Myrna Loy leads the way in the 30's era first complete matches

 ROUND 1 FINAL RESULTS

1930S ERA

Greta Garbo (75%, 40 votes)

Fay Wray (25%, 13 votes)

Miriam Hopkins (59%, 29 votes)

Kay Francis (41%, 20 votes)

Ruth Chatterton (58%, 29 votes)

Sylvia Sidney (42%, 21 votes)

Ann Dvorak (72%, 34 votes)

Anita Page (28%, 13 votes)

Myrna Loy (83%, 43 votes)

Marie Dressler (17%, 9 votes)

Constance Bennett (67%, 33 votes)

Margaret Dumont (33%, 16 votes)

Jean Arthur (80%, 41 votes)

Maureen O’Sullivan (20%, 10 votes)

Jean Harlow (66%, 35 votes)

Una Merkel (34%, 18 votes)

Myrna Loy quickly established herself as a front-runner for 30's era champion with the largest percentage of votes in the first 8 matches of this star studded field. She grabbed a whopping 83% of the votes for a convincing 43-9 victory over Marie Dressler. And at the other end of the spectrum, the closest match was Ruth Chatterton beating Sylvia Sidney 29-21. Other first round winners include Greta Garbo, Ann Dvorak, Constance Bennett, Miriam Hopkins, Jean Harlow and Jean Arthur.

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.

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.

The battle between Carole Lombard and Joan Crawford is underway

Some of the sweet 16 round matches have begun and the headliner for me is my girl Carole vs Joan Crawford. The epic battle is taking place over at my good friend John's blog, Mythical Monkey. Please go cast your vote as soon as possible. And looks like the stars are coming out to support their girls. Here's the link: mythicalmonkey

Carole is flanked by Marlene Dietrich, Lilli Damita and Errol Flynn who are in her corner

And good friend Barbara Stanwyck is there to support Joan,

which is tremendous considering the two just battled each other

in a tough match between friends.

Joan Crawford pulls off an upset of top seed Barbara Stanwyck 81-74

 

Joan thanking all her fans who supported her in a big way

with her win over Barbara Stanwyck

 

This year's tourney has produced a fair amount of upsets...Gene Tierney knocking off Vivien Leigh, Katharine Hepburn losing to Olivia de Havilland and Lauren Bacall defeating Ingrid Bergman. Well add another name to that list as top seed Barbara Stanwyck of the Tough Broads and Pre-Code Babes in the 30's era falls to 3rd seed Joan Crawford in another titanic battle 81-74. A total of 155 votes was rung up, the second most in the tourney so far..only Carole Lombard and Jean Arthur tallied more with 158. This match saw Joan down several times only to repeatedly come back to pull close to Barbara. And then in the waning hours actually pull ahead. The Crawford fans showed up late, but show up they did as Joan now advances to round four. Which is impressive, considering last year she didn't even make it past the first round. Talk about turnaround. Thanks to everyone who voted to make this one of the best matches in the tourney so far.

JOAN CRAWFORD 81    BARBARA STANWYCK 74

Barbara Stanwyck sets a record for most votes in a single match...

The results of Round One (Part One) of The Favorite Classic Movie Actress Tournament are in. Silent Era/1930s Bracket standings are as follows:

 "They Had Faces"


#1.Greta Garbo def. #8.Anna May Wong, 79-13
#2.Mary Pickford def. #7.Janet Gaynor, 47-45
#6.Gloria Swanson def. #3.Lillian Gish, 53-40
#4.Clara Bow def. #5.Louise Brooks, 50-43



"Tough Broads and Pre-Code Babes"


#1.Barbara Stanwyck def. #8.Miriam Hopkins, 82-16
#2.Marlene Dietrich def. #7.Elsa Lanchester, 70-27
#3.Joan Crawford def. #6.Norma Shearer, 53-43
#4.Claudette Colbert def. #5.Mary Astor, 73-25

Beat Miriam in the first round....check!

Scoring was at a premium over at the silent/30's era bracket held at Mythical Monkey as some
big numbers were posted during the first round. Barbara Stanwyck set a record with 82 votes received as she throttled Miriam Hopkins 82-16. The all time record of total votes is one match is still held by the fantastic match between Irene Dunne and Carole Lombard from last year. The two combined for 101 votes. But that record should soon fall too.

A great match took place with Mary Pickford finally overcoming Janet Gaynor 47-45. It was an exciting match from the very first few minutes and it was a beaut to see unfold. Another close match involved Clara Bow and Louise Brooks. Bow pulled away from Brooks 50-43 in the closing hours.

All in all it was an exciting first round with only one top seed losing. Lillian Gish, who was seeded 3rd lost to 6th Gloria Swanson 53-40. Oh and much love to Joan Crawford who take care of rival Norma Shearer 53-43, even though Norma made a valiant comeback that came up just short.

Uh-oh..Carole's got that crazy look in her eyes....it's on!

The second part of the first round featuring funny ladies and singers/dancers is now underway. I am most interested in this bracket as my girl Carole Lombard is featured. As is defending champion Irene Dunne. Here's the link to go cast your votes: mythicalmonkey

Be My Guest - Clara (Part 2)

We're back for the next set of questions for my friend Clara. Here we go:

Monty: What is your favorite classic movie decade: the 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's or 60's?

