The Verdict -- Best Supporting Actress 1966

#5. Geraldine Page in You're a Big Boy Now: Oh, Geraldine. It's pains me to say this, but this performance from the 8-time Oscar nominee is easily the worst Oscar nominated performance I've ever seen. Margery Chanticleer is the epitome of the over-protective mother cliché, and instead of fighting against this cliché to craft a real character Page indulges all the worst impulses possible. She's shrill, obnoxious, and utterly without dimension. Her ghastly presence never fails to annoy, and this nomination is simply unfathomable to me.

#4. Jocelyne LaGarde in Hawaii: This nomination stands among the most bizarre in the history of the Academy, and I'm sure LaGarde herself was stunned at the prospect of anyone deeming her work among the five best of anything. That's not to say this performance doesn't have any value at all, because LaGarde makes for an interesting screen presence. She's saddled with a jovial, innocent character that is all about love and warmth, and expresses those emotions in a natural way that feels like her own personality. But this feels like good casting as opposed to good acting, and LaGarde struggles when delivering dialogue or handling any moments with any real weight. It's a puzzling, interesting nomination, but is certainly no feat of conscience acting.

#3. Vivien Merchant in Alfie: In the self-centered mess that is Alfie, Vivien Merchant delivers a true supporting performance that floats in the background of all of Michael Caine's smug caddishness. Her performance is a very quiet one that reeks of normalcy, perfect for the normal girl she is meant to play. Even when her storyline takes a tragic turn Merchant remains steadfast in her subtlety, which I admired greatly. She clearly and effectively expresses emotion without delving into overacting. Unfortunately, the film doesn't seem to care even a little about her and thus we aren't allowed to fully understand this woman on any more than a basic level. No fault of Merchant's, certainly. Also: That scream!

#2. Wendy Hiller in A Man for All Seasons: The most pleasant surprise of this year was my increased appreciation for Wendy Hiller's crusty yet emotional performance as Lady Alice More. For a great part of this film Hiller simply does her usual frosty thing, which she is indeed an expert at. But it's in her final two or three scenes in which she heart-breakingly unveils the inner core of this woman and all her insecurities. Within the matter of minutes her performance glides effortlessly through rage, resentment, understanding, and pure love. She makes a wonderful final impact, and certainly adds emotional weight to her film's final moments. I have so much affection for this solid, reliable performance.

#1. Sandy Dennis in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?: While she is far from an exciting or unique pick, ultimately Sandy Dennis could not be denied the win in this all over the place field. Her Method understanding of Honey may be thorough to the point of distraction, but that firm grasp of the character ultimately pays dividends. She unravels the secrets of this character, perhaps the least integral of the main quartet, in a way that reveals Honey to be a savvy and underhanded player of games. She combines her character's insecurities with undeniable cunning and a deceptive simplicity that is fascinating and always absorbing to watch. Oh, and she truly does dance like the wind.

The Year in Review: This truly was a mixed bag of the year. Much like this year's Best Picture race the decision saw A Man for All Seasons and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? duking it out for my pick. But as much as I admire Wendy Hiller's underrated, emotional performance I had to agree that the Academy made the right choice here. Sandy Dennis does so much more with her performance than any of the other nominees, and has far and away the most material to work with. I'm sad to give Geraldine Page my last place because I've loved her before (I'll always have Sweet Bird of Youth & The Trip to Bountiful) but that performance is simply repugnant. Still, Alfie is easily my least favorite film of the bunch. I'm sure there were better alternatives to my bottom three choices all of whom simply couldn't cut it in my eyes, though I'm not familiar enough with the year to offer up any alternatives.

