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!

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

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SINGERS AND DANCERS

1 JULIE ANDREWS

VS

4 SHIRLEY JONES

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

2 SHIRLEY MACLAINE

VS

3 ANN-MARGRET

FUNNY LADIES/SINGERS AND DANCERS DAY TWO UPDATE

Everything is just humming along smoothly in the tourney as most of the top seeds are easily winning their respective matches, but there are a few close ones. In fact there are two matches currently tied. Here are the numbers after the second day of voting in the funny ladies and singers/dancers categories.


SILENT/30'S ERA

CAROLE LOMBARD 73 GAIL PATRICK 14
MYRNA LOY 70 MARGARET DUMONT 10
JEAN HARLOW 63 MARIE DRESSLER 15
JEAN ARTHUR 64 MARGARET SULLAVAN 14
IRENE DUNNE 74 LUISE RAINER 7
HATTIE MCDANIEL 43 SHIRLEY TEMPLE 38
GINGER ROGERS 51 JOANN BLONDELL 27
JEANETTE MACDONALD 44 MAE WEST 36


All the top seeds are rolling in this first round. Carole Lombard, Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow, Ginger Rogers, Jean Arthur (who missed out on last year's tourney, but is making up for it now) and defending champion Irene Dunne are just destroying their opponents. Especially Irene who is up 74-7 over two-time Oscar winner Luise Rainer. The close match is between Shirley Temple and Hattie McDaniel. McDaniel currently has a slight 5 point edge


THE 1940'S ERA

Here's Lucy!

ROSALIND RUSSELL 54 JEANNE CRAIN 7
JANE WYMAN 37 DONNA REED 30
LUCILLE BALL 47 MAUREEN O'HARA 28
EVE ARDEN 31 TERESA WRIGHT 23
JUDY GARLAND 53 MARGARET O'BRIEN 8
BETTY GRABLE 32 JUNE ALLYSON 23
RITA HAYWORTH 42 HEDY LAMARR 16
ANN MILLER 29 VIRGINIA MAYO 21


This era has some much closer matches. Jane Wyman and Donna Reed are battling it out big time with Wyman currently holding a 7 point edge. Eve Arden is up by 8 points over Teresa Wright. Betty Grable is leading June Allyson by 9. Ann Miller is up by 8 over Virginia Mayo. Top seed Rosalind Russell though is destroying Jeanne Crain 54-7. Someone should call for the mercy rule. And in the battle of the redheads, Lucille Ball fell behind early to Maureen O'Hara by as many as 8 points as now surged to lead by nearly 20. I guess the phrase 'I Love Lucy' is definitively most true.


THE 1950'S ERA

Debbie is rolling over Jane Powell

DORIS DAY 42 JANE RUSSELL 22
VERA-ELLEN 26 LESLIE CARON 26
DEBBIE REYNOLDS 38 JANE POWELL 19
CYD CHARISSE 42 DOROTHY DANDRIDGE 14
JUDY HOLLIDAY 42 PIER ANGELI 10
JANET LEIGH 46 JAYNE MANSFIELD 12
MARILYN MONROE 49 JOANNE WOODWARD 12
THELMA RITTER 45 EVA MARIE SAINT 14


We have one tie currently between Vera-Ellen (first time competing) and Leslie Caron (who got bounced in the first round last year). Looks like that match will go down to the wire. But the other matches are blow-outs. Top seed Doris Day is competing in the 50's era this year and loving it. She played in the 60's era last year. Different eras, same results as she is whipping Jane Russell 42-22. Another transfer from the 60's, Janet Leigh is having little trouble too in her match with Jayne Mansfield. She is up by 34 points.


THE 60'S ERA

First timer Hayley Mills is proving she deserves to be

here as she is winning over Tuesday Weld

JULIE ANDREWS 46 JEANNE MOREAU 12
SHIRLEY JONES 33 RITA MORENO 22
SHIRLEY MACLAINE 43 EDIE ADAMS 15
ANN-MARGRET 31 RAQUEL WELCH 22
NATALIE WOOD 46 STELLA STEVENS 8
HAYLEY MILLS 32 TUESDAY WELD 20
JANE FONDA 39 PATTY DUKE 13
SANDRA DEE 31 GLYNIS JOHNS 22


Top seed Julie Andrews is winning  big over Jeanne Moreau as expected. The other top seed Natalie Wood is having no trouble either in her match with Stella Stevens. Ann-Margret vs Raquel Welch and Sandra Dee vs Glynis Johns both have the same scores...31-22 with Ann and Sandra leading. Should go down to the wire.


These matches will run through tonight and if there is a tie along the way, a tie-breaker match will take place tomorrow for one day only to see who will move on to round 2.

Deborah Kerr in THE CHALK GARDEN (1964)

Deborah is top notch in The Chalk Garden. She plays the strangely named Miss Madrigal, who is hired by an eccentric and wealthy old woman (played by Edith Evans) to take care of her emotional grand-daughter Laurel (played by Hayley Mills). You would think after dealing with the many children of the King of Siam and the creepy events of The Innocents, taking care of one young girl would be no problem for Deborah. But Laurel is quite a handful. She is prone to mischief, lying, arson, and just all around trouble. Miss Madrigal has her work cut out for her and goes about her task with all the skill and grace she can command. Deborah is solid as usual with her performance here, as she could probably play a governess in her sleep. But she manages to bring new angles to this character for her third time around. As she has a secret of her own that Laurel is not expecting from another in the long line of nannies she has had to care for her. The Chalk Garden is a pretty good movie with excellent performances from the entire cast.

Film: B
Deborah's Performance: B

The Chalk Garden (1964) is a great film

A grandmother (Edith Evans) seeks a governess for her 16 year old granddaughter, Laurel (Hayley Mills) who manages to drive away each and every one so far by exposing their past, with a record of three in one week! When an applicant named Miss Madrigal (Deborah Kerr) with a mysterious past manages to get the job, Laurel vows to expose her. Meanwhile, Laurel's married-divorced-married mother tries to get her back. This is an excellent drama with terrific performances by Kerr and Mills.

It's one of my favorite films from this period and features Kerr in one of her best roles. But I may be biased, since I've yet to see Ms. Kerr give a bad performance. She is a joy to watch in everything she does.

Laurel: Thanks for the compliment. Don't expect one in return!