Clara: The thirties. Of course I have favorite films from other decades, but most of the films I like were made in this decade. It's an awesome time, because it starts like leaving behind most of the problems with silent films (I just like a few of them), experimenting, fixing issues like creepy make-up and lighting, etc. and it ends with an awesome year were a lot of memorable classics were made.

Monty: The 30's are my favorite decade as well Clara.

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Monty: Name a few of your favorite modern stars.

Clara: In no particular order: Tom Hanks AND Meg Ryan (those count as one), Emily Blunt, Brad Pitt, Hugh Jackman, Meryl Streep, Kate Winslet, Colin Firth, Cate Blanchett, Jodie Foster, Steve Carrell (loved him in "Dan in Real Life"), Gerard Butler, Marion Cotillard....I guess people like Sean Connery, Al Pacino and Anthony Hopkins count as "classic" actors.


Monty: Ahhh, the Jackman. And Hanks, Ryan, Winslet, Blanchett, Cotillard, Foster and Streep are some of my favorites too.



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Monty: Name a few of your favorite modern films.

Clara: Random: "Kill Bill", "13 going on 30", "Scoop", "Dan in real life", "La Mome", "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day", "The Holiday", "Fried Green Tomatoes", "You've got mail", "The painted veil", "Grey Gardens" (both the doc and the movie), "A league of their own", "Legends of the fall", "Meet Joe Black", "Something's Gotta Five"....


Kids: "Wild hearts can't be broken", most of Disney/Pixar films ("Finding Nemo", "Tangled", etc), everything Studio Ghibli releases (I have to highlight one of the less known, "Only Yesterday"), etc.

Monty: The Holiday and A League of Their Own are two of my personal favorites.


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Monty: What are some of your favorite movie quotes?

Strother Martin from Cool Hand Luke

Clara: I'm really bad a remembering things in general, but here are some quotes I remember:

Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn


Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!


Waiter, will you serve the nuts? I mean, will you serve the guests the nuts?


The murderer is right in this room. Sitting at this table. You may serve the fish.


What we've got here is failure to communicate.


Damn, I know there a million quotes I've loved, but I can't remember. I shared some more in this post (link = http://via-51.blogspot.com/2010/08/day-17-favorite-line-from-film.html), they were too long to copy in here.


Monty: Some great quotes you pulled from the top of your head there Clara. We will soon return with part 3 of Clara's guest interview.

Be My Guest - Desiree (Part 2)

We continue on with our interview with our girl from California, Desiree...

Monty: Desiree, what is your favorite decade for film?

Desiree: This is a tough question for me because I love all decades, but I have a particular love for the 1930s and 1940s. However, I can’t choose between the two. It is just impossible. There are so many good films and stars from both decades and I love them both equally.

Monty: Hey I had a hard time deciding between them two decades as well. But finally decided on the 30's mainly because of my  love for screwball comedies.

Monty: Name some of your favorite modern stars.

Desiree: For modern stars, I admire some of the really talented ones, such as Robert de Niro, Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep, Kate Winslet, Mark Wahlberg… and I also love a few because I think they’re adorable or funny, such as Jake Gyllenhaal, George Clooney and Anne Hathaway.

Monty: Yes to Kate Winslet and Meryl Streep for me as well.

Monty: Name some of your favorite modern films

Desiree:  This is such a tough question for me… I am trying to think of modern films that I have seen many times and think are worth many viewings, such as the Meet the Parents movies, There’s Something about Mary, Clueless, Schindler’s List, The Devil Wears Prada, The Outsiders, Edward Scissorhands, The Hangover, Grease, Julie & Julia, Mean Girls, Orphan (seems like a strange choice, but there is something about that movie…), Juno, and films such as Precious and An American Crime, which affected me so deeply that I could not watch them again, but were truly great films.

Monty: I love The Hangover, There's Something About Mary, The Outsiders and Edward Scissorhands as well.


Monty: What are some of your favorite movie quotes?
Desiree: I have so many favorite movie quotes, but here are some that come to mind that I have repeated so many times over the years:

“Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!” –Auntie Mame


“Oh, Kendal, what am I going to do with you?!” –Hired Wife


“Rattlesnake, anyone?” –Auntie Mame


“Oh, Walter, you’re wonderful in a loathsome sort of way.” –His Girl Friday

“What’s that man doing in my drawers?” –The Thin Man


“Oh, C.K. Dexter Haven!” –The Philadelphia Story



“Who was that?” “You wouldn’t know them, darling. They’re respectable.” –After the Thin Man


“You see? It’s a circle.” “Well, of course. Do you think it would roll if it were square?” –Bringing Up Baby
“Hello, gorgeous.” –Funny Girl


“Well, I don’t want to be rude, but, ah, may I have a drink? I had three or four before I got here, but they’re beginning to wear off, and you know how that is.” –The Awful Truth

“Ja, is good.” –I Remember Mama
(My mother particularly likes the last one, haha).
 
Monty: A lot of quotes from screwball comedies. Cool.
 
Thanks Desiree for such wonderful answers. We will be back with part 3 shortly.