their ladies through blogland, facebook, twitter, etc. This means Greer will be in consecutive final fours after going winless in the first
four tourneys she competed in. Talk about turnaround. She joins Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Bette Davis and Natalie Wood in that distinction. 

Oh wait add Myrna Loy to that list as well. Myrna is rolling over Margaret Lockwood in the 30's era bracket by the count of 152-33. Meanwhile in the 50's era looks like Doris Day will be making her 2nd final four appearance after throttling Deborah Kerr 194-63. And finally in the 60's era, looks like Julie Andrews will be going to the big dance for the very first time after her dominating win over Shirley MacLaine 113-60. So to break it down for you Greer and Myrna are two of the four pre-tourney top seeds to make it to the final four. Doris Day returns to the final four for the second time while this will  be Julie's first time. I will have the final four matches taking place here on my blog starting tomorrow. And I will do a complete post about their records and stats tonight.

GREER GARSON 601-457 over ROSALIND RUSSELL
MYRNA LOY 152-33 over MARGARET LOCKWOOD
DORIS DAY 194-63 over DEBORAH KERR
JULIE ANDREWS 113-60 over SHIRLEY MACLAINE

Round 5 (The Elite 8) starts now

Round 5 (The Elite 8) is now underway. I have the 30's and 60's era final matches taking place here while you can find the 40's and 50's era  final matches by clicking on the links below. These matches will run through Saturday afternoon to decide who will be going to the Final Four.

40's era: mythicalmonkey
50's era: thewonderfulworldofcinema

Round 2 (British Invasion and All-American Girls) begins now!

We move on to round 2 of the 2014 Favorite Movie Actress Tourney where the matches start to get a little more competitive.

Here in the 60’s era, the British Invasion and All-American Girls brackets begin this evening. Here are the match-ups and I have to say all four promise to be very exciting. In the All-American Girls brackets, top seed Anne Bancroft will have to face the red hot Paula Prentiss, who beat Faye Dunaway in the first round. In the other match, 3rd seed Lee Remick will have to deal with 7th seed Sharon Tate, who upset Jane Fonda a few days ago. Over in the British Invasion, top seed Diana Rigg, who squeaked

by Hayley Mills last round will have an even tougher challenge this time in Jean Simmons. And the spotlight match takes place when 2nd seed Elizabeth Taylor squares off against 3rd seed Julie Andrews. My oh my. These matches will run through Wednesday evening. Good luck to all these wonderful actresses!

BRITISH INVASION BRACKET

ALL-AMERICAN GIRLS BRACKET

The 2014 Favorite Classic Movie Actress Tourney (1960's Era Brackets: British Invasion/All-American Girls)

Ahhhh you can always tell spring is on the way when days start to feel warmer and flowers start to bloom. Oh and when your favorite classic movie actresses come together to duke it out to earn bragging rights for favorite of the year. This marks the 4th annual edition and things look to be wide open this year. I mean previous winners Irene Dunne, Ginger Rogers and Carole Lombard all took care of business and eventually won their tourney for their respective years. But this year, it's anyone's ball game. I mean odds are in favor of someone from the 30's era bracket clinching the crown, since all three previous winners have come from that era. But I think Bette Davis, the #1 seed from the 40's era and overall #1 seed thanks to her 2nd place finish last year, might have something to say about that. I'll be hosting the 60's era for the 2nd time and here are the first round brackets (British Invasion and All-American Girls) that kick off beginning on Sunday.

BRITISH INVASION

1 DIANA RIGG 

VS

8 HAYLEY MILLS

Looks like upstart Hayley is aiming to take down last year's final four
finalist Diana Rigg...game on!

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

4 JULIE CHRISTIE

VS
5 JEAN SIMMONS

Should be a very interesting match...4 vs 5 usually are!

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

2 ELIZABETH TAYLOR 

VS
7 VANESSA REDGRAVE

Elizabeth Taylor moves from the 50's era to here and right away she
will face stiff competition in the form of Vanessa Redgrave

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

3 JULIE ANDREWS

VS
6 MAGGIE SMITH


Julie usually does very well in tourney play, making it to the sweet sixteen a few times
but this is probably her toughest first round match ever!


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

ALL-AMERICAN GIRLS

1 ANNE BANCROFT

VS
8 TUESDAY WELD

*****************
4 FAYE DUNAWAY

VS
5 PAULA PRENTISS

Last year Paula Prentiss made a deep run into the tourney with some surprising
victories. She looks to improve in this year's tourney.

