The Verdict -- Best Supporting Actress 1971

#5. Ann-Margret in Carnal Knowledge: It was tough choosing between Ann-Margret and Margaret Leighton, but I ended up choosing Ann-Margret (I never know if I should call her Ann or if she'd get mad at me) as the weakest of the field because she did the least with the most. She gets the part right that you'd expect her to--she's sexy and saucy but can't handle the emotional chords when she needs to display something other than va va voom. She's robotic when she needs to be sympathetic and soft when she needs to be a hard ass. It just doesn't work and makes for a scattered, uneven performance.

#4. Margaret Leighton in The Go-Between: Margaret Leighton's performance has almost the exact opposite effect of Ann-Margret's. Given a role that could easily become a caricature or a cipher, Leighton works her hardest from the beginning of The Go-Between to give her character a presence that makes her final sequences understandable and tense. She's a true supporting actress, always in the background and working hard to make something out of nothing. It's an admirable performance, but one that doesn't have enough to fully warrant an Oscar nomination. She makes the film better, and that's reward enough.

#3. Cloris Leachman in The Last Picture Show: This was without a doubt the toughest of the five performances to write about and grade. Cloris does all that is required of her in the role and somehow doesn't make the emotional connection needed to make this performance an impactful one. All of my favorite moments in the film involving Ruth Popper are "Cloris" moments (her getting her head caught in her shirt), and not Ruth Popper moments which isn't a sign of a great performance. It's hard to hate this performance, but I don't really understand the love that is thrown on it. I still love you though, Cloris!

#2. Barbara Harris in Who is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?: If this was a one scene performance, Barabara Harris would be giving Ellen Burstyn a run for her money in winning this ranking. In a single scene Harris gives a performance that is off-putting and weird in the best way possible and then circles around and becomes shockingly heartbreaking. It's so out of left field and unexpected among the mess that is this film. Sadly, we have to watch as her awful movie drags her down by forcing her into a romance with Dustin Hoffman that kills the effect of the performance. It's a shame, really.

#1. Ellen Burstyn in The Last Picture Show: It's an easy victory for Ellen Burstyn, who goes the furthest in developing a full character. With a surprising amount of charisma for such a potentially despicable character, her performance is the least predictable and safe in her film. She's not afraid to be the villain or the bitch and yet still pulls you around with an astounding final monologue that gives you a new perspective and how Lois Farrow is. It's wonderful work that leaves you thinking about her for days.

The Year in Review: This was a year filled with good performances, but lacking in great ones. If I took anything away from these five ladies it was how difficult it is to rate performances. To me, a 3 rating essentially means "good but not great", and I'm still exactly sure how to describe what separates a 3.5 and a 4, or a 4.5 and a 5. It's a tough thing to do, which I guess is why the Academy has the good fortune to just check one box and not explain their reasoning behind it. Nevertheless, I enjoyed doing this year even if the films weren't all that interesting (especially The Go-Between and Who is Harry Kellerman...). It's made me more committed to picking up the pace and not losing quality, and I'm hoping to keep a somewhat steady pace in the future. But I always say that, so....who knows?

Shoulda Been a Contender: Eileen Brennan in The Last Picture Show

All Supporting Actress Nominees Ranking:

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. Linda Hunt in "The Year of Living Dangerously" (1983)
5. Anna Paquin in "The Piano" (1993)
6. Cher in "Silkwood" (1983)
7. Eileen Heckart in "The Bad Seed" (1956)
8. Emma Thompson in "In the Name of the Father" (1993)
9. Julianne Moore in "Boogie Nights" (1997)
10. Ellen Burstyn in "The Last Picture Show (1971)
11. Patty McCormack in "The Bad Seed"(1956)
12. Claire Trevor in "Dead End" (1937)
13. May Whitty in "Night Must Fall" (1937)
14. Mildred Dunnock in "Baby Doll"(1956)
15. Angela Lansbury in "The Manchurian Candidate"(1962)
16. Geraldine Page in "Hondo" (1953)
17. Gloria Stuart in "Titanic" (1997)
18. Alfre Woodard in "Cross Creek" (1983)
19. Barbara Harris in "Who is Harry Kellerman and Why is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?" (1971)
20. Anne Shirley in "Stella Dallas" (1937)
21. Amy Irving in "Yentl"(1983)
22. Kim Basinger in "L.A. Confidential" (1997)
23. Shirley Knight in "Sweet Bird of Youth" (1962)
24. Cloris Leachman in "The Last Picture Show" (1971)
25. Margaret Leighton in "The Go-Between" (1971)
26. Rosie Perez in "Fearless" (1993)
27. Joan Cusack in "In & Out" (1997)
28. Ann-Margret in "Carnal Knowledge" (1971)
29. Donna Reed in "From Here to Eternity" (1953)
30. Glenn Close in "The Big Chill"(1983)
31. Alice Brady in "In Old Chicago" (1937)
32. Mary Badham in "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962)
    