 Every Supporting Actress Nominee Ranked:

1. Patty Duke in "The Miracle Worker" (1962)
2. Dorothy Malone in "Written on the Wind" (1956)
3. Thelma Ritter in "Pickup on South Street" (1953)
4. Catherine Zeta-Jones in "Chicago" (2002)
5. Linda Hunt in "The Year of Living Dangerously" (1983)
6. Anna Paquin in "The Piano" (1993)
7. Meryl Streep in "Adaptation." (2002)
8. Cher in "Silkwood" (1983)
9. Eileen Heckart in "The Bad Seed" (1956)
10. Emma Thompson in "In the Name of the Father" (1993)
11. Julianne Moore in "Boogie Nights" (1997) 
12. Ellen Burstyn in "The Last Picture Show" (1971)
13. Oprah Winfrey in "The Color Purple" (1985)
14. May Whitty in "Mrs. Miniver" (1942)
15. Patty McCormack in "The Bad Seed" (1956)
16. Claire Trevor in "Dead End" (1937)
17. Sandy Dennis in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1966)
18. Agnes Moorehead in "The Magnificent Ambersons" (1942)
19. May Whitty in "Night Must Fall" (1937)
20. Margaret Avery in "The Color Purple" (1985)
21. Mildred Dunnock in "Baby Doll" (1956)
22. Julianne Moore in "The Hours" (2002)
23. Kathy Bates in "About Schmidt" (2002)
24. Wendy Hiller in "A Man for All Seasons" (1966)
25. Angela Lansbury in "The Manchurian Candidate" (1962)
26. Ethel Waters in "Pinky" (1949)
27. Amy Madigan in "Twice in a Lifetime" (1985)
28. Meg Tilly in "Agnes of God" (1985)
29. Teresa Wright in "Mrs. Miniver" (1942)
30. Gloria Stuart in "Titanic" (1997)
31. Alfre Woodard in "Cross Creek" (1983)
32. Barbara Harris in "Who is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?" (1971)
33. Geraldine Page in "Hondo" (1953)
34. Anne Shirley in "Stella Dallas" (1937)
35. Amy Irving in "Yentl" (1983)
36. Kim Basinger in "L.A. Confidential" (1997)
37. Shirley Knight in "Sweet Bird of Youth" (1962)
38. Cloris Leachman in "The Last Picture Show" (1971)
39. Margaret Leighton in "The Go-Between" (1971)
40. Rosie Perez in "Fearless" (1993)
41. Mercedes McCambridge in "All the King's Men" (1949)
42. Joan Cusack in "In & Out" (1997)
43. Anjelica Huston in "Prizzi's Honor" (1985)
44. Ann-Margret in "Carnal Knowledge" (1971)
45. Gladys Cooper in "Now, Voyager" (1942)
46. Donna Reed in "From Here to Eternity" (1953)
47. Glenn Close in "The Big Chill" (1983)
48. Susan Peters in "Random Harvest" (1942)
49. Vivien Merchant in "Alfie" (1966)
50. Alice Brady in "In Old Chicago" (1937)
51. Mary Badham in "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962) 
52. Holly Hunter in "The Firm" (1993)
53. Queen Latifah in "Chicago" (2002)
54. Celeste Holm in "Come to the Stable" (1949)
55. Jocelyne LaGarde in "Hawaii" (1966)
56. Ethel Barrymore in "Pinky" (1949)
57. Minnie Driver in "Good Will Hunting" (1997)
58. Thelma Ritter in "Birdman of Alcatraz" (1962) 
59. Winona Ryder in "The Age of Innocence" (1993)
60. Grace Kelly in "Mogambo" (1953)
61. Mercedes McCambridge in "Giant" (1956)
62. Marjorie Rambeau in "Torch Song" (1953) 
63. Elsa Lanchester in "Come to the Stable" (1949)
64. Andrea Leeds in  "Stage Door" (1937)
65. Geraldine Page in "You're a Big Boy Now" (1966)

Jocelyne LaGarde in Hawaii

Jocelyne LaGarde received her first and only Oscar nomination for her performance as Queen Malama in George Roy Hill's Hawaii. For a three hour epic blockbuster Hawaii is a surprisingly tame film, focusing on the ramifications of colonization and the attempted Christianization of the Hawaii people as opposed to giant set pieces. Unfortunately, it makes for a very, very dry film with the occasional snippet of intrigue, and the film suffers from a lack of nuanced characters and the proliferation of one-note performances that make up the central cast. The real lead of the film is not Julie Andrews' saint-like Jerusha but rather her husband Reverand Hale (Max von Sydow), an overly zealous preacher. Von Sydow plows through the film with condescension and forceful fanaticism, which may make for a decent supporting villain but hardly the type of person who you want to spend three hours with. Always more interesting than the colonizers are the native Hawaiians, who are generally kind, fun-loving, and intrigued by these new people. Jocelyne LaGarde plays Queen Malama, who is the Alii Nui (aka leader) of the tribe and effectively in charge of making the laws. This is LaGarde's only film credit, as she was a native Tahitian that spoke no English who was taught her lines phonetically. Considering she is a standout in this dreary film, it is no wonder the Academy recognized her, and as we all know (hi Barkhad Abdi!), they love a good back story behind their nominees.