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

2 JANE FONDA

VS
7 SHARON TATE

Now this one I am putting on upset alert because I really think Sharon Tate has
a good chance of knocking off 2 seed Jane Fonda. We'll find out here shortly

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

3 LEE REMICK

VS
6 PATRICIA NEAL

This promises to be a very exciting and close match. Could go either way!

The British Invasion of the 60's era bracket features two very close matches

Over in the 60's era of the Favorite Classic Movie Actress Tourney, two of the four matches are very close. As of right now, Julie Andrews leads Maggie Smith by the count of 24-23 in a thrilling back and forth match. And the other close match is actually tied 24-24 between Angela Lansbury and Diana Rigg. Talk about high stakes drama. If you haven't voted yet, please go here to choose your favorites:  mythicalmonkey.blogspot.com

This bracket is titled The British Invasion and the Lansbury/Rigg winner will face the Andrews/Smith winner to claim victory of this particular bracket. Then that winner will land a spot in the semi-finals in this era to see if they can earn a trip to the Final Four. Good luck ladies!

Round Three Matches: Funny Ladies and Singers/Dancers

On to round three of our tourney features a pair of good bracket finales. Both top seeds made it to their respective category final. Natalie Wood will face Jane Fonda in the funny ladies bracket while Julie Andrews squares off against Ann-Margret. Matches begin on Thursday and run through Saturday night.

FUNNY LADIES/GIRLS NEXT DOOR FINAL

1 NATALIE WOOD

VS

2 JANE FONDA

---------------------------------------

SINGERS/DANCERS BRACKET FINAL

1 JULIE ANDREWS

VS

3 ANN-MARGRET

FUNNY LADIES/SINGERS AND DANCERS Round Two

Here we are with the start of round 2 for the funny ladies/singers and dancers categories. Below are the matches that start immediately. And will run through Saturday night.

FUNNY LADIES/GIRLS NEXT DOOR

1 NATALIE WOOD

VS

5 HAYLEY MILLS

------------------------------------------------

2 JANE FONDA

VS

3 SANDRA DEE

------------------------------------------------

SINGERS AND DANCERS

1 JULIE ANDREWS

VS

4 SHIRLEY JONES

-------------------------------------------

2 SHIRLEY MACLAINE

VS

3 ANN-MARGRET

The 2012 Favorite Classic Movie Actress Tournament Preview: the 60's Era

So now we arrive at the final preview for the 2012 Favorite Classic Movie Actress Tournament with the 1960's era. This bracket will take place right here on All Good Things and I have listed all the matches for the first round below, with the top seeds for each of the four groups highlighted. Tourney will start simultaneous with the other three blogs on Monday March 5th. I am going for Natalie Wood in this era.

60's Sophisticates Top Seed Jean Simmons

 60’s SOPHISTICATES

1 JEAN SIMMONS VS 8 CAROL LYNLEY

4 BRIGITTE BARDOT VS 5 CLAUDIA CARDINALE

2 FAYE DUNAWAY VS 7 VERA MILES

3 ROMY SCHNEIDER VS 6 ANNE BANCROFT

Overall top seed of 60's era Natalie Wood (and last year final four finalist)

60’S FUNNY LADIES/GIRLS NEXT DOOR

1 NATALIE WOOD VS 8 STELLA STEVENS

4 TUESDAY WELD VS 5 HAYLEY MILLS

2 JANE FONDA VS 7 PATTY DUKE

3 SANDRA DEE VS 6 GLYNIS JOHNS

60's Drama Queens top seed Julie Christie

60’S DRAMA QUEENS

1 JULIE CHRISTIE VS 8 TIPPI HEDREN

4 LIV ULLMAN VS 5 SUSANNAH YORK

2 LEE REMICK VS 7 JEAN SEBERG

3 CATHERINE DENEUVE VS 6 SHARON TATE

60's Singers/Dancers Top Seed Julie Andrews

60’S SINGERS/DANCERS

1 JULIE ANDREWS VS 8 JEANNE MOREAU

4 SHIRLEY JONES VS 5 RITA MORENO

2 SHIRLEY MACLAINE VS 7 EDIE ADAMS

3 ANN-MARGRET VS 6 RAQUEL WELCH

The 60's Era Semi-Finals are set...

With one exception, the four quarter-final matches were over by day one. Top seed Doris Day beat 9th seed Catherine Deneuve 28-13. 2nd Natalie Wood routed 7th seed Shirley Jones 35-6. I should have ended that match as mercy. 3rd Julie Andrews defeated 6th seed Jean Simmons 23-15. The lone close match was between 4th seed Ann-Margret and 5th seed Shirley MacLaine, with Shirley winning 20-17. So below are the semi-final matches that will kick off as soon as finish this post. And run through Saturday night 6pm EST.

MATCH 1:

1 DORIS DAY

VS

5 SHIRLEY MACLAINE

--------------------------------

2 NATALIE WOOD

VS

3 JULIE ANDREWS

The Strange and Wonderful Film Career of Julie Andrews

Just recently posted about Mary Poppins and thought I would write something about Julie Andrews. Julie had a dream start to her film career. Her very first film was Mary Poppins in 1964. She was perfect, handling the role with the right touch of light comedy and some drama. She even did her own singing. She was awarded with an Oscar for Best Actress. Not too many people have won Best Actor/Actress with their very first film role. I don't know the number but it's got to be a very short list. Her next film was the comedy/drama The Americanization of Emily, which further cemented her rising film career. As great a start was her career, it could have been even better had she snagged the leading role in the film version of My Fair Lady. Studio executives didn't want to trust their big budget musical on a stage actress, even though Julie was wonderful in the stage version. She even starred with Rex Harrison, who wanted her badly to be in the film version with him. Audrey Hepburn ended up getting the role, but Julie won the Oscar that year so it still turned out pretty good for her.

But nobody could predict the blockbuster that would follow...The Sound Of Music,with Julie playing Maria Von Trapp. Her performance was amazing and somehow she didn't win an Oscar. I'm guessing the Academy was like there was no way they were going to give Julie a second \award for only her third film role. Music ended up making over $160 million in America alone, which was a huge amount in 1964 dollars. Julie decided to mix things up after that with a role in Alfred Hitchcock's Torn Curtain, which is ok but not one of his best films. Then she did a few more musicals such as Thoroughly Modern Millie, Star, and Darling Lili. And that may be the reason her career took such a downturn.

Musicals were on their way out during the late 60's because audiences tastes were shifting but studios were still cranking them out with Julie as the lead like no other star of the decade, save for Barbara Steistrand, who eventually wised up and started making big studio films like The Way We Were. Anwyay back to Julie, she married comedy director Blake Edwards and he tapped her unused comedic talents. First up was 10, the Dudley Moore comedy that introduced the world to Bo Derek. Julie was good in this film, but let's face it the main attraction was Bo. So for Edwards next film S.O.B., Julie ended up baring her breasts for this film that poked fun at Hollywood. It was a misfire. But the husband and wife team returned with Victor/Victoria which was a marvelous film, bubt once again another box-office miss.

Julie was struggling at this time, and didn't bounce back until the double hit of the film series The Princess Diaries and Shrek during the decade of 2000. 5 films that generated tons of cash and put Julie back in the good graces of movie lovers once again.Take away this year's earlier film Tooth Fairy, Julie rebounded with this summer's Despicable Me. So it has been a long and strange career for Julie, at over 50 years in the business, with ups and downs. But through it all she is still here and back doing good film work.

A Movie A Day: Mary Poppins is Supercallifragilisticexpialidocious!

Classic Disney fantasy film about the nanny Mary Poppins who works her magic for two unhappy children in London, England. Julie Andrews is simply outstanding in her film debut. She positively glows when she is onscreen. I can see why she won the Best Actress Oscar that year. It is easily one of the best screen performances of all time. Of course, Mary Poppins is a hard act to follow and she would never come close to matching it except for maybe The Sound of Music. Anyway, a childhood classic that still holds up with a lot of song and dance, some humor, and some ok special effects. The songs are terrific and performed with lots of energy and imagination. Julie Andrews is just perfect as Mary Poppins. The flying sequences hold up better than the other effects. And Dick Van Dyke is a plus as chimney sweeper Bert. A true classic that people of all ages can enjoy.

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Mary Poppins: Our first game is called "well begun is half done."
Michael: I don't like the sound of that.
Mary Poppins: Otherwise entitled, "let's tidy up the nursery."
Michael: I told you she was tricky.