33. Holly Hunter in "The Firm" (1993)
34. Minnie Driver in "Good Will Hunting" (1997)
35. Thelma Ritter in "Birdman of Alcatraz" (1962)
    
36. Winona Ryder in "The Age of Innocence" (1993)
37. Grace Kelly in "Mogambo" (1953)
38. Mercedes McCambridge in "Giant"(1956)
39. Marjorie Rambeau in "Torch Song" (1953)
40. Andrea Leeds in  "Stage Door"(1937)

Margaret Leighton in The Go-Between

Margaret Leighton received her first and only Oscar nomination for her performance as Mrs. Maudsley in Joseph Losey's The Go-Between. The film, based on the novel by L.P. Hartley, is about a forbidden romance between Marian Maudsley (Julie Christie) and a farmer (Alan Bates), told through the eyes of a young boy they use to deliver letters between them. It's an absolutely dreary film to get through, as neither Christie nor Bates offer any appealing qualities here and the messenger, played by Dominic Guard is just okay as far as child actors go. Margaret Leighton plays Marian's mother, the harsh and commanding matriarch of the Maudsley family and actually gets very little substantial screentime. For the majority of the film Leighton can be seen somewhere in the background making her presence known in subtle ways but it is the last 15 minutes or so where Leighton (I assume) earned her Oscar nomination.

Mrs. Maudsley is a character type we've seen thousands of times before, and in this category especially. She's a high society woman insistent on keeping her family at the top of the ladder despite what they might think or want otherwise. It's hard to add new depth to a character like Mrs. Maudsley without the help of the script, so Leighton instead sets out to fulfill her "wicked witch" type role beautifully, and actually act instead of camp it up which would have been an easier choice. To be fair, Mrs. Maudsley isn't exactly the same as every other high society woman we typically see in films, and she respects the lower classes (at least on the surface) and isn't so high and mighty to not treat them civilly. Instead she will silently dart them a nasty look or two while watching a game of cricket or at a local gathering. That is essentially the extent to which Leighton operates for the first hour and forty minutes of the film, gliding naturally between superficial genteel hospitality and serving as a silent but strong presence of her family's "superiority". Leighton makes Mrs. Maudsley's projected dominance palpable even in passing.

Her fierce determination to remain societal superiority comes to a head when she catches Marian and the boy in the midst of exchanging a letter and she coolly coerces the truth out of the messenger. We can tell that Mrs. Maudsley is not surprised by this news and may have suspected it all along. This sequence that lasts probably between five and ten minutes is where Leighton exercises her acting ability by releasing all that contempt that Mrs. Maudsley has successfully kept held in while still maintaining some control of herself and acting a as someone "of her class" should. It's a delicate task to pull off, because it requires Leighton to be forceful without exploding into overacting and screaming, and she walks the line beautifully. All of her movements while she grills the poor boy express the anger that raising her voice and shouting would. It's an excellent acting choice by Leighton, and one that makes those last few minutes the most tense and engaging moments of the film. Even though the film concludes with Mrs. Maudsley living up to the tropes that her character type always does, Leighton navigates them like a pro and never takes the easy path.

However, the phrase "too little too late" comes to mind when looking at the overall effect of this performance. There's never a moment where Leighton missteps, but the script only gives her a brief section to really flex her acting muscles. I know this category is supporting, and screentime isn't of paramount importance when judging these performance but Leighton never gets a chance to make an impression like that of other ladies with even less screentime such as Claire Trevor in Dead End or Beatrice Straight in Network. So I commend this performance and give it a solid and respectable 3/5 Thelmas.

Best Supporting Actress 1971

And the nominees were....

• Ann-Margret as Bobbie in Carnal Knowledge
• Ellen Burstyn as Lois Farrow in The Last Picture Show
• Barbara Harris as Allison Densmore in Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?
• Cloris Leachman as Ruther Popper in The Last Picture Show (winner)
  
• Margaret Leighton as Mrs. Maudsley in The Go-Between

The Field: This is definitely an interesting group of nominees, and two of the films are somewhat difficult to get you're hands on. I'll be watching Who is Harry Kellerman... (which remains the longest movie title ever nominated for an Academy Award) on VHS but at least I got it. I haven't seen any of these movies before so that will make these ladies very exciting for me. I already adore Cloris Leachman (Raising Hope is amazing!), and appreciate Ellen Burstyn's acting talents more than outright love her. Ann-Margret's Best Actress nomination is one of my favorites, and the other two ladies might as well be newcomers in my eyes. I'm very interested to see what you all think, because I somewhat think this year could be unpredictable. Carnal Knowledge is up first.