Jocelyne LaGarde has quite possibly the most bizarre entrance into a film in the history of Oscar nominated performances, as her character is lifted up onto a boat using a pulley-type system as if she was a sack of potatoes while LaGarde sheepishly waves and smiles all the while. However, that entrance sets the light tone with which Malama will be portrayed for the remainder of the film, as it quickly becomes clear that Malama has almost a child-like innocence and warmth to her. LaGarde gives her an aura of positivity and love throughout the film that is nice and refreshing considering so many of the less warm characters that surround her. She's a woman who has lived her entire life getting everything she wants, as her birthright essentially makes her god-like, but who still tries to do right by her people. What is certain is that LaGarde has a wonderful presence and the right amount of charisma to pull off this character, who is dignified and larger than life but also sweet.

What is less certain is whether or not LaGarde's performance is really a conscious form of acting or simply a woman going through the emotions as coached by her director, translator, or whomever. Whenever asked to deliver dialogue or express an emotion or inner conflict it's clear that LaGarde is consciously thinking of each and every moment of this performance. She visibly is going through the emotions in her head, and it all scream of ACTING rather than inhabiting a character. She pulls it off somewhat because the character is supposed to be a little brash and impulsive, but most times it's clear that this is a very inexperienced actress going through the part in a very simplistic broad manner. Dialogue is the biggest hang up for her, and a pivotal scene where she reads off new laws for the town is simply incoherent, as she smiles at the wrong places and doesn't seem to be expressing the right emotions that go with that particular scene. Basically, she doesn't know what she's saying, she's just saying it.

However, there is one area in which LaGarde truly excels acting wise and that is in her relationship with her husband Kelolo (Ted Nobriga). There is a whole storyline about how she must stop living with her husband because they are brother and sister in order for Malama to fully convert to Christianity and be "saved". It's bizarre to say, but the relationship of genuine affection and love between Malama and Kelolo is the only truly convincing one in the film and that's because of the chemistry between LaGarde and Nobriga. LaGarde's final scene in which she turns him away on her deathbed in order to get into heaven is truly emotional and tangible, and it's all etched on her face and in her eyes. It's, in my opinion, the only real moment of acting that comes off as genuine and not a performance. It feels real. You have to give big props to her for making an incestuous relationship so easy to root for.

All in all, LaGarde's performance and nomination brings up a lot of questions on what is good acting, and how does one determine that. LaGarde's casting is perfect and she's a warm and welcome presence onscreen, but none of her acting choices feel effective or organic into the character. They feel like acting, bad acting. She's at her best when simply being, flashing a smile or letting out a laugh or hugging someone. I never disliked watching her onscreen, but I simply can't justify her getting an Oscar nomination for this performance. 2.5/5 Thelmas.

Best Supporting Actress 1966

And the nominees were....

• Sandy Dennis as Honey in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (winner)
• Wendy Hiller as Lady Alice More in A Man for All Seasons
• Jocelyne LaGarde as Queen Malama in Hawaii
• Vivien Merchant as Lily Clamacraft in Alfie
• Geraldine Page as Margery Chanticleer in You're a Big Boy Now

The Field: The snail's pace continues! I'll probably never quite make it to ever finishing this project, but I've resigned myself to that and have decided to just have fun with it. I'll do a year whenever I'm feeling in the mood, and I right now I am most definitely in the mood for a little 1966. These five ladies are all eminently interesting actresses, from the mysterious Merchant to the glorious Page to the quirky Dennis, one-timer LaGarde, and sour Hiller. I've only seen Virginia Woolf and Seasons before, so three of them will be first time watches for me. I'm probably most interested by LaGarde, who gave her only performance on film EVER here, and Page, who I just generally love. Incidentally, dear Geraldine is up first. As is now the norm, there will be a review every two days as I've finished them all beforehand so as to not get caught up mid